Bangladesh and Qatar want to expand the existing ties with broader cooperation in the areas of manpower, energy, trade and investment following the planned visit of Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to Bangladesh next month. The two countries are in discussion to finalise nearly a dozen of cooperation documents which will be signed during the visit, said a source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The two-day visit is likely to take place on April 21-22, he said.  The two sides are now working on the MoUs and agreements that will be signed after the Emir’s meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Cease-fire talks with Israel and Hamas are expected to resume Sunday in Qatar The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already held an inter-ministerial meeting to discuss various aspects of the visit. In March last year, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had a meeting with the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on the sidelines of the United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries (LDC5) in Doha. She sought increased energy, particularly LNG, from Qatar to meet the energy demands. The State of Qatar recognised Bangladesh as a sovereign State on March 4, 1974 following the 2nd OIC Summit held in February 1974. Qatar assures support for Bangladesh's media sector development Bangladesh opened its diplomatic mission in Doha on June 25, 1975. The State of Qatar reciprocated by opening its diplomatic mission in Dhaka in 1982. Bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Qatar are based on mutual respect, shared values, common religious ground, shared culture, and tradition. People-to-people contacts bolstered by more than four hundred thousand Bangladeshi workers who are highly appreciated as disciplined and hardworking is one of the dominant features of bilateral relations, according to the MoFA. Bangladesh and Qatar consider each other as brotherly countries and important development partners in materialising Bangladesh’s Vision 2041 and Qatar’s vision 2030. Read more: Bangladesh ambassador accredited to Hungary presents credentials to Hungarian president

The United States said it is looking forward to deepening relationship and cooperation with Bangladesh on a number of key issues, “regardless of political party or candidates.” "Our hope for any election taking place around the world is that they are free and fair and accessible," Vedant Patel, principal deputy spokesperson for the US Department of State, said during a press briefing on May 15 (US time) at the State Department while responding to a question. But beyond that, he said, he has nothing else to offer insight on when it comes to “political parties or candidates or anything like that.” Also Read: As per Vienna Convention, host country must ensure protection of all diplomatic personnel: US State Dept He said, last year the two countries celebrated 50 years of diplomatic relations.   Earlier, US Deputy Assistant Secretary Afreen Akhter visited Bangladesh and attended the 6th Indian Ocean Conference on May 12-13. “It’s an honor to have the opportunity to learn more about Bangladesh’s struggle for freedom and democracy," she tweeted, mentioning that the Liberation War Museum movingly conveys what Bangladeshis experienced during that time.  Also Read: US doesn’t endorse one political party over another in Bangladesh: State Department.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday (May 16, 2023) called for economic cooperation among the countries in South and Southeast Asia for mutual benefits of the people in the regions.  The prime minister said this while outgoing Ambassador of Republic of Korea, Lee Jang-keun, called on her at her official residence Ganabhaban. PM’s press secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed reporters after the meeting. He said that PM Hasina admired South Korea’s success in transforming into a developed country within a generation. Also Read: PM delivers 4-point recommendations at 79th UNESCAP Session She mentioned that this success inspired Bangladesh in its endeavour to steer the nation towards development and prosperity. The PM recalled her two visits to South Korea, saying that during the second visit she witnessed the amazing development there. While highly appreciating the socio-economic development of Bangladesh under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the outgoing ambassador expressed deep appreciation for extensive cooperation and hospitality demonstrated by the PM and Bangladeshis during his tenure in Bangladesh. Ambassador Lee shared with the Prime Minister recent milestone development in relations between Korea and Bangladesh in multiple areas such as trade, official development assistance, expatriate workers and investment in the year of 50th anniversary of South Korea-Bangladesh diplomatic ties in 2023, the South Korean Embassy in Dhaka said. Read More:PM Hasina: Keep up the country’s dev momentum to foil anti-national conspirators Ambassador Lee explained that the trade between South Korea and Bangladesh crossed the $3 billion mark in 2022 and $2 billion in 2021 for the first time, which was stagnant at around $1.5-1.8 billion over a decade before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ambassador of China to Bangladesh Yao Wen on Saturday said Bangladesh and China "should deepen the strategic partnership" for cooperation and explore new growth points. "China is willing to work with Bangladesh to continue exploring cooperation opportunities under the Global Development Initiative (GDI), Global Security Initiative (GSI) and Global Civilization Initiative (GCI)," he said. In particular, the ambassador said, they are willing to promote upgrading of industries and digitalization process in Bangladesh, and to improve the quality and competitiveness of “Made in Bangladesh”. He was delivering keynote speech at a symposium as part of the Cosmos Dialogue Ambassadors’ Lecture Series entitled "Bangladesh-China Relations: Prognosis for the Future" at a hotel in Dhaka. The discussion was chaired and conducted by President of Cosmos Foundation and renowned scholar-diplomat and former Advisor on Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh Caretaker Government Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury. While delivering the welcome remarks, Chairman of Cosmos Foundation Enayetullah Khan said Bangladesh and China are moving closer together as friends on the international stage. The ties received a major boost during the visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to China in 2019 and the watershed point of this transformation was President Xi Jinping’s all-important visit to Bangladesh in 2016, he said, adding that this heralded the beginning of the “strategic partnership”. "It is a great source of inspiration to Bangladeshis as we witness China’s peaceful rise. We know from President Xi that the Chinese people have a dream; so do we in Bangladesh as we strive to achieve middle-income status, of which we are on the cusp," Khan said. "It is my firmest conviction that ties with China will continue to form the bedrock of our efforts to fulfill these aspirations," he added. Dr Iftekhar Chowdhury said it appears to all of them that China is rising; and the Chinese saw this as a peaceful rise. “Now, being even more careful, they no longer talk of ‘peaceful rise’ but only peaceful development,” he said, adding that established global powers, of course, see this as a threat. Referring to PM Hasina’s visit to Beijing in 2014 and President Xi’s visit to Bangladesh in 2016, he said these visits saw an “all-weather” friendship elevate to a strategic partnership. Dr Iftekhar said Bangladesh-China relations are, therefore, emerging as an equation in the diplomatic calculations in Asia that will not fully show for itself tomorrow, nor the day after but in the long run in a continent where time for many is not the essence. Also Read:Momen sees hope for Rohingyas' repatriation in latest Chinese initiative Ambassador Yao said his country has noticed the “Indo-Pacific Outlook of Bangladesh” released recently, and believes that many of its ideas are similar to those of China.    

Russian Ambassador to Bangladesh Alexander Mantytskiy has said his country wants to continue cooperation with Dhaka – namely, in trade and economy, and the implementation of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant – despite the "sanctions pressure by the US and the countries of the collective West" Mantytskiy said this during a meeting with the Jatiya Sangsad Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury. During the conversation Thursday, the mutual commitment to strengthening friendly relations between the parliaments of Russia and Bangladesh was confirmed, including under the auspices of the relevant friendship groups established for the exchange of the best practices of national legislation. Read more: Moscow thanks Dhaka in light of UN vote  

State Minister for ICT Division Zunaid Ahmed Palak has said there is a lot of potential for partnership and cooperation with Kosovo in the areas of e-commerce, online marketplaces and online payment gateways. “We are connected and dependent in this globalised world. The future lies in planning today for an inclusive and sustainable digital economy. We all must be on this journey together,” he said. The state minister said cooperation and partnership with software development companies and IT outsourcing in Kosovo could be an excellent opportunity for Bangladesh to start a mutual collaboration. “If you want to go fast and far, innovate together,” he said, quoting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and emphasised working together to build a better world. The state minister was speaking at a reception hosted by Kosovo Ambassador to Bangladesh Güner Ureya and his wife Umeri-Ureya on the occasion of the 15th Anniversary of the Independence of Kosovo held Sunday night at a hotel in Dhaka. Palak said Bangladesh has a strong commitment to fostering friendship and cooperation with all the nations. Ambassador Güner said despite many challenges and difficulties, Kosovars are immensely proud of the progress of their country and people. After the liberation, with the support of the majority of the international community, including Bangladesh, Kosovo had a transitional period of fewer than nine years, he said, mentioning that Kosovo declared its independence on February 17, 2008. “The Republic of Kosovo, the youngest country in Europe, has advanced remarkably in every area over the past 15 years.  Today we have a functional, prosperous, stable and multi-ethnic state with a diverse society and steadily growing economy,” said the ambassador. He hoped that his beautiful country would be recognised by all South Asian countries. “We have good dialogue with some countries which still don't recognise us, but this is not enough. We deserve and need official recognition. For example, Bangladesh, one of the South Asian countries, as well as Pakistan and the Maldives recognised us and now we have a friendly and very close relationship with them,” said the envoy. He said they also want to establish diplomatic relations and develop cooperation with other South Asian countries, such as India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan. Despite difficulties and challenges, he said, Kosovo will continue to strengthen itself, contribute to regional peace, integrate into Euro-Atlantic structures, and move forward as a respected entity of the international community. Current and former diplomats, senior officials from the ministry of foreign affairs and business leaders were present at the event. Read more: Kosovo says its excellent relation with Bangladesh a model  

Faced with a world of change and disorder, China and Europe should strengthen cooperation to inject more stability into the world, Wang Yi, a senior Chinese diplomat, said on Saturday. Wang, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remarks when meeting with the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell during the 59th Munich Security Conference. Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, said that China and the EU are partners, not rivals, and their consensus far outweighs their differences. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and the EU. Both sides should remain committed to the partnership, respect each other's core interests, cherish the fruits of cooperation, and usher in an even better next two decades, he noted. Also Read: Blinken: China’s balloon incursion ‘must never happen again’ China has successfully pulled through a pandemic and is ready to fully restart exchanges with Europe and the rest of the world, Wang said. He suggested that the two sides may actively prepare for a new China-EU leaders' meeting, make full use of high-level dialogue mechanisms in various fields, and bring bilateral exchanges back to pre-epidemic levels as soon as possible. The essence of China-EU economic and trade relations is complementary and mutually beneficial. Both sides should maintain openness and cooperation, resist decoupling, and work together to maintain the stability of the global production and supply chain, Wang said. Wang expressed the hope that the EU and its members abide by the one-China principle and maintain the political foundation of China-EU relations. Borrell said that the European side has always been promoting EU-China relations in a mature and candid manner, stressing that the EU firmly upholds the one-China policy, recognizes the government of the People's Republic of China as the sole legal government representing the whole of China, supports China's efforts to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and will translate the principle into the political relations between the EU and China. The EU hopes to strengthen high-level exchanges with China and promote cooperation in various fields, which benefits not only Europe and China but also the entire world, Borrell said. The EU side is willing to work with China to prepare for the next meeting between EU and Chinese leadership for in-depth exchanges of views on issues of common interest, said Borrell. On the Ukraine crisis, Wang stressed that the Chinese side adheres to promoting peace talks and is willing to strengthen communication with the EU, making consistent efforts toward a political settlement.  

State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid has sought cooperation from Japan to implement Bangladesh's integrated energy and power master plan.  "Japan can help prepare and implement a smart and detailed master plan which will take forward other sectors from behind,”  he told Iwama Kiminori, the newly appointed Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh, while making a courtesy call on him at the power and energy ministry on Tuesday.   The state minister said that a smart power and energy master plan is needed for a smart Bangladesh. Welcoming the newly appointed ambassador of Japan, he said Bangladesh will require $30 billion in investment in the next 5 years to implement the projects to be undertaken under the master plan. He floated an idea that a joint operation and maintenance company could be formed which could save both money and time for Bangladesh. "JICA can support Bangladesh Power Management Institute to make it an international standard institution," he added. During the meeting they discussed various issues related to mutual interest. Progress of different projects in the power and energy sector including Matarbari Power Hub, underground cables and sub-stations, prepaid meters, smart meters, gas meters and upcoming projects also came up for discussion. The ambassador thanked the State Minister for 100 percent electrification and said that Japan will always cooperate in the development activities of Bangladesh. He said Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will work on capacity building for human resource development in Bangladesh. Iwama Kiminori said that many more small and large Japanese companies are showing interest in coming to Bangladesh after witnessing the success of the Japanese company ONUDA in manufacturing gas meters. He also said that the concept of 'Smart Bangladesh' will transform Bangladesh into a developed Bangladesh by 2041.    

