Bangladesh briefs Lithuania over Rohingya situation, seeks support

Bangladesh has briefed Lithuania on the crisis faced by Bangladesh with the forcibly displaced Rohingya nationals from Myanmar and called the Lithuanian side to extend necessary support with a view to resolving the crisis.

The issue came up for discussion broadly at the Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) held between Bangladesh and Lithuania at Vilnius recently.

Secretary (Bilateral & Consular), Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Kamrul Ahsan led Bangladesh delegation while Vice-minister of Lithuania Foreign Ministry Albinas Zananavicius led the Lithuanian side.

Bangladesh Ambassador in Moscow and concurrently accredited to Lithuania Dr SM Saiful Hoque and other officials of Lithuanian Foreign Ministry were also present.

Both delegations agreed that the pending visit of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh and the visit of their Prime Minister to Bangladesh should be organised soon.

Bangladesh and Lithuania will sign a number of documents to strengthen bilateral cooperation between the two countries on all fronts.

Both sides agreed that agreement on cooperation in the field of agriculture and MoU between Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), Bangladesh and Lithuanian Confederation of Industrialists (LPK) will be signed soon, said the Foreign Ministry here on Tuesday.

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Foreign Office Consultations, as agreed, will be signed too.

During the FOC, Ambassador Ahsan appreciated the Lithuanian side for hosting the FOC. He called for more engagement and investment of the Lithuanian government in Bangladesh.

He encouraged the Lithuanian businessmen to set up joint ventures in Bangladesh, especially in the garments sector.

The Bangladesh side urged the Lithuanian side to ease the business visa while the Lithuanian vice-minister assured that they will consider the matter.

Both sides discussed the importance of Government-to-Government contacts and institutional cooperation for promoting the economic cooperation.

The Lithuanian side informed that they have expertise in ICT, e-commerce, e-governance and aviation maintenance sectors. Currently, 02 (two) Lithuanian companies are working in IT sector in Bangladesh.

The Bangladesh side encouraged the Lithuanian side to be engaged in Bangladesh in the sectors as well as to obtain land at high-tech parks.

Source: unb