Bangladesh, Germany discuss refugee, terrorism issues in political talk

In a political dialogue, known as Foreign Office Consultation (FOC), Bangladesh and Germany have discussed a wide-range of bilateral issues including refugees, migration and the scourge of global terrorism.

Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque led the Bangladesh side while his counterpart Markus Ederer led the German side at the dialogue in Berlin on Monday, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

They agreed “to work closely to further strengthen the mutual cooperation”.

The Bangladesh side particularly stressed on working together on the new development agenda and sought Germany’s technical support in skills development.

Germany is one the largest development partners of Bangladesh. It is also a major importer of Bangladesh’s garments, where the product enjoys duty-free market access.

Germany also hosts “economic migrants” from Bangladesh who took shelter with the refugees from the war-ravaged middle-eastern countries. Berlin earlier insisted that all the economic migrants must go back to their own country.

However, it is not clear what was discussed at the meeting regarding that specific issue.

The foreign ministry said both sides focused on Europe while exchanging views on the ongoing refugee and migration crisis during the meeting.

They further discussed about migration and mobility within the context of the upcoming Summit on the Global Forum for Migration and Development (GFMD) to be held in Dhaka in Dec 2016.  Bangladesh is the chair of this global forum.

Both sides also vowed to work together to address the surge of terrorism and violent extremism.

The FOC also discussed ways of increasing German investments in Bangladesh and stressed that two-way high level political visits can take the relations “to a new height”.

They also discussed regional and international issues of mutual interest.

The next FOC will be held in Dhaka next year.

Meanwhile, the foreign secretary met with Parliamentary State Secretary for the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development Hans-Joachim Fuchtel on the sidelines of the FOC.

He thanked him for his “sustained support” for transforming the Bangladesh readymade garment industry into a sustainable sourcing option for the global supply chains, the foreign ministry said.

The secretary also spoke at an round-table on “Bangladesh 2030 and beyond” at the headquarters of Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), a political foundation of the Social Democratic Union (SDU) which is a member of the ruling coalition.