Bangladesh and the European Union (EU) on Thursday expressed willingness to sign a “partnership cooperation” agreement to elevate the relations to next level.
However, it is still at an initial stage as it requires extensive discussions and negotiations.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam together with Deputy Secretary General of the European External Action Service (EEAS) Enrique Mora conveyed two sides' willingness regarding such a mechanism.
They jointly briefed the media in the middle of the first ‘political dialogue’ at State guesthouse Padma on Thursday evening.
The two sides met for the first time in such high-level discussions for providing strategic guidance and intensifying foreign and security policy cooperation.
State Minister Shahriar Alam led the Bangladesh delegation at the dialogue while Deputy Secretary General of the European External Action Service (EEAS) Enrique Mora led the EU side.
Issues of shared interest such as peacebuilding, conflict prevention, Indo-Pacific, Ukraine issue, connectivity, climate change, security and counter-terrorism were discussed at the dialogue.
EU Ambassador to Bangladesh Charles Whiteley was also present.
In October 2021, the two sides agreed to launch the political dialogue when Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen met the Deputy Secretary General of the European External Action Service (EEAS) in Brussels.
The EU acknowledged Bangladesh’s growth momentum and new confidence as a nation and looked forward to engaging further with Bangladesh on issues of shared interest, including through focus on the Indo-Pacific, said the officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