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md. Shahriar Alam has said Bangladesh and Eswatini can establish cooperation in agro-production, agro-processing and food security areas in the context of growing demand for food and essential commodities. He mentioned the remarkable success that Bangladesh has achieved in agriculture and social development sectors including achieving targets of the MDGs. The State Minister had bilateral talks with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Kingdom of Eswatini Thulisile Dladla in Mbabane on February 6. The High Commissioner of Bangladesh to South Africa and high officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were present at the meeting. The visit comes following the visit of the Minister for Commerce, Industry and Trade of Eswatini Manqoba Khumalo to Dhaka in July 2022. The MoU between Bangladesh and Eswatini on “Establishment of Comprehensive Consultation Mechanism” and the memorandum of agreement on “Contract Farming and Agricultural Cooperation” were signed by State Minister Alam and his counterpart Thulisile Dladla, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday. During the talks, both sides discussed possibilities of establishing contract farming by Bangladeshi entrepreneurs in Eswatini and agreed to work on the matter. Both sides also agreed to explore possibilities of cooperation in agro-processed and food industries. Jabulani Mabuza, the Minister of Agriculture of Eswatini, said agriculture is a major potential area of cooperation between Eswatini and Bangladesh. He said a delegation from the Eswatinian Agriculture Ministry may visit Bangladesh to share knowledge in the agriculture sector. He invited Bangladeshi agricultural farms to establish contract farming in Eswatini. The Eswatinian side showed interest in sharing knowledge in agricultural production, agro-commercialization as well as agro-research and extension areas with Bangladesh. The Foreign Minister of Eswatini expressed desire to enhance the present level of relations with Bangladesh. She maintained that Eswatini looked to develop business and investment relations with Bangladesh and suggested the conclusion of the MoU between FBCCI and the Eswatinian apex chamber of commerce in the field of business cooperation. The State Minister conveyed the greetings of President Md. Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to King Mswati III. Alam stressed on promotion of trade and investment relations between Bangladesh and Eswatini to the mutual benefit of the two countries. He underlined the need of conclusion of agreements in visa waiver for diplomats and official passport holders and avoidance of double taxation with a view to promoting contacts, trade and business. The State Minister invited the Eswatinian armed forces officers to join courses in defence institutions in Bangladesh. Briefing on the opportunities of higher education in Bangladesh private universities, he suggested that Eswatinian students may opt to study in different private universities in Bangladesh.    

France wants to enhance cooperation with Bangladesh and will have “ever closer” cooperation with countries of the Indo-Pacific, “significantly with Bangladesh” to address major challenges in terms of climate change and security, says a visiting senior French official. “It gives us a golden opportunity to review the common works we pursue together, decide new projects and initiatives across the board,” Bertrand Lortholary, Director for Asian Affairs (General Political Directorate) at the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs told reporters on Thursday. France and Bangladesh share the same vision for a “free, open, peaceful, secure and inclusive” Indo-Pacific region, based on international law and with shared prosperity for all. Responding to a question, Lortholary said there is a lot the two countries can do and military to military cooperation is part of that defence and security cooperation. “When we talk about security, we also talk about the security of maritime transport, traffic of goods on the oceans, and tackle together illegal fishing. We are also talking about the peacekeeping operations where Bangladesh has a prominent position,” he said. Read more: France lauds Bangladesh's steady, outstanding development Earlier, the French official had a political consultation with the Bangladesh side led by Director General (West Europe and EU) Kazi Russel Pervez and discussed issues of mutual interest including  economic cooperation , people to people exchanges, connectivity, scientific cooperation and issues related to climate change. Ambassador of France to Bangladesh Marie Masdupuy, Deputy Head of Mission Guillaume Audren de Kerdrel and Deputy Director, French Development Agency (FDA) Cecilia Cortese were also present at the meeting.   “We are enjoying a thriving relationship. We have a very solid foundation,” said the French official, referring to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s state visit to France in November 2021. During Hasina’s state visit, the two countries stated their will to further develop the defence and security component of their partnership. To that end, both countries agreed to strengthen dialogue and continue their cooperation, in particular the area of training, which was launched during the visit. Read more: France keen to work together with Bangladesh for economic, social benefits The two countries will be holding the second consultation in Paris next year.