BANGLADESH-BRITAIN TO ENTER INTO NEW STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP
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Chief Adviser Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown have agreed that Bangladesh and Britain would enter into a new strategic partnership based on shared values and vibrant economic ties.
The agreement came during talks between the two leaders at 10 Downing Street, the official residence of the British Prime Minister in London, Tuesday afternoon.
A release received from Bangladesh High Commission here Tuesday night said Dr Ahmed and Brown noted that in present times both Bangladesh and Britain needed each other.
The Prime Minister said the British people hold Bangladesh and Bangladeshis with great affection.
The Chief Adviser noted that Bangladesh also considers the UK as a dependable friend and partner and attaches great importance to the intellectual, trade and investment links between the two Commonwealth nations.
The two leaders had a very fruitful meeting covering a wide range of bilateral and multilateral issues, including bilateral trade and investment, development cooperation for attaining Millennium Development Goals, climate change, counter-terrorism, and contribution of the Bangladeshi Diaspora towards strengthening the vibrant relations between the two countries.
They expressed satisfaction at the robust bilateral trade and investment relationship and agreed to take economic partnership between the two countries to a higher level.
The Chief Adviser expressed the hope that British investment would continue to grow in Bangladesh and that Britain would play a leading role in the G8 and in multilateral trade negotiations to secure duty-free market access for LDCs.
He highlighted the climate change challenge uniquely faced by Bangladesh due to global warming and sea level rise.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown praised Dr. Fakhruddin for his personal initiatives in voicing the climate change concerns of vulnerable countries such as Bangladesh and assured that Britain would continue to work closely with Bangladesh bilaterally and internationally to secure an effective response to combat climate change.
Gordon Brown announced to hold a climate change investment conference for Bangladesh in Dhaka and London this year.
The British Prime Minister also assured Dr Fakhruddin that Britain would stand next to the people of Bangladesh in their pursuit of higher standards of education and their aspirations for attaining the UN MDGs.
The Chief Adviser underscored that Bangladesh would continue to strive to achieve the MDGs and his government is attaching special importance to education, skill development and ICT connectivity to that end.
He affirmed Bangladeshs support for Gordon Browns Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Call to Action to be considered at a conference in September in New York.
Commending the contributions made by British-Bangladeshi community in forging partnership between the two countries, the Chief Adviser highlighted the problem of shortage of low skilled workers in the Bangladeshi restaurant industry in Britain.
He hoped that Britain would continue to support the caretaker governments initiative to set up a Catering Institute in Sylhet for producing skilled chefs from Bangladesh.
Underlining that democracy and development are important shared aspirations between the two countries, the Chief Adviser briefed the Prime Minister about the institutional reforms taken by his government in the last one year to strengthen the foundation of democracy in Bangladesh.
He informed about the Caretaker Governments unequivocal commitment to hold a free, fair and credible election in Bangladesh by December 2008.
Gordon Brown commended the Chief Adviser for the good progress made by his government in implementation of the electoral roadmap and widespread reforms and good governance, and assured of continued British support towards elections in Bangladesh.
Dr. Fakhruddin invited Prime Minister Brown to visit Bangladesh to see for himself the homegrown development programmes such as micro-credit, women empowerment and gender parity in primary and secondary education.
A joint statement was issued at the end of the meeting by 10 Downing Street on the agreed areas of cooperation between the two countries.
Filed by Anita Li under Multilateral Trade, Investment and Competition Policy