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Published : 08 Jul 2026, 11:59 AM
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has called on Vietnamese businesspeople and entrepreneurs to invest in Bangladesh and to import Bangladeshi pharmaceutical products at affordable prices.
According to a press release issued on Wednesday by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the appeal was made during a high-level bilateral meeting between the home ministers of Bangladesh and Vietnam. The meeting took place on Tuesday at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
The Bangladeshi delegation was led by Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, while the Vietnamese delegation was headed by Vietnam's deputy minister of public security, Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Long.
The home minister is currently in New York to attend the 5th United Nations Chiefs of Police Summit (UNCOPS), held at the UN Headquarters. The five-member Bangladeshi delegation is scheduled to return home on Jul 12 after the conference, which is being held on Jul 7– Jul 8.
Recalling the historic diplomatic relations established between Bangladesh and Vietnam on Feb 11, 1973, Salahuddin said that Bangladesh attaches the highest importance to its longstanding friendship and multifaceted partnership with Vietnam.
He expressed satisfaction over the significant growth in bilateral trade, investment, connectivity, and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries in recent years.
Noting that bilateral trade has already exceeded $1 billion, the home minister said:
"A Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) between the two countries will be signed, and this will soon double the volume of bilateral trade."
The Minister thanked the Vietnamese government for allowing the import of potatoes from Bangladesh and requested Vietnam to import internationally certified Bangladeshi pharmaceutical products at competitive prices. He also invited Vietnamese businesses and entrepreneurs to take advantage of Bangladesh's attractive investment environment by investing in the country.
During the meeting, both sides reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening bilateral relations, enhancing security cooperation, expanding trade and investment, and working together to combat human trafficking and irregular migration.
According to the press release, the two sides also held detailed discussions on visa-related difficulties faced by Bangladeshi citizens residing in Vietnam, as well as the repatriation process for irregular migrants. The home minister presented specific proposals to the Vietnamese government regarding the return of irregular Bangladeshi migrants.
He also requested Vietnam to simplify and relax its visa procedures for genuine Bangladeshi tourists, business travellers, legally employed workers, and applicants for family visas.
Highlighting the importance of cooperation between law enforcement agencies, the minister said:
"Institutional communication between the home ministries of the two countries needs to be strengthened to effectively combat human trafficking, drug smuggling, and transnational crime."
The Vietnamese side assured Bangladesh that the issues raised during the meeting would be given serious consideration and expressed optimism that the friendly relations between the two countries would reach new heights in the future.
