Bangladesh, Slovenia embark on new engagements as Dhaka renews old ties

After Croatia, Bangladesh state minister for foreign affairs is visiting Slovenia in a first-ever ministerial visit as part of Dhaka’s efforts to renew old ties.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 25 June 2016, 02:42 PM
Updated : 25 June 2016, 02:42 PM

The foreign ministry said Md Shahriar Alam met Speaker of the parliament, senior political as well as business leaders, and attended the 25th anniversary celebration of the State of Slovenia at the invitation of President Borut Pahor.

He also signed an MoU for foreign office consultations with his Slovenia counterpart Darja Bavdaz Kuret on Friday in capital Ljubljana at the historic room at the “BRDO Convention Centre", where the Slovenian Constitution had been signed in 1992.

Slovenian leaders showed interest to deepen ties with Bangladesh, especially in the fields of bilateral trade, energy, science and technology, agriculture, and light industries.

The Slovenian Foreign Minister termed the visit and the signing of the MoU “important milestones” to further consolidate relations.

Bangladesh was also urged to explore the use of a Slovenian port serving as th gateway to Central Europe.

The ‘Copper Port’ of Slovenia is currently being used by Asian countries such as South Korea, China and Japan to ship exports to various Central European Countries.

Bangladesh and Slovenia had established diplomatic ties in 1996, but relations go back to the history of Bangladesh.

After the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971, a good number of wounded freedom fighters were sent to this former Yugoslav state for medical treatment and recuperation.

Alam called on Karl Erjavee, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia at his office.

He also met the President of the Slovenian National Assembly, also Speaker of the Slovenian Parliament, Milan Brglez, and the Head of the Slovenian Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Thursday upon his arrival for the three-day official visit.

He also interacted with a group of Slovenian businessman and investors already exploring business opportunities in Bangladesh.

During the meetings, the both sides stressed regular exchanges at the political, official, and business levels to deepen and strengthen the friendship between the two countries.

The Slovenian Foreign Minister observed that there was room to enhance bilateral relations between the two countries.

The state minister, during his meetings, briefed the Slovenian leaders of Bangladesh's robust socio-economic progress under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and invited them to see for themselves the development spree in Bangladesh.

The State Secretary of the Slovenian Foreign Ministry informed Alam that they were planning to send a high-level Slovenian business delegation to Bangladesh towards the end of this year to explore business opportunities and enhance cooperation with Bangladeshi businessmen.

Bangladesh Ambassador to Vienna Mohammed Abu Zafar, among others, was present during the meetings.

Earlier, the state minister visited the Croatia capital of Zagreb in the first-ever ministerial-level visit after the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1997.