Bangladeshi Prime Minister Khaleda Zia Thursday said Bangladesh remains committed not to allow its soil to be used by any terrorist group for undertaking crime and subversive activities in other states, private news agency UNB reported Thursday.

Making the remark while formally inaugurating the first SAARC Interior/Home Ministers' Conference here in the morning, she informed that she categorically conveyed this assurance of Bangladesh's stand and commitment to other SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) leaders whenever she met with them.

At the same time, Khaleda, also current chairperson of SAARC, said Bangladesh opposes the use of foreign soil for terrorist and subversive activities against Bangladesh.

"We believe that collective prosperity and well-being cannot be ensured unless each member state in South Asia enjoys peace and stability."

She said, "In the era of globalization, terrorism and transnational crimes have become increasingly global. Therefore, we need to ensure understanding and cooperation in South Asia in the area of counter-terrorism for our mutual benefit."

Indian Home Minister Shivraj Patil, Pakistan's Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, Bangladesh's State Minister for Home Affairs Lutfozzman Babor, Bhutanese Home Minister Lyonpo Jigme Thinley, Maldives Home Minister Ahmed Thasmeen Ali and SAARC Secretary General Chenkyab Dorji also spoke at the function.

Referring to the decisions taken during the 13th SAARC Summit in Dhaka last year, she said the decisions are aimed at ensuring peace and security in this region, which is crucial for creating a firm basis for economic prosperity of millions of South Asians.

"And this meeting of Home Ministers is taking place at an important juncture of SARRC's history."

The SAARC chairperson said the Dhaka Summit resolved that SAARC 's third decade would be one of implementation and emphasized that the decisions should be focused, result-oriented and time- bound.

"At the same time, we also recognized that our Home Ministers and Home Secretaries should meet regularly to discuss our collective concern relating to regional peace and security."

She expressed her satisfaction that the Home Ministers of the South Asian region are meeting for the first time in SAARC's history where they have a number of agenda, including combating terrorism, terrorism-financing and drugs trafficking.

Speaking on the occasion, Indian Home Minister Shivraj Patil said India is willing to cooperate with all member countries to combat terrorism jointly and share experiences and exchange information to achieve the goal.

Pakistan's Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao called for carrying out respective responsibilities by each member countries to make SAARC an effective tool for making a happy, prosperous and secure region.

Source: Xinhua