Moshiur Ananda :
Foreign Minister Dr A K Abdul Momen and his Bhutanese counterpart Dr. Tandi Dorji greeted each other and discussed bilateral issues on the sidelines of the 18th BIMSTEC ministerial meeting in Colombo today.
Bhutanese Foreign Minister thanked the Government of Bangladesh and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for all the support extended to Bhutan during the time of necessity. He specially thanked for the medicines sent to Bhutan which helped combat COVID-19.
Bhutanese Foreign Minister stressed on the early conclusion of transit agreement and SOP on the use of Inland waterways of Bangladesh by Bhutan. He also requested to open up new LCS/landport for transportation of bilateral trade goods.
The two Ministers agreed to work closely on the area of power and energy. Both the Foreign Ministers agreed to move forward with MoU on cooperation in hydropower investment for mutual benefit.
Bhutanese Foreign Minister informed with encouragement that their Government is going to lift mandatory quarantine for the official delegation from around the world by the end of April. He proposed that the long pending Foreign Office Consultations and Commerce Secretary Level Talks with Bangladesh could be held soon.
Both the Foreign Ministers agreed to work together in various regional and multilateral fora for common benefits.
Bhutanese Foreign Minister invited the Foreign Minister of Bangladesh to visit Bhutan at a mutually convenient time.
The meeting was held in a cordial manner and ended in a positive note with commitment of working together bilaterally, regionally and internationally.
