Bangladesh and Singapore reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthen bilateral ties and expand cooperation in emerging areas during the Fourth Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) meeting between the two countries in Singapore on Monday.
The Bangladesh delegation was led by the foreign secretary, Md Jashim Uddin, and the Singaporean side was led by Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary Luke Goh.
The consultation reviewed issues covering the entire range of bilateral cooperation between the two countries, according to the Bangladesh foreign ministry.
The two sides held detailed discussions on, inter alia, trade and investment, power and energy, connectivity, digital economy, health, agriculture, waste management, tourism, and human resource development. Regional and global issues were also discussed at the meeting.
The ongoing negotiations on the conclusion of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) featured prominently in the discussion. Both sides reiterated their commitment to finalise the agreement by 2026.
They also agreed to work towards concluding the agreement on customs cooperation, the revised protocol for the avoidance of double taxation, the treaty on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, and the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in the field of tourism.
Foreign Secretary Jashim Uddin highlighted Bangladesh’s reputation as a reliable source of high-quality and competitively priced products such as ready-made garments, pharmaceuticals, leather goods, ceramics, jute products, and footwear.
He urged the Singaporean side to encourage the businesspeople to engage more in these sectors to achieve a more balanced trade relationship.
Recognising Singapore as one of the top investors in Bangladesh, the foreign secretary invited more Singaporean investment, particularly in the energy sector and economic zones of Bangladesh.
The discussions also focused on prospective collaboration in agricultural technology, agri-logistics, contract farming, and tourism infrastructure.
Both sides acknowledged the remarkable contributions of Bangladesh nationals currently working in Singapore and discussed future cooperation in human resource development, including training and skill development.
Jashim Uddin also sought Singapore’s support in developing a waste-to-energy plant to strengthen sustainable energy generation in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh conveyed its appreciation to Singapore for supporting its bid to become a sectoral dialogue partner of ASEAN and expressed interest in joining the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
Regional issues, including climate change, migration, and developments in South and Southeast Asia also came up for discussion.
At the end of the consultation, the foreign secretary thanked his Singaporean counterpart for the warm welcome to the Bangladesh delegation and extended an invitation to him to visit Bangladesh for the next round of foreign office consultation.
Bd-pratidin English/FNC
