Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev on Thursday said his country is keen to deepen ties with Bangladesh and take the bilateral relationship to a new height, hoping that Bangladesh will grow and prosper under the leadership of Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus.

"Your task is very challenging. But I know you are the one who can surmount the challenge," President Aliyev said when he met Prof Yunus on the sidelines of the COP29 global climate conference in the Azerbaijan capital Baku.

He congratulated Prof Yunus for assuming the leadership of the interim government and said Bangladesh will grow and prosper under his (Prof Yunus) leadership.

Prof Yunus is scheduled to return home on Thursday night, an official told UNB.

The Azerbaijan President said a high-level team of the Azerbaijan government will visit Bangladesh early next year to sign a comprehensive arrangement deal with Bangladesh.

He said his country is keen to invest in Bangladesh and is exploring the possibility of opening an embassy in Dhaka as both nations see increasing opportunities for trade, commerce, and international cooperation.

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President Aliyev also praised the student-led July August revolution, saying he has been following events in Bangladesh for months.

Chief Adviser Prof Yunus also called for stronger ties between the two nations.

He said both nations could prosper if there were increased bilateral trade, people-to-people interactions, and cooperation in major international forums.

Prof Yunus also stressed job opportunities for more Bangladeshis in the oil-rich central Asian nation.

Hundreds of Bangladeshis have found jobs in the shipbuilding industry in the country in recent years.

Read more: COP29: Bangladesh to advocate for action, increased financial commitments

President Aliyev said Azerbaijan has fought corruption through the digitalisation of its services. He expressed his interest in sharing their digitalisation experiences with Bangladesh.

Lutfey Siddiqi, Special Envoy to the Chief Adviser, Lamiya Morshed, Senior Secretary and Principal Coordinator of SDG Affairs, and M. Amanul Haq, Bangladesh ambassador to Turkey and Azerbaijan, also attended the meeting.