Bangladesh, Russia agree on visa-free system for diplomats, officials

Bangladesh and Russia have signed an agreement for easing the movement of diplomats and officials without visas.

The foreign ministers of the two nations -- AH Mahmood Ali and Sergey Lavrov -- signed the “Agreement on Visa-free visit for persons holding diplomatic and official (service) passports” on Thursday evening (local time) at UN headquarters in New York at what was described as a historic meeting by Bangladesh’s foreign ministry.

During the meeting, the foreign ministers discussed issues of mutual interest between their two countries.

They also discussed the possibility of a visit by Russian Prime Minister Medvedev to Dhaka sometime in early 2017, dates for which will be worked out through diplomatic channels.

Russia thanked Bangladesh for its “constructive and balanced role” at the UN on various issues of mutual concern.

The Russian side showed interest in formalising a few agreements, including inter-governmental cooperation and maritime cooperation and sending a delegation to Dhaka to carry the ongoing discussions forward.

Ali thanked the Russian government for its continued support to Bangladesh and especially referred to the implementation of the country's first nuclear power plant with Moscow’s assistance.

Foreign Secretary Md. Shahidul Haque was present during the meeting.