Bangladesh, Greece hold second political dialogue

Bangladesh and Greece have discussed bilateral issues in the second political consultations held in Dhaka on Sunday.

The foreign ministry said on Monday Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque led the Bangladesh side while his counterpart Ambassador Dimitrios Paraskevopoulous led the Greeks in the dialogue.

The first political consultation between the countries took place in Athens in April 2010.

The meeting discussed exchanging views on regional and international issues of mutual interests.

Both sides agreed to work together “to deepen and widen areas of cooperation”.

Haque briefed the Greek side about Bangladesh’s progress and invited businesses to explore investment potentials in Bangladesh.

He requested them to consider increasing import of Bangladeshi goods.

The Greek delegation expressed interest about enhanced economic collaboration in agriculture, infrastructure, construction, and shipping sectors.

They also exchanged views on how to make attestation of documents easier for Bangladeshi expatriates living in Greece. Both sides agreed to work together to organise high-level visits.

The foreign secretary briefed his counterpart on the relations of Bangladesh with its neighboring countries.

The meeting exchanged views on regional and international issues, particularly the on-going refugee and migration crisis in Europe.

Shahidul briefed Paraskevopoulous about the preparation for the 9th Global Forum for Migration and Development (GFMD) to be held in Dhaka in December.

The Greek secretary promised to send a high-level delegation to participate in the GFMD in Dhaka.

He also called on State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam and exchanged views about ways and means for further strengthening and consolidating ties.

The state minister encouraged him to open a new Greek embassy in Dhaka at the earliest to facilitate enhanced people-to-people contact.
 
He said it would also boost bilateral relations in economic, cultural, educational and related spheres.
 
The Greek foreign secretary then visited the Language Martyrs Monument and one Greek installation inside the Dhaka University.
 
He also gave a talk on “Migration and Security” at the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS), the foreign ministry said.
 
Bangladesh Ambassador to Greece Md Jashim Uddin and Greek Ambassador to Bangladesh non-resident Panos Kalogeropoulos, among others, were also present during the meetings.