Dhaka has requested Manila to form an inter-agency task force to coordinate the recovery of the heist fund of Bangladesh Bank.
Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali made the request when he had a bilateral meeting with his Philippines counterpart Alan Cayetano on the sidelines of the 24th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Manila on Monday.
In reply, Secretary Cayetano assured Ali of his government’s full support for recovering of the heist fund of Bangladesh Bank, according to a message received here today.
During the meeting, the two ministers discussed the possibilities and ways of further deepening the cooperation between the two countries, the possibility to start air flight between Dhaka and Manila.
Ali invited the Filipino foreign minister to attend the OIC Ministerial Meeting to be hosted by Bangladesh next year.
Earlier, the foreign minister, who is now on a two-day official visit to attend the annual Ministerial Meeting of the ARF, reaffirmed Bangladesh’s commitment to peace and various security issues like curbing terrorism, illegal migration and climate change in the meet.
The meeting also discussed various issues of regional and global security including the issue of North Korea’s recent long-ranged missile test and the situation of South China Sea.
In the morning, foreign minister had a bilateral meeting with the State Minister of Sri Lanka and both sides promised to cooperate and work together in different regional forums especially in the framework of SAARC and BIMSTEC.
The Sri Lankan state minister showed interest for Bangladesh private sectors’ investment in the Pharmaceuticals and Agro based sectors. The Sri Lankan minister hoped that two countries would be able to finalize the FTA soon.
