A consular team of Romania is scheduled to arrive in Dhaka on March 5 as the country is likely to issue visas to more than 15,000 Bangladesh citizens from March to September this year. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) spokesperson Seheli Sabrin confirmed this during a weekly briefing on Thursday. Required steps have already been taken by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to help conduct the Romanian consular mission in Dhaka, she said. Read more: India can be a mediator in resolving the Ukraine war: Momen tells Indian media Last year a consular team from Romania stayed in Dhaka for three months and issued around 5,400 visas. As the mission was run successfully, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen sent a letter to his Romanian counterpart requesting him to operate another consular mission. After that, Romania showed interest in running a consular mission in Dhaka for six months from March to September to facilitate the issuance of visas to Bangladeshis. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is making all the arrangements for the operation of the consular mission of Romania in Dhaka.  

The first consular consultations between Bangladesh and the UAE were held in Abu Dhabi Wednesday. The Bangladesh delegation was led by Ambassador Mashfee Binte Shams, secretary (east) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA). Senior officials from the ministry, representatives from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment, and officials of the Bangladesh Embassy in Abu Dhabi, as members, joined the consultations. The UAE delegation was led by Faisal Essa Lutfi, assistant undersecretary, Consular Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, of the UAE. Read more: MoU on ‘e-visa’ inked between Bangladesh-UAE They discussed consular issues related to Bangladesh nationals living and working in the UAE as well as their welfare. It also covered the area of easing the visa renewal process, regularisation of over-stayers, cooperation in the area of combating human trafficking, and money laundering. It was decided that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to form the legal framework for a joint consular committee would be concluded soon for holding such meetings on a regular basis on a larger scale with wider participation and broader agenda.