Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Thursday called for united efforts to build a successful state, saying cooperation at all levels remains crucial for development and good governance.

“We must work together as a team, setting aside differences and divisions. Only then can we establish a just and prosperous society,” he said at an exchange meeting at the Local Government Division conference room at the Secretariat.

Fakhrul said individuals, society and the state remain closely interconnected. He noted that the government now works to implement the prime minister’s plans amid what he described as a battered economy and weakened state structure. “We run the state with taxpayers’ money, so ensuring accountability to the people stands as our moral duty,” he said.

Local Government Division Secretary Rezaul Maksud Jahedi presented an overview of the ministry’s activities at the meeting.

The minister said many state institutions weakened or lost public confidence over the past 15 years. The government has taken various initiatives to reactivate and strengthen those institutions, he added. “Strengthening institutions means not only fixing administrative structures but also restoring public trust. Effective institutions form the foundation of a strong and development-oriented state,” he said, urging collective efforts to make the reform process sustainable and productive.

Fakhrul said rural hardship reflects a social reality, not merely emotion. The government seeks to ease that hardship through job creation and rural development initiatives. He said the prime minister has prioritised improving law and order and curbing corruption to restore peace and security for citizens.

State Minister Mir Shahe Alam said the ministry maintains direct links with ordinary people and must work responsibly to uphold development and democracy. He described the election manifesto and the declared 31-point agenda as a social contract with the people and called for joint efforts to build a corruption-free, just and development-driven state.

Senior officials of the ministry and heads of departments under it attended the meeting.