Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108 Page 109 Page 110 Page 111 Page 112 Page 113 Page 114 Page 115 Page 116 Page 117 Page 118 Page 119 Page 120 Page 121 Page 122 Page 123 Page 124 Page 125 Page 126 Page 127 Page 128 Page 129 Page 130 Page 131 Page 132 Page 133 Page 134 Page 135 Page 136 Page 137 Page 138 Page 139 Page 140 Page 141 Page 142 Page 143 Page 144 Page 145 Page 146 Page 147 Page 148 Page 149 Page 150 Page 151 Page 152 Page 153 Page 154 Page 155 Page 156 Page 157 Page 158 Page 159 Page 160 Page 161 Page 162 Page 163 Page 164 Page 165 Page 166 Page 167 Page 168 Page 169 Page 170 Page 171 Page 172 Page 173 Page 174 Page 175 Page 176 Page 177 Page 178 Page 179 Page 180 Page 181 Page 182 Page 183 Page 184 Page 185 Page 186 Page 187 Page 188 Page 189 Page 190 Page 191 Page 192 Page 193 Page 194 Page 195 Page 196 Page 197 Page 198 Page 199 Page 200 Page 201 Page 202 Page 203 Page 204 Page 205 Page 206 Page 207 Page 208 Page 209 Page 210 Page 211 Page 212 Page 213 Page 214 Page 215 Page 216 Page 217 Page 218 Page 219 Page 220 Page 221 Page 222 Page 223 Page 224 Page 225 Page 226 Page 227 Page 228 Page 229 Page 230 Page 231 Page 232 Page 233 Page 234 Page 235 Page 236 Page 237 Page 238 Page 239 Page 240 Page 241 Page 242 Page 243 Page 244 Page 245 Page 246 Page 247 Page 248 Page 249 Page 250 Page 251 Page 252 Page 253 Page 254 Page 255 Page 256 Page 257 Page 258 Page 259 Page 260 Page 261 Page 262 Page 263 Page 264 Page 265 Page 266 Page 267 Page 268 Page 269 Page 270 Page 271 Page 272 Page 273 Page 274 Page 275 Page 276 Page 277 Page 278 Page 279 Page 280 Page 281 Page 282184 | Bangabandhu International Conference Centre, Dhaka | June 7, 2015 economy is a vital sector for the future. Now, how can we together place emphasis on blue economy? Five of us among the SAARC nations lie adjacent to the sea. If the five of us work together on blue economy, we can offer a lot to the world and create new prospects for our next generation. We should work in that direction. We met recently in Nepal for the SAARC Summit. At that time, I had placed great stress on one particular issue – we wanted to pass a resolution on it – and that subject was connectivity. If SAARC countries have increased connectivity and openness, it would facilitate our travel. We wanted to take some decisions on this matter. Anyway, not everyone can be like Bangladesh; our plan did not get full traction. Now, just because our project did not get on the rails, should we just keep on waiting? Today, I say with pride that the four of us – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal – have agreed to give priority to connectivity, something we could not accomplish formally at SAARC. And we should bear this in mind: it is easy connectivity that has been a basic driver of economic change in the European Union. SAARC countries too can advance in a similar manner. Whether all of us do or not, some of us have begun this process, and we have, therefore, taken certain decisions for improving connectivity between Bangladesh and India – whether by rail, road, or air. And we have now decided on the sea-routes as well. Else, our state of affairs was such that if something had to be sent to India, it had to be routed via Singapore! But now, India and Bangladesh would be able to trade directly. That’s why I say, there’s a major change in the offing that is clearly visible and imminent. Today, no country, howsoever prosperous, populous or powerful it might be, can do anything in isolation. The whole world has become inter-dependent and cannot function without each other’s support. That’s why, India and Bangladesh have acknowledged this reality and understood it. Our vision is well defined, as reflected in the 22 decisions that we have agreed upon. It is not just the number of decisions that we draw satisfaction from. It is also the fact that each of these outcomes will be a big force for change in the future. This is something I say with conviction and I commend the far-sighted leadership of Bangladesh