Apart from taking stock of the current status of bilateral relations, the two sides exchanged views on socio-economic developments and human rights.
Both the countries also talked about a whole array of multilateral, regional and global topics of mutual interests, including Agenda 2030, Climate Change, Universal Periodic Review and recent developments in various regional fora.
The issues came up for discussion at the fourth round of bilateral political consultations between Bangladesh and Switzerland held at the State Guest House Meghna.
Ambassador Raphael Nageli, the Assistant State Secretary for Asia-Pacific of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland, and Ambassador Kamrul Ahsan, Secretary (Bilateral and Consular) to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh, led the respective delegations during the consultations
On the same day, the Swiss delegation held a meeting with the inter-agency committee of the Government of Bangladesh at the Ministry of Commerce.
This committee was formed in September 2018 as a follow up to the Swiss presidential visit of February 2018 with the aim to promote bilateral trade and investment between Switzerland and Bangladesh.
The economic relations between Switzerland and Bangladesh are growing rapidly, according to Swiss Embassy in Dhaka.
The trade volume has almost tripled since 2010.
Ambassador Nageli and the Swiss delegation, which also includes Ambassador Thomas Gass, the Assistant Director General of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC, met International Affairs Adviser to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, DrGowherRizvi and the Principal Coordinator for SDG Affairs at Prime Minister’s Office, Md. AbulKalam Azad.
The delegation also met with the representatives of the civil society, business, diplomatic community, International Organizations and INGOs during their stay in the city.
Earlier on March 31, a five-member Swiss delegation arrived here to participate in the consultations.
During their stay in Bangladesh, the Swiss delegation travelled to the Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar on Monday to obtain a first-hand impression about the ongoing humanitarian crisis.
Since 2017, Switzerland has committed more than US$30 million in humanitarian aid to alleviate the sufferings of the Rohingyas as well as the host communities.
Some members of the Swiss delegation will travel to Rajshahi and ChapaiNawabganj on Wednesday and Thursday to visit a number of development projects supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC.
Under its current cooperation strategy, Switzerland is providing development assistance to Bangladesh in key areas such as income and economic development, democratic governance and safer migration.
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