Khaleda , also current chairperson of Saarc, made the call while she was inaugurating the Second Sub-regional Parliamentary Seminar on HIV/AIDS in South Asia organised by Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) at Hotel Sonargaon in the city.

"We must also learn from our mistakes and successes, and critically review our past experiences in order to move forward," she told the seminar attended by members of PGA from both home and abroad, diplomats and representative of international organisations.

Some important steps at regional level have been taken to fight HIV/AIDS, she said adding that the South Asian leaders at the recently concluded 13th Saarc Summit in Dhaka welcomed the preparation of a collective Saarc strategy to prevent the spread of the disease in the region.

The South Asian leaders also ratified the Saarc convention on trafficking of women and children which, while protecting women and children, will help prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. The leaders also approved the Saarc Development Goals (SDGs), one of which is to contain HIV/AIDS, she added.

Quoting UN-Aids that some 8.2 million people were living with HIV/AIDS at the end of 2004, she said a number of countries in Asia have shown either nation-wide epidemic or serious and localised epidemic.

The Prime Minister said it is feared that Aids epicenter is gradually shifting from Africa to Asia and experiences also indicate that HIV/AIDS has no racial, class or religious bias. "No country can claim immunity from HIV epidemic.

Bangladesh has so far been fortunate to remain a low-prevalent country with regard to HIV/AIDS, Khaleda said.

Members of Parliament of 112 national parliaments belong to the PGA and its first seminar was held in Islamabad last year.

The two-day seminar was sponsored by Canadian CIDA, Norway government, UNAIDS, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), UNDP, United Nation development fund for women, UNFPA and WHO.

Health Minister Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, PGA President Ross Robertson MP, member of PGA international council Zahiruddin Swapan and seminar coordinator and opposition chief whip vice-principal Abdus Shahid also addressed the inaugural session.

Dr Nafis Sadik, special envoy of the UN Secretary General for HIV/AIDS in Asia and the Pacific delivered the keynote speech.

Khaleda said Bangladesh government has been sincere in combating HIV/AIDS from the very beginning and a National Aids policy is now in place.

The Prime Minister expressed her happiness seeing that the seminar aims to strengthen the role of policy and lawmakers in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

"I can assure you that our government will give the highest importance to the recommendations of this seminar," she told the function amid claps from the audience.

She also took the opportunity to congratulate the formation of the Bangladesh Parliament Members Support Group on HIV/AIDS and Human Trafficking and hoped that this would be a forum of parliamentarians from all major political parties represented in national parliaments.

"This pioneering, voluntary initiative creates a platform for lawmakers, civil society members, HIV-positive people and development partners to act together for a common cause," she said expressing optimism that this forum would contribute significantly towards combating HIV/Aids in the country.

Dr Nafis Sadik said international help for HIV/AIDS is increasing but it will not provide all the elements needed to strengthen reproductive health networks nor external assistance can supply the all-important political will.

She said the parliamentarians have a unique role in preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS in the sub-region.