Visiting President of East Timor Jose Ramos Horta on Monday paid a courtesy call on President Mohammed Shahabuddin at Bangabhaban.
The President welcomed the President of East Timor with flowers upon his arrival at Bangabhaban in the afternoon, president's press secretary Joynal Abedin told UNB.
During his meeting with the President of East Timor, President Shahabuddin said that this is the first visit of any President of East Timor to Bangladesh.
Reception held at Bangabhaban for Bir Shrestha family members
He hoped that President Jose Ramos Horta's visit will enhance diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and East Timor as well as people-to-people contacts between the two countries.
Saying that Bangladesh is one of the first countries to recognize East Timor after independence, the president emphasized the importance of increasing mutual cooperation between the two countries in various areas including food security, poverty alleviation, healthcare, infrastructure and human resource development, energy and climate change.
Mentioning the importance of human resource development to meet the challenges of a changing world, President Shahabuddin stressed the need for the two countries to work together to find new areas of cooperation in research, training and higher education.
Welcoming the initiative of East Timor to open an honorary consulate in Bangladesh, the President expressed the hope that this would open new horizons in diplomatic relations between the two countries and further strengthen multilateral cooperation, including trade and investment.
President Shahabuddin hosts Victory Day reception at Bangabhaban
The President said that Bangladesh has a large pool of skilled doctors, engineers, agriculturists, information technology specialists, and graduates with technical knowledge.
He said that East Timor can accelerate its development by utilizing the skilled manpower of Bangladesh.
President of East Timor Jose Ramos Horta said that his country attaches importance to developing relations with Bangladesh.
He hoped that Bangladesh and East Timor would work together to exploit the potential areas of development.
Foreign Affairs Advisor Touhid Hossain, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Advisor Syeda Rizwana Hasan, and Secretaries to the President were present during the meeting.
Later, East Timorese President José Ramos Horta signed the visitor's book.
Earlier on the day, President José Ramos Horta who was accorded a red carpet reception on his arrival here on Saturday night on a four-day official visit went to the National Martyrs’ Memorial in Savar to pay homage to the heroes of Bangladesh’s Liberation War.
He then attended the 54th Victory Day celebrations, marking Bangladesh’s historic victory in 1971 on the third day of his visit.