PM to hold envoy confce in Paris

In a bid to bolster relationship with the European countries, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will hold a conference in Paris of Bangladeshi envoys posted in different European nations during her upcoming visit to France this month, diplomatic sources told The Independent. The prime minister will undertake a visit to Paris from November 15 to participate in the Leaders’ Forum of the General Conference convened on the occasion of celebrating 70th anniversary and the adoption of the Constitution of the UNESCO, the sources said.
In addition, she will hold a bilateral meeting with French President François Hollande to discuss issues of mutual interest. Hasina just concluded a bilateral trip to the Netherlands at the invitation of the Dutch Prime Minister. It was the first bilateral trip by any Bangladeshi prime minister to the Netherlands.
“We have already been instructed to travel to Paris to attend the conference with the prime minister,” an Ambassador to a European nation said. Chiefs of fourteen Bangladeshi missions in different European countries will attend the conference in which the Prime Minister is expected to direct the envoys to engage more with the countries of their assignments, said the sources. The trade relationship between Bangladesh and European countries are growing, therefore we need to be more attentive to increase country’s engagement with these nations, said the Ambassador. “Now, there is TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership). Bangladesh is not a member of this partnership and there is a fear that our interest may be affected due to this new partnership,” he said. “We need to look for alternatives to secure our interest,” said the Ambassador. “We are expecting that the Prime Minister will give us a clear message about our future course of action,” he said.
Bangladesh and European countries are engaged in soft areas like development cooperation, human rights, rule of law and cultural cooperation, said another Bangladeshi envoy. “We receive development cooperation from a number of European countries and we use this in education, health, skill development and other areas. It is very important for Bangladesh’s development process,” he said. About the issues related to human rights and rule of law, the envoy said, “Our engagement with Europe in those areas is more robust than any other country.” European countries are more considerate about internal dynamics of the country and it is visible in the European Union parliament resolution, he pointed out. When asked to comment over the relationship between Bangladesh and European countries, a senior foreign ministry official said, “Europe is a big continent with lot of countries. It’s natural for one or two not to feel comfortable in engaging with us.” Europe is Bangladesh’s biggest trading partner with about $15 billion yearly trade and Bangladesh receives over $1 billion development assistance from the European countries.

 

PM to hold envoy confce in Paris

In a bid to bolster relationship with the European countries, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will hold a conference in Paris of Bangladeshi envoys posted in different European nations during her upcoming visit to France this month, diplomatic sources told The Independent. The prime minister will undertake a visit to Paris from November 15 to participate in the Leaders Forum of the General Conference convened on the occasion of celebrating 70th anniversary and the adoption of the Constitution of the UNESCO, the sources said. In addition, she will hold a bilateral meeting with French President Franois Hollande to discuss issues of mutual interest. Hasina just concluded a bilateral trip to the Netherlands at the invitation of the Dutch Prime Minister. It was the first bilateral trip by any Bangladeshi prime minister to the Netherlands. We have already been instructed to travel to Paris to attend the conference with the prime minister, an Ambassador to a European nation said. Chiefs of fourteen Bangladeshi missions in different European countries will attend the conference in which the Prime Minister is expected to direct the envoys to engage more with the countries of their assignments, said the sources. The trade relationship between Bangladesh and European countries are growing, therefore we need to be more attentive to increase countrys engagement with these nations, said the Ambassador. Now, there is TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership). Bangladesh is not a member of this partnership and there is a fear that our interest may be affected due to this new partnership, he said. We need to look for alternatives to secure our interest, said the Ambassador. We are expecting that the Prime Minister will give us a clear message about our future course of action, he said. Bangladesh and European countries are engaged in soft areas like development cooperation, human rights, rule of law and cultural cooperation, said another Bangladeshi envoy. We receive development cooperation from a number of European countries and we use this in education, health, skill development and other areas. It is very important for Bangladeshs development process, he said. About the issues related to human rights and rule of law, the envoy said, Our engagement with Europe in those areas is more robust than any other country. European countries are more considerate about internal dynamics of the country and it is visible in the European Union parliament resolution, he pointed out. When asked to comment over the relationship between Bangladesh and European countries, a senior foreign ministry official said, Europe is a big continent with lot of countries. Its natural for one or two not to feel comfortable in engaging with us. Europe is Bangladeshs biggest trading partner with about $15 billion yearly trade and Bangladesh receives over $1 billion development assistance from the European countries.