Online Desk:  Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud today proposed to form a “Joint Business Task Force” coordinated by the apex business bodies of Bangladesh and the Gambia to expand trade cooperation between the two countries.

He made the proposed during a bilateral talk with his Gambian counter Dr Mamadou Tangara on Friday on the sidelines of the OIC’s 15th Summit Pre- preparatory Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held in Banjul, Gambia, a foreign ministry’s press release said here today.

During the meeting, the Gambian foreign minister praised Bangladesh’s remarkable success in the agricultural sector and expressed his intention to expand trade cooperation between the two countries.

He also expressed his deep appreciation to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for her solidarity with the Muslim Ummah by sheltering Rohingyas displaced from Myanmar in Bangladesh.

Tangara also thanked the Bangladesh government for its financial assistance in the Rohingya genocide case, according to a media release on Saturday.

Bangladesh foreign minister congratulated the Gambian foreign minister for chairing the OIC’s 15th Summit Pre-Preparatory Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and expressed his hope to work together to enhance cooperation in various fields of the OIC during Gambia’s presidency.

Expressing satisfaction at the existing friendly relations between the two countries, Hasan said that the Gambia may recruit Bangladeshi manpower for its agriculture sector.

The two foreign ministers also put emphasis on the OIC’s strong role in resolving the Palestinian issue.

Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen, Bangladesh’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Dr Javed Patwary were present at the meeting, among others.