Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, adviser to the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, has called for merging the culture and tourism ministries to ensure better coordination.

As a special guest at the National Film Conference 2025 at Dhaka University's Nabab Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate Bhaban yesterday, Farooki remarked during his speech, "Our ministries are divided in a rather peculiar manner. You will notice this in former colonial countries. The culture and tourism ministries in Korea, Iran, and Italy are not separate; they operate as one. We, too, need to bring the entire cultural industry under the Ministry of Cultural Affairs."

Organised by the Bangladesh Film Students' Association (BFSA) under the theme "Reforming Cinema, Changing Nation," the event saw the participation of over 500 individuals, including film students, academics, filmmakers, journalists, industry professionals, and actors.

The stakeholders have called for the formation of a dedicated ministry for film affairs within the next three months under the current interim government. They argued that running the film industry solely under the Ministry of Information has become increasingly challenging, as coordinating with multiple ministries has led to administrative complications.

Mostofa Sarwar Farooki further stated, "You are demanding a separate ministry for cinema. Practically, this will not happen. However, I believe we will at least set things in motion before we leave so that the next government can properly advance the cultural industry. The entire cultural sector should be brought under one umbrella."

Although Information and Broadcasting Ministry Adviser Md Nahid Islam was scheduled to attend the conference as the chief guest, along with interim government adviser Mahfuz Alam as a special guest, neither of them was present

"As an adviser to the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, I should have access to essential data — the number of cinematographers currently working, the number unable to find work, the number of existing cinema halls, and the number that have shut down. All this information should be consolidated in one place. The entire cultural industry should be under a single umbrella. However, for whatever reason, that is not the case. As a result, it becomes extremely difficult for us to take coordinated initiatives," Farooki exclaimed. 

The cultural affairs adviser believes that many issues could be resolved if proposals were carefully assessed and implemented. However, that has not been achieved so far.

He further stated, "We will present some policy-level proposals to the cabinet. The Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Tourism must be merged. Except in former colonial countries, you will not find these two ministries functioning separately anywhere else."

"When you create something that enriches a nation's culture, it benefits tourism. Likewise, developing tourism supports culture. Take South Korea's BTS as an example. The entire framework should be unified under one umbrella—that is the proposal we intend to make."

Among the stakeholders who spoke at the event were Nazrul Institute's executive director and lyricist Latiful Islam Shibli, producer Shahriar Shakil, director duo Shaheen-Suman, film critic Sadia Khalid Riti, director Raihan Rafi, actor Imtiaz Barshon, actress Jannatul Ferdous Oishee, and cinema hall owner Aowlad Hossain, among others.

The event was moderated by Al Amin Rakib, convener of the Ministry of Information's search committee and former president of the Bangladesh Film Students' Association.

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The event commenced with a one-minute silence in honour of the martyrs of the July Revolution. Following this, the association's General Secretary Jarin Tasnim, delivered the welcome address.