Bangladesh, Slovenia ink MoU on FOC

Bangladesh and Slovenia has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Foreign Office Consultation (FOC) to consolidate further the relationship between the two friendly countries in the political, economic and other fields.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh Md. Shahriar Alam and State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia Ms. Darja Bavdaz Kuret signed the MoU on Friday at the “BRDO Convention Centre” in Ljubljana, according to a message received here today, reports BSS.

The state minister is on a three-day official trip to Slovenia, which is the first-ever ministerial-level visit between the two countries since the establishment of diplomatic 2016-06-25_bss-39_749733relationship in 1996.

The Slovenian foreign minister during his meeting with Shahriar Alam termed the signing of the MoU an important milestone to consolidate further the relationship between the two friendly countries in the political, economic and other fields.

During the meetings, the both sides stressed on regular exchanges at the political, official and business level to further deepening and strengthening the existing bonds of friendship between the two countries.

“There was room for enhancing bilateral relations between the two countries in various fields,” she observed.

The state minister briefed the Slovenian leaders of Bangladesh’s robust socioeconomic progress under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and invited them to see for themselves the development spree in Bangladesh.

Both the Slovenian foreign minister and the state secretary assured their full cooperation as a member of the EU and bilaterally towards Bangladesh’s progress and prosperity.

Praising Bangladesh’s spectacular growth in agriculture, textiles, pharmaceuticals and energy, the Slovenian leaders underlined that the two countries could collaborate in renewable energy and power generation, small scale high-tech industries and other sectors.

Requesting Bangladesh to explore using Slovenian port which is a gateway to the Central Europe, the Slovenian minister also stressed on cooperation in the field of shipping.

The “Copper Port” of Slovenia is currently being used by Asian countries like South Korea, China and Japan for shipment of their exportables to various Central European countries.

At the meeting with the head of Slovenian chamber, the state minister underscored the importance of institutional cooperation arrangements between the apex chambers of the two countries and regular exchange between the private sectors of the two countries to identify ways and means to enhance bilateral trade.

The state secretary of the Slovenian Foreign Ministry informed Alam that they were planning to send a high-level Slovenian business delegation to Bangladesh end of this year to explore business opportunities and enhance cooperation with Bangladeshi businessmen.

Bangladesh Ambassador to Vienna Mohammed Abu Zafar was present during the meetings.

Earlier, Shahriar Alam called on Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia Karl Erjavee at his office, President of Slovenian National Assembly (Speaker of Slovenian Parliament) Milan Brglez and the Head of the Slovenian Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Friday.

He also exchanged views with a group of Slovenian businessmen and investors who are already in the process of exploring business opportunities in Bangladesh.

Alam’s visit coincided with the 25th anniversary celebration of the State of Slovenia. He also attended the anniversary celebration event at the invitation of Slovenian President Borut Pahor.

The celebration event was also attended by the presidents of Germany, Croatia, Italy and Austria, the message said.


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