Republica: Kathmandu: Saturday,
February 18, 2017.
National
Information Commission (NIC) and Bangladeshi Information Commission have signed
a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote cooperation in the field of
Right to Information (RTI) budget and strengthening information dissemination
in the online media platforms.
According to
a press statement issued by the NIC, the MoU was signed by NIC Chief
Information Commissioner Krishna Hari Banskota and his Bangladeshi counterpart
Prof Dr Md Golam Rahman in Dhaka on Wednesday. The seven-point MoU also agrees
to jointly organize training programs on RTI and conduct research on the RTI
situation in all eight countries in South Asia.
NIC Chief Information
Commissioner Banskota and Commissioner Yashoda Timsina had visited Dhaka to
sign the MoU.
Talking to
Republica, Chief Information Commissioner Banskota said the MoU has paved the
way for the cooperation between the information commissions of the two
countries. "Besides other activities, we have agreed to conduct a
comparative study of RTI in eight SAARC countries and replicate best practices
in our respective countries," said Banskota.
As per the
MoU, senior commission officials of both the countries will hold meetings on a
regular basis and exchange cooperation in enhancing their expertise, knowledge,
experience and in the development of human resources. Among other things, the
two commissions will also exchange their publications on RTI as per the MoU
that will remain effective for five years.
Speaking at a
function organized to sign the MoU, Bangladeshi Information Minister Hasnul Haq
Inu expressed commitment that his government stands ready to extend all
possible assistance to enhance cooperation between information commissions of
Nepal and Bangladesh. Also speaking on the occasion, Bangladeshi Chief
Information Commissioner Dr Rahman expressed happiness to have signed the MoU
with the information commission of Nepal.