Online Desk :

Bangladesh and Canada have expressed mutual commitment to transforming the existing excellent Bangladesh-Canada bilateral relations to comprehensive partnership. The two friendly countries are keen to advance bilateral trade, investment, educational cooperation, technological innovation, migration and mobility, climate change, cyber security, maritime security, and cooperation on regional and international issues of mutual interest and concerns in this regards.

These were observed when Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen held a meeting with visiting Canadian Deputy Minister of International Development Christopher MacLennan on Sunday afternoon at the foreign ministry here, said a press release today.   At the meeting, they also expressed eagerness to explore cooperation under the Bangladesh’s Outlook and Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy.

The Foreign Secretary highly appreciated Canada’s development cooperation to Bangladesh over the years since 1971 and highlighted the progression of the Bangladesh-Canada relations beyond the traditional development cooperation-driven relationship to robust trade partnership over the last decades. As Bangladesh will graduate from the LDC status by 2026, the Foreign Secretary suggested that Canada may take advantage of Bangladesh’s strategic location and economic infrastructure coupled with enabling policies to boost trade and investment between the two countries.

Canadian Deputy Minister highly appreciated Bangladesh’s economic progress over the last one and a half decade and expressed Canada’s eagerness to adopt a more mature approach in leveraging development assistance to Bangladesh. He indicated that Bangladesh’s graduation from the LDC status will facilitate robust economic partnership between the two friendly countries. The Canadian Deputy Minister appreciated Bangladesh for hosting the forcibly displaced Rohingyas.

The Foreign Secretary expressed concern over the ongoing situation in Myanmar, which has hindered the Rohingya repatriation. He thanked Canadian government for its humanitarian support to the Rohingyas, temporarily sheltered in Bangladesh and its political support towards resolving the Rohingya crisis. High Commissioner for Canada in Bangladesh Her Excellency Lilly Nicholls and Bangladesh foreign ministry’s acting Director General (Americas) Kazi Russel Pervez, among others, were also present at the meeting. Christopher MacLennan, Deputy Minister of International Development of Canada, is on a 3-day maiden official visit to Bangladesh.