Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that it was possible to make a big lead into the socio-economic development of the people of South Asia through utilising huge potential of the maritime sector in the region.

“There is a huge potential in the maritime sector in South Asia and by utilising the sector, it is possible to make a big lead into the socio-economic development of the people of this region,” she said while addressing the inaugural session of the Second South Asia Maritime and Logistics Forum 2018 at a hotel in Dhaka.

The Ministry of Shipping in cooperation with the Colombo International Maritime Conference Events and India’s Gateway Media Pvt Ltd have jointly organised the two-day event to attract investment in the infrastructure and innovation of new technology in the shipping sector.

The Prime Minister said that Bangladesh was a country of boundless potentials. “In the water transport sector, new business opportunities exist such as the development of container transport at home and abroad, as well as the further expansion of dredging programs, ferry services, port management and operations by the private sector,” she said.

Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan, Indian Union Minister for Shipping and Road Transport Mansukh Mandaviya, Sri Lankan State Minister for National Policy and Economic Affairs Dr Harsha De Silva, Editor-in-Chief of India’s Gateway Media Pvt Ltd Ram Prasad Ravi and Bangladesh’s Shipping Secretary MdAbdusSamad also spoke at the function.