Representatives from 12 of the 15 members[1] of the Centre on Integrated Rural Integrated Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP) gathered in the 32^nd Technical Committee at Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development (BARD) in Comilla, Bangladesh on 3-6 May 2017.

Aimed at fostering participation of and dialogue between various stakeholders in promoting sustainable rural development in the Asia-Pacific, this meeting focused on reviewing Members’ programs on poverty alleviation.

Bangladesh Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives (LGRD&C) Minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain, Rural Development and Cooperative Division Secretary In-Charge Ananda Chandra Biswas, Rural and Regional Development Relation Affairs of Malaysia Minister Aziza Binte Ahmad, and BRAD Director General Muhammad Moududur Rashid Shofdar were present in the meeting.

The Association for Land Reform and Development (ALRD) as national network member and Board of Director, represented the Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ANGOC) in the event.

With the finalization of CIRDAP’s new strategic plan, partnerships and networks will be broadened among governments in other countries as well as among civil society organizations working on rural development. As such, the ongoing discussion of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between ANGOC and CIRDAP has been concluded and will be signed in the next Governing Council of CIRDAP.  The major elements of the MoU are expected to be as follows:

• ANGOC will share its publications to the planned CIRDAP’s e-library. Translation of ANGOC publications to the different languages of member-countries of CIRDAP will be explored.
• ANGOC to take the responsibility for identifying and linking its  member organizations and partners with the CIRDAP member-countries to enhance CIRDAP’s linkages and collaboration  in the areas of land, agriculture, food security, and other land related issues.
• ANGOC and its LWA partners shall present its CSO Land Monitoring Reports and other knowledge products on land rights and smallholder agriculture to enhance the dialogue process between CSOs and governments on the major challenges and strategic actions on land governance in the region.
• CIRDAP and ANGOC to jointly develop collaborative actions to build on and expand on ANGOC’s ongoing initiative on participatory evidenced-based documentation linking access to land to food security.

On the other hand, ALRD will organize a meeting with CIRDAP Head Quarter in Bangladesh to discuss Bangladesh Government’s project on “One House, One Farm” as an initiative to alleviate poverty in Bangladesh.

BARD Director General (left), CIRDAP Director General (center), and ALRD Deputy Executive Director (right) discuss initiatives on poverty alleviation. Photo by ALRD.

[1] Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Iran, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam