Bangladesh and Cambodia on Tuesday agreed to further boost bilateral ties in industry, trade, commerce, culture and agriculture.
The agreement came at the official talks between the two countries held at the Prime Minister’s Office here this afternoon.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina led the Bangladesh side at the talks, while the Cambodian side was headed visiting Premier Hun Sen.
The two Premiers held one-to-one meeting before the start of the formal talks.
After the talks, PM’s Press Secretary AKM Shameem Chowdhury and Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque briefed the newsmen.
The Cambodian Prime Minister assured her Bangladesh counterpart that he would support Bangladesh’s bid to become a “dialogue partner” of ASEAN.
Shahidul said Cambodia is a successful ASEAN nation and Hun Sen has a long experience in leading the regional grouping.
AKM Shameem Chowdhury said that the talks were held in a warm and cordial environment and the two Premiers mentioned that both the countries have similar experiences in their struggle for independence.
Sheikh Hasina and Hun Sen shared their experiences and feelings in the their liberation wars, saying that the people of both countries sacrificed their lives, suffered pain and gained independence through war.
The official talks focused on three major areas: trade, agriculture and culture.
The two Prime Ministers felt that there is scope of greater cooperation in the fields of education, culture and tourism centering the Ganges-Mekong Cooperation. The cooperation has six countries: India and other five countries of the Mekong basin.
The Bangladesh Prime Minister expressed Dhaka’s interest in joining the group. Hun Sen assured Sheikh Hasina that he would work to this end.
The two sides agreed to establish a joint commission to identify new areas of cooperation and coordinate and deepen existing cooperation in various areas.
The two sides agreed to form a joint trade council to be headed by commerce ministers of the two countries.
Bangladesh plans to hold single country trade fair in Cambodia in 2015.
Shahidul Haque said Bangladesh hopes to get benefit in trade and commerce with Cambodia as the ASEAN country has become a big market of Bangladeshi products.
Agriculture Minister Begum Mtatia Chowdhury, Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor, State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam, Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque and Press Secretary AKM Shameem Chowdhury were present at the official talks.
Source: UNB Connect
