Bangladesh's Ambassador to Spain Mohammad Sarwar Mahmood on Friday held a meeting with the newly appointed Spanish Secretary of State for International Cooperation (State Minister) Eva Maria Granados Galiano at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation.
The ambassador thanked the government of Spain for the warm congratulatory message from President Pedro Sánchez addressed to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina following her landslide victory in the election, read a press release.
Now that both Spain and Bangladesh have newly re-elected governments in office, the two sides expressed the conviction that the cordial bilateral relations would be further strengthened and widened in the days to come.
The ambassador briefed Galiano about the spectacular forward march of Bangladesh led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and requested Spain to persuade other development partners in the EU to extend the GSP+ trade preferences to Bangladesh beyond 2029.
He also requested the secretary's good offices in facilitating the early signing of several bilateral instruments under process. He particularly called for Spain's proactive support to Bangladesh's stance on the repatriation of the forcibly displaced Rohingyas.
Galiano assured him of Spain's continued support to Bangladesh on the issue and informed that last year Spain, under the EU's assistance framework, provided 0.8 million euros for the education of the Rohingya children.
She expressed Spain's keen interest in facilitating and promoting the learning of the Spanish language in Bangladesh. The Ambassador called for closer engagement between Bangladesh and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID).
