Cirdap ministerial meeting in Manila on May 31

The highest policy body meeting at ministerial level will be held following the Cirdap executive committee meeting on May 28-29. A regional policy dialogue will also be held on May 30 before the ministerial meeting.

The ministerial meeting will be attended by ministers and secretaries of Rural Development and relevant ministries from the 14 member countries of Cirdap, established in 1979 aiming to bring development to the rural people of the area.

Eduado R Ermita, executive secretary of the government of Philippines, will inaugurate the meeting.

This was informed at a press conference at the Cirdap headquarters in the city's Topkhana Road yesterday.

Experts and researchers from member countries will discuss various issues, mainly rural development issues in the two-day highest policy body meeting of Cirdap.

"We are in the crossroad of prosperity and poverty," said Dr Durga P Paudyal, director general, Cirdap at the press conference, adding, "We have enough resources but at the same time we have vast amount of poor people."

"Experts and researchers from member countries of Cirdap will sit together under the same roof to discuss how to bring develop to the poor people," he hoped.

The regional policy dialogue, the second such efforts of Cirdap, will be attended by policy experts, academicians and representatives from UN and other donor organisations and NGOs in addition to the delegates of the member countries of Cirdap.

Anwarul Iqbal, adviser to ministry of the Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives, and the chairperson of Cirdap governing council will lead the Bangladesh delegation.