Bangladesh, Oct. 14 -- Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan on Tuesday proposed a pilot project in Cox's Bazar with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to convert saline water into safe drinking water.

Highlighting future water security challenges, the minister warned that excessive dependence on groundwater could threaten the availability of safe water in the coming years. He sought UAE cooperation in developing a system to turn saline water into quality drinking water to help address the challenge.

Moyeen Khan made the proposal during a courtesy meeting with UAE Ambassador to Bangladesh Abdullah Ali Al-Hamdi at his office in the Secretariat on Tuesday.

The minister also stressed the need to i...