Greek FM intends to visit Bangladesh to explore trade

FT ONLINE

Greek Foreign Minister Nikolaos Dendias has expressed his desire to visit Bangladesh with a business delegation to explore trade and investment opportunities in the country.

He showed this intention responding to his Bangladesh counterpart Dr. AK Abdul Momen’s invitation to him to visit Dhaka while having a bilateral meeting between them in Athens on Tuesday.

The meeting was held as Bangladesh foreign minister put his last leg in Greece as a part of his four nations tour in Europe after Germany, France and Italy, focusing on economic diplomacy.

This was the first-ever official bilateral meeting at the foreign ministers’ level between Dhaka and Athens.

During the meeting, the two foreign ministers exchanged views on all issues of mutual interests, with putting special emphasis on enhanced economic cooperation by building partnerships in areas like information technology, shipping, training, education and cultural cooperation.

Momen highlighted the investment opportunities offered by Bangladesh and invited investment from Greece.

Greek foreign minister praised the Bangladesh government for showing an extraordinary humane attitude while dealing Rohingya crisis and assured of support as an individual state and as a member of the EU in resolving the issue peacefully.

He also appreciated Bangladesh’s leadership role in global migration discourse while both sides agreed to further strengthen the mutual cooperation in the area of migration.

The two leaders also discussed the regional and global issues of mutual interest.

They reiterated their commitment to strengthen cooperation in the UN and other international organizations on issues like climate change, migration, and support each other in different international bodies where Bangladesh and Greece share common views and positions.

On the issue of climate change, the Greek minister explained their plan to host a summit next year to discuss the impact of climate change on cultural heritage and sought Bangladesh’s support in this regard.

Momen assured him that Bangladesh would stand ready to join any initiative to address the challenges of climate change.

Bangladesh foreign minister also highlighted the role of Bangladesh in global peacekeeping and peacebuilding, and the Culture of Peace promoted by Bangladesh.

Momen briefed his counterpart on the initiatives of Bangladesh to celebrate “Mujibborsho” – the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and invited the Greek minister to join the celebration.

The two foreign ministers signed an MoU on Cooperation in Diplomatic Training after the bilateral talks.

Another MoU on Cooperation between Faculty of Fine Art, Dhaka University and Athens School of Fine Arts was also signed at the meeting.

Deputy Minister for Migration Policy Affairs of Greece Giorgios Koumoutsakos and Bangladesh Ambassador in Athens Jashim Uddin also participated in the meeting.