Momen for regional cooperation in advancing higher education

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Tuesday underlined the need for regional cooperation as well as investing more in improving the quality of higher education as Asia is experiencing a growing need for skilled professionals in different fields.   

“From our perspective, regional partnership and cooperation based on SAARC, BIMSTEC, and Asia-Pacific region remain crucial in further advancing quality higher education in the region,” he said.

The foreign minister made the remarks as the chief guest at a virtual international symposium titled “Significance of Regional Cooperation to Ensure the Quality Assurance in Higher Education 2021”, organized by Daffodil International University.  

Momen said the present Bangladesh government stands ready to heartily embrace any regional collaboration, cooperation, and partnership in fostering higher education.  

In this era of globalization, everyone needs to work together and cooperate with one another for reaping mutual benefits and ensuring sustainable development, he said, adding: “We must not forget that we are living in a fast-changing, complex and hyper-connected world … we cannot make progress in any area by walking alone.”

Momen furthermore said investing in higher education will help build Asian countries as high-income economies with the promotion of innovation, knowledge and technology to thrive in an interconnected, competitive and technologically advanced world.

He also said a significant trend in the Asia-Pacific region has been the rapid expansion of higher education systems, brought about by ever-increasing social demand due to population growth, the democratization of secondary education, and the growing affluence of many countries in the region.

It is encouraging to see that in Asia, governments and stakeholders have recently demonstrated a resurgence of interest in investing in higher education as a means of promoting competitiveness and economic growth, he added.