Bangladesh to open mission in Afghanistan

Bangladesh is going to open a mission in trouble-hit Afghanistan as it aims at expanding its diplomatic posts around the globe.

Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali told Parliament on Wednesday the government considered “geo-political and strategic interest” in taking decision to open a new mission.

He hoped the Bangladesh mission at Warsaw in Poland, Vienna in Austria and Copenhagen in Denmark would be opened by September this year as the process was at the final stage.

In opening up those missions, he said, the government also considered building “intensive relations with the internationally important countries”.

The minister was replying to a written question of women reserved seat MP Pinu Khan.

The minister said the public administration ministry had already cleared the opening of the mission in Kabul of Afghanistan and the finance ministry was going to approve it.

Setting up new missions in Khartoum of Sudan, and Freetown of Sierra Leone got approval of the public administration ministry and was awaiting approval of the finance ministry, he added.

Moreover, he said the public administration ministry also approved setting up of fully fledged Dhaka missions in Bucharest of Romania, Abuja of Nigeria and Algiers of Algeria, and Deputy High Commission in Chennai and Assistant High Commission in Guwahati of India.

Mahmood Ali hoped the government would take initiatives to open Bangladesh missions at Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, Accra in Ghana and Darus Salaam in Tanzania.

The government was also considering opening Bangladesh missions in Argentina and Chile, he said replying to another question from Awami League lawmaker Nizam Uddin Hazari of Feni-2 constituency.