Handout                                                                                                                 Number : 2490

Bangladesh-Brunei First Bilateral Consultation Held in Dhaka 

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Dhaka, 9 September: 

First ever Foreign Office Consultations between the Foreign Ministries of Bangladesh and Brunei took place today at the State Guest House Meghna. Foreign Secretary (Senior Secretary) Md. Shahidul Haque led the Bangladesh delegation while Hajah Siti Norishan Haji Abdul Ghafor, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, led the Brunei side.

The meeting was held in a warm and cordial atmosphere. While both sides expressed satisfaction at the current state of bilateral relations, they stressed on the need for regular exchange of visits, including at the highest level, as well as regular contacts and interaction between leaders and officials, to steer bilateral cooperation.

During the meeting, major areas of bilateral cooperation were discussed at length. Both parties agreed to sign three finalized MoUs- (i) MoU on Cultural and Arts Cooperation; (ii) MoU on Cooperation in the Field of Youth and Sports; and (iii) MoU on Scientific and Technical Cooperation in Agriculture. Brunei has also agreed for an “Exchange of Notes” for the exemption of visa requirements for holders of diplomatic and official passports as well as expediting the proposed draft MoU on Cooperation in the Field of Fisheries and Air Services Agreement by Bangladesh. All the finalized instruments may be signed during the VVIP visit, likely to be scheduled in 2019.

Bangladesh and Brunei have also agreed to explore working on a bilateral instrument to promote collaborative efforts in higher education to facilitate exchange of academic experience, research findings and collaborative research in technical and vocational education to create a pool of skilled manpower in various trades. Brunei also agreed to continue offering scholarships for Bangladeshi students. 

Both sides recognized the need for deeper cooperation among the financial institutions to ensure smooth services for enhanced bilateral trade and investment. As such, both countries agreed to work for a formal collaboration mechanism between central banks and relevant institutions.

Brunei has expressed keen interest to invest in BEZA to for intermediary products which will be taken to Brunei for further value addition for exporting to ASEAN and other world markets. Also, they have shown interest to invest in Bangladeshi hotel business.

Both countries expressed interest to work together in the health sector and explore feasible areas for cooperation. Brunei has offered training and employment opportunities for Bangladeshi nurses and paramedics. 

Both sides agreed to maintain defence cooperation and exchanges at various levels and deepen collaboration in areas such as personnel training, exchange of expertise, knowledge sharing between think-tanks, joint exercises and procurement of defence equipment and logistics by Brunei, etc. 

The next foreign office consultations will be held within two years in Brunei.

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Tohidul/Farhana/Mosharaf/Abbas/2018/2105 Hours