Visiting Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina attend a bilateral session at the latter’s office in the capital on Thursday.
Bangladesh on Thursday reiterated its support to ‘two-state solution’ involving Palestine and Israel and deplored the new Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory.
Bangladesh ‘reaffirmed its everlasting support to Palestinian state’, foreign secretary M Shahidul Haque said while briefing reporters after the official talks between prime minister Sheikh Hasina and visiting Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas at the Prime Minister’s Office, according to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha.
Noting that Palestine state was now at a ‘critical moment’, he said, ‘The two-state solution involving Palestine and Israel that we have been hearing for long time has become questionable due to Israeli aggression against Palestine.’
Against this backdrop, Haque said Bangladesh renewed its support to an international decision that adopted ‘two-state solution’ meaning that Palestine and Israel would be separate states.
Simultaneously, Bangladesh reiterated its everlasting support to Palestinian people at different forums including the United Nations, he said.
The foreign secretary said during the talks the prime minister condemned fresh Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory.
It was the maiden official tour to Bangladesh by any Palestinian president after the visit of former president Yasser Arafat in 1997.
‘Palestinian movement had inspired Bangladesh in its War of Independence war in 1971,’ Haque quoted the prime minister as saying.
Mahmoud thanked and appreciated Bangladesh for its unequivocal support to independent Palestine state. ‘Like many countries, Bangladesh didn’t give recognition to Israel and we want that Bangladesh would maintain the policy,’ the Palestinian president said.
‘We had to recognise Israel but Bangladesh did not do it, and for this, we thank Bangladesh,’ Haque quoted the Palestinian leader as saying.
The foreign secretary said Mahmoud Abbas mentioned that the Palestinian people are interested to set up two states through peaceful negotiations. ‘So we sought Bangladesh’s continued support to it (two-state solution),’ Abbas said.
After the talks, Bangladesh foreign minister AH Mahmoud Ali and Palestinian foreign minister Riyad Al Maliki signed a memorandum of understanding for holding annual foreign secretary-level foreign office consultations between the two countries.
Replying to a question on boosting trade relations between Bangladesh and Palestine, Haque said the Palestinian side proposed to send a business delegation soon to explore potentials of trade and commerce between the two countries.
The foreign secretary mentioned that civil students like accountants and medical students as well as military students from Palestine now come to Bangladesh for study purpose.
The Palestinian president and the Bangladesh premier held a tete-a-tete at the PMO.
Mahmoud Abbas called on his counterpart Abdul Hamid at Bangabhaban on Thursday evening.
President Hamid, during his meeting with Abbas, stressed the need for immediate removal of all the barriers that stand in the way of making Palestine an independent state, president’s press secretary Joynal Abedin said, according to United News of Bangladesh.
He said Bangladesh would continue offering scholarship for Palestinian students for higher study and different training courses to the Palestinians armed forces officials.
Hamid hosted a banquet in honour of Abbas.
Earlier in the afternoon, Mahmoud Abbas paid homage to the martyrs of Bangladesh’s Liberation War by placing a floral wreath at National Mausoleum on the outskirts of Dhaka.
He also visited Bangabandhu Memorial Museum and paid respect to the founding president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Bangabandhu Bhaban at Dhanmondi.
Abbas, who arrived on a three-day state visit, would leave Dhaka today [Friday].
Source: New Age
