KATHMANDU; Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith of Bangladesh today advised the leaders of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to set up the proposed SAARC Food Bank to control skyrocketing prices of food and meet the ever-increasing demand for food in the region.

To ensure food security in the region, chiefs of central banks of SAARC last year met in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, to outline a long-term strategy in fighting hunger in the region.

Muhith said that the food bank was an old but effective concept to help ensure food supply in the region in times of emergency.

“The SAARC region is vulnerable to food insecurity,” he said, adding, “I believe that establishing a food bank will effectively address the issue,” Muhith added.