British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Sarah Cooke has expressed the UK’s interest in expanding ongoing cooperation regarding urban development, emphasising the importance of “bottom-up governance” in local-level planning and decision-making.
She made the statement during a courtesy call on Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives Minister Abdul Moyeen Khan at the Secretariat on Thursday, where State Minister for Local Government Mir Shahe Alam was also present.
Briefing journalists after the meeting, Shahe Alam noted that bilateral discussions specifically covered waste management, alongside employment generation, the agriculture sector, and increasing economic relations.
Highlighting various aspects of Bangladesh’s local government structure, Moyeen affirmed that equal importance is being given to urban development alongside rural development as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen democracy.
During the meeting, Shahe Alam also revealed that Bangladesh’s financial year has been changed to align with that of the UK, an adjustment expected to make national development activities more dynamic.
Moyeen added that expanding mutual collaboration and creating new avenues of cooperation, particularly in developing the rural economy, could bring fresh momentum to Bangladesh’s overall development activities.
Sarah Cooke recalled the long-standing friendly ties between the two countries and stressed the necessity of further strengthening people-to-people relations.
The broad-ranging talks between the two parties also encompassed boosting economic ties, tackling climate change, strengthening the local government system, higher education, and training.
