Bangladesh has offered to host an Asian Institute for Poverty Alleviation (AIPA) at the 6th Asian Cooperation Dialogue (ACD), a foreign minister-level conference that concluded in Seoul yesterday.

Foreign Adviser Iftekhar A Chowhdury, who led a Bangladesh delegation at the event, acted as the co-prime mover and placed the proposal, said a foreign ministry press release.

The ACD also adopted the Seoul Declaration on Information Technology and set up a high-level study group to provide guidelines for future action, and agreed to reconvene in Kazakhstan next year. Foreign ministers from 30 Asian countries took part in the event. At the meet, Iftekhar Chowhdury presented Bangladesh's high credentials in poverty alleviation by outlining its achievements in homegrown pioneering initiatives such as micro-credit, non-formal education and government-NGO partnerships.

These experiences can be shared with other countries for Asia's benefit, he added.

South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon, also the ACD chairman, welcomed the proposal of AIPA as an 'excellent idea' that deserves consideration.

"The potentials of Asia are immense, and if we can cooperate with one another effectively, the future will belong to us," Iftekhar remarked while talking to the media later.