Bangladesh and Finland have committed to build cooperation in bilateral trade and investment to enhance bilateral trade up to its potential.
The issue was discussed at the third round of Bangladesh-Finland political consultations held in Helsinki on Thursday (May 16), says a foreign ministry press release.
Kamrul Ahsan, Secretary-Bilateral (Europe, Africa & Americas) and Consular led the Bangladeshi delegation, while the Finnish delegation was headed by Sipilaionen Anne Marjaana, Under Secretary of State for Foreign and Security Policy.
Bangladesh Ambassador to Finland (with residence in Stockholm) Md Nazmul Islam and Foreign Ministry Director General Mohammad Khorshed A. Khastagir attended the meeting.
The Finnish side informed that a two day seminar on "Doing Business with Finland" would be organised in Bangladesh in November 2019 to promote more business between the two countries.
Both sides also emphasized on promoting cooperation in education sector, including creating more opportunities for Bangladeshi students and professionals for higher education, research and vocational education by building partnerships among the educational institutions of the two countries.
The Finnish side was briefed regarding different ongoing mega projects. Referring to Bangladesh’s rapidly growing economy, Bangladesh side invited Finnish business to avail new opportunities and possibilities offered by Bangladesh.
Bangladeshi side also raised the issue of difficulty faced by Bangladeshi people, especially students, in procuring visas from New Delhi. The Finnish side assured to take practical steps to ensure ease of getting visas.
Referring to regional and international issues, the Bangladeshi side briefed on the Rohingya refugee crisis. Dhaka urged Helsinki and EU to increase pressure on Myanmar to compel them to take back its nationals from Bangladesh in a sustainable manner and to hold Myanmar armed forces accountable for ethnic cleansing in Rakhine state.