UK dispels Brexit concern for Bangladesh

The visiting British permanent under-secretary for Foreign Affairs has said that the UK is “determined” to renew and strengthen relations with long-standing friends like Bangladesh.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 28 March 2017, 03:24 PM
Updated : 28 March 2017, 03:29 PM

“As the UK prepares to leave the EU, our relationship with Bangladesh will matter even more,” Simon McDonald said in a joint press statement after the first Bangladesh-UK strategic dialogue held on Tuesday in Dhaka.

He said the UK would “remain outward-looking and a champion for free trade” as the process of leaving the European Union bloc began.

Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque led the Bangladesh side in the dialogue that took stock of the whole range of bilateral relations including the ongoing issues of countering terrorism, aviation security and returning of Bangladeshis living illegally in Britain.

The UK also agreed to expand the criteria for ‘3-5 day’ priority visa services for Bangladeshi applicants from June 2017.

The UK is the third single largest destination for Bangladesh’s exports where all products enjoy duty-free market access following the EU’s 'everything but arms regime'.

Brexit means fresh negotiations would be needed for Bangladesh to retain the access but Bangladesh is likely to retain its position as a close trade partner.

According to the joint press statement, both Bangladesh and the UK agreed to strengthen bilateral trade and to work together to encourage more foreign direct investment.

They agreed “to build shared prosperity through widening and deepening the existing excellent bilateral relations for the benefit of both countries”.

They condemned the recent terrorist acts in both countries and expressed sympathy for the victims.

Both sides agreed that countering terrorism required global collaboration to address the root causes and to uphold respect for the rule of law and international human rights commitments.

During the dialogue, they also celebrated the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.

Simon conveyed the good wishes of the British Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary to their Bangladeshi counterparts on Bangladesh’s Independence Day. 

The UK congratulated Bangladesh on the “impressive” socio-economic development achieved in recent years, including in the empowerment of women and appreciated Bangladesh’s significant contribution to UN peacekeeping operations.

“The Strategic Dialogue involved a productive exchange on political and bilateral issues, economic and development cooperation, security and defence cooperation and current global issues”.

“A joint statement will be issued in due course,” according to the press release.

Both sides valued the deep historical ties between Bangladesh and the United Kingdom.

The UK highlighted the valuable contribution made by the large British-Bangladeshi community to British society and the economy.

Both countries noted the election of three members of the community to the British Parliament and the appointment of one member as the UK Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Bangladesh.

The UK welcomed Bangladesh’s commitment to take back its citizens who no longer have the right to remain in the UK and Bangladesh gave an “assurance” that it will take “practical steps” to expedite their return.

As the UK had earlier suspended the direct cargo flights from Dhaka, at the dialogue, it reaffirmed “its willingness to provide necessary assistance and both sides agreed to carry out a ‘Joint Assessment’ to identify the remaining improvements needed and draw up an action plan”.

“Once these necessary improvements are in place, the UK agreed to take steps for the resumption of cargo on UK-bound direct flights from Dhaka”.

Both sides decided to maintain “an efficient and high quality” visa service for Bangladeshi nationals.

They also confirmed that all visa decisions are taken by British staff and added that decision making on settlement visas for Bangladeshi nationals was being moved from New Delhi to the UK.

The UK also “appreciated” the enormous burden that Bangladesh has been bearing in hosting a significant number of Muslims of the Rakhine State of Myanmar.

Both countries agreed to work together to find a permanent solution to the problem in Myanmar.

The dialogue confirmed a shared commitment to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The UK, as Bangladesh’s largest bilateral grant development partner, assured of its continued commitment to this development.

As both sides signed a MoU to continue the dialogue every year before the beginning of the talk, the next dialogue will be held in London in the first half of 2018.

Haque, the Bangladesh foreign secretary, said this platform would “offer us an opportunity to regularly exchange views on a broad range of bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest and shape the future of our bilateral cooperation”.

Simon said this annual dialogue would “allow us to deepen our cooperation on security, prosperity and economic development”.