Bangladesh and Canada will sign agreements on educational and agricultural cooperation for mutual advantage of the two countries, according to a press release received from Ottawa yesterday.
Foreign Minister Dipu Moni, who concluded a five-day bilateral visit to Canada yesterday, said Bangladesh may benefit from such agreements in the areas of human capacity building and agricultural research.
The decision to explore signing the agreements was taken during a meeting between Foreign Minister Dipu Moni and her Canadian counterpart at the latter’s office in the Parliament Hill.
Dipu Moni paid her first bilateral visit to Canada on February 13-17 at the invitation of Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon.
This is the first visit by a Bangladesh foreign minister to Canada since 1999, which has coincided with the 39th anniversary of Canada’s recognition to independent Bangladesh on 14 February 1972.
A wide range of national and international issues of mutual concern were discussed between the two foreign ministers who also expressed satisfaction over the increase of trade between the two countries.
During the talks, they recognised the shared values of democracy, rule of law and freedom that have bonded the two countries so strongly and that allowed them to forge close cooperation in the areas of trade, socio-economic development, human rights, international peace, security, and the like.
They agreed to explore signing of Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) on educational and agricultural cooperation for the mutual advantage of the two countries.
The two foreign ministers discussed the current crisis in the Middle East and hoped that the appreciation of the people in that region for peace and prosperity will be achieved.
Bangladeshi foreign minister urged for increased Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) particularly in the areas of power and energy, which her Canadian counterpart assured to consider favourably.
Earlier, she attended a working lunch hosted in her honour by Dipak Obhrai, parliamentary secretary to the Canadian foreign minister, where bilateral issues and other matters of common interest were discussed. She was also interviewed by the prestigious Embassy Magazine.
