Dhaka intends to engage deeply with ASEAN to accelerate its own development process, Foreign Minister A H Mahmood Ali has said.
The minister made the statement while hoisting the flag of the 10-countries grouping in Dhaka for the first time, marking its 47th founding anniversary.
He also congratulated the governments and people of the ASEAN countries on its founding anniversary, BSS reported.
Ali expressed the earnest interest of the Bangladesh government for maintaining “very friendly relations” with its neighbourhood, including South East Asian countries.
He said Bangladesh got itself enrolled in the ASEAN's Regional Forum and is expecting to join it as a member after 2015.
The minister lauded the role of the Dhaka committee for forging “a closer Bangladesh- ASEAN relationship”.
The ambassadors of Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia and The Philippines and envoys of ASEAN nations and senior officials of Bangladesh's foreign ministry joined the ceremony.
The foreign minister left Dhaka for Myanmar after the ceremony to attend a two-day ministerial meeting of foreign ministers of the ASEAN Regional Forum.
