Bangladesh has underscored the need for holding the first meeting of the Joint Commission on Trade Promotion and Economic Cooperation soon with the Czech Republic to achieve the objectives of the agreement on Trade and Economic Cooperation signed between Bangladesh and the Czech Republic in 2019. The first round of bilateral consultations between Bangladesh and the Czech Republic, held recently at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, discussed the matter. Foreign Secretary Md Jashim Uddin and Jiří Kozák, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic led their respective delegations in the bilateral consultations. Jashim recalled the signing of an MoU between the Federation of Bangladesh Chamber and Industry (FBCCI) and the Czech Chamber of Commerce in 2013 and emphasised the necessity of functional interaction between the chambers and SMEs of the two countries to identify potential investment opportunities. He also urged his counterpart to facilitate the issuance of business visas. Jashim requested the Deputy Minister to consider signing a draft agreement between the government of Bangladesh and the Czech Republic on reciprocal promotion and protection of investments. At the onset, the Foreign Secretary briefed his counterpart on the July-August student-citizens-led revolution, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He outlined the vision and ongoing reform initiatives undertaken by the Interim Government to restore accountability and transparency in governance in Bangladesh. During the consultations, the two sides had in-depth discussions to identify areas of cooperation to deepen existing bilateral relations. Bangladesh sees no major change in Dhaka-Washington ties with Trump's return Both the Foreign Secretary and Czech Deputy Foreign Minister noted that there is potential to expand bilateral trade further. They agreed to intensify mutually beneficial cooperation in science & technology, ICT, energy and climate change. Both the Foreign Secretary and the Czech Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs expressed willingness to explore collaboration in the areas of manpower export, means of identifying prospective students for higher education in the Czech Republic and promoting people-to-people contacts. Both sides also exchanged views on potential cooperation between the two countries within the framework of the European Union. Prior to the bilateral consultations, Foreign Secretary Jashim Uddin met State Secretary of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic Vladimír Mana, Vice President of the Czech Chamber of Commerce, Radek Jakubsky, and Director-General of the Employment Policy, Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the Czech Republic, Kateřina Štěpánková in Prague.