Politicians and development activists at a conference yesterday recommended cooperation and political will among developing countries to make use of reproductive health and population control gains and settle other development problems.

They urged the South-South Cooperation's 25 member-countries to work together in attaining its goals alongside UN's Millennium Development Goals.

The inaugural of the two-day "International Inter-Ministerial Conference on Evidence for Action: South-South Collaboration for ICPD beyond 2014" was held in the capital' s Ruposhi Bangla Hotel.

Partners in Population and Development (PPD), an intergovernmental alliance of 25 developing countries promoting South-South Cooperation, and the Ministry of

Health and Family Welfare organised the conference.

Some 100 ministers, politicians and health activists from 24 countries shared knowledge and discussed challenges and opportunities on population control, family planning and reproductive health in the conference.

South-South Cooperation describes resource, technology and knowledge exchange among developing countries for balanced and sustainable development by addressing reproductive health, population and development problems.

Addressing as chief guest, Finance Minister AMA Muhith said Bangladesh's population growth rate should be zero by 2040 as it came down from 3 to 1.34 percent in 40 years while the fertility rate reduced from around 7 to 2.3 percent.

He said healthcare, family planning and population management

must be together. "The second thing is to take the services door-to-door" while commitment on various fronts was most important, he said.

Ghulam Nabi Azad, the health and family welfare minister of India, said population control and family planning were central to achieving the International Conference on Population and Development's (ICPD) goals by 2014 and MDGs by 2015.

Ajaratou Isatou Njie Saidy, vice president of Gambia's women's affairs ministry, said population control was not all about numbers but a question of political will and improving life quality.

Health and Family Welfare Minister AFM Ruhal Haque chaired the ceremony and Chen Li, vice minister of National Population and Family Planning Commission, China, also spoke.