Bangladesh's disaster management minister said Tuesday that the country will make efforts to link the country with global forecasting system on natural disasters, including tsunami.

Food and Disaster Management Minister Chowdhury Kamal Ibne Yusuf made the remarks when addressing a seminar jointly organizedby his ministry, the Comprehensive Disaster Management Program andthe Bangladesh Earthquake Association here, according to the official news agency BSS.

Kamal Ibne Yusuf said modern equipment and machinery would be purchased and installed to quickly respond to natural disasters like earthquake and to start rescue operations immediately to minimize the loss of life and property.

Experts called for working together to hammer out strategies toface the challenges of earthquake and tsunami without being frightened. They further suggested imparting training to people oncyclone, flood, tsunami and earthquake.

The minister said tsunamis have caused havoc in Asia. "We have to take immediate steps to face post-tsunami and post-earthquake situation," he added.

The Bangladesh government will form a trained force comprising representatives from the armed forces, the police, the Bangladesh Rifles, the fire service and civil defense, and the Dhaka City Corporation to launch rescue operation if earthquake or tsunami hits the country.

The decision was made at an inter-ministerial meeting here Monday after assessing the risk of earthquake and tsunami, and thecountry's preparedness to face such a natural catastrophe that recently killed over 140,000 people and devastated the countries around the Indian Ocean.

The meeting also decided to set up a mobile hospital to deal with post-disaster situation.

Experts at the meeting said though only two persons were reportedly killed in a boat capsize in the Bay of Bengal on Dec. 26 last year, Bangladesh narrowly escaped the tsunami triggered bya strong earthquake off Indonesia.

They said there might be a disaster had the tsunami hit Bangladesh like Indonesia and Sri Lanka as the country had hardly any preparation in terms of launching rescue operation.

To receive prior warning of tsunami, Bangladesh will soon make efforts to become a member of International Coordination Group forTsunami Warning system in the Pacific.