Matarbari deep sea port right policy decision of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina: Speaker

Own Correspondent: Bangladesh National Parliament Speaker Dr. Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury MP said, Matarbari deep sea port is a gateway that will facilitate connectivity with landlocked countries like Nepal, Bhutan through Bangladesh.

She said that Matarbari deep sea port is the right policy decision of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

She spoke as the chief guest at a workshop titled 'Bangladesh's First Deep Sea Port: Matarbari Opening a New Scene in the Bay of Bengal' organized by the Ocean Policy Research Unit of Japan's Sasakawa Peace Foundation at Parliament LD Hall, Jatiya Sangsad Bhavan on March 19 (Tuesday).

Under the direction of Bangladesh Enterprise Institute President Humayun Kabir, Ocean Policy Peace Foundation Research Fellow Imadul Islam and Researcher Kamran Reza Chowdhury presented the keynote of the workshop. Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Masud Bin Momen, Secretary of the Maritime Affairs Unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Rear Admiral (retd.) Md. as special guests. Khurshed Alam, president of the Ocean Policy Research Institute of Sasakawa Peace Foundation, Japan. Hide Sakaguchi, Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Kiminori Iwama and JICA Bangladesh Chief Representative Tomohide Ichiguchi addressed the workshop.

Speaker Dr. Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury MP said that through Matarbari deep sea port, the socio-economic development of neighboring states including Bangladesh will take place. This sea port will play a helpful role in facilitating the communication with different states through waterways as well as increasing commercial competition.

The speaker said, this sea port will highlight the importance of Bay of Bengal to various South Asian countries. She said, besides using the ocean, attention should also be paid to its sustainable development.

Meanwhile, the speaker thanked the Ocean Policy Research Institute of Japan for organizing such a workshop.

Senior Secretary of National Parliament Secretariat KM Abdus Salam, Chittagong Port Authority, teachers and students of various universities, managing directors of various institutions, research fellows, invited guests, dignitaries and media workers were present in the workshop.