Azerbaijan is keen to bolster economic ties with Bangladesh through forming a ‘Business Forum’ between the two countries.Azerbaijan Foreign Minister Elmar Mammdyarov informed his Bangladesh counterpart Dr Dipu Moni about it who had a bilateral meeting in Baku on Monday.
An MoU for cooperation between two Foreign Service Academies of Bangladesh and Azerbaijan was also signed, according to a message received here on Tuesday.
The Azerbaijan Foreign Minister hoped the first-ever visit by a Bangladesh Foreign Minister to Baku would play a critical role in expanding relations between the two countries, particularly in the areas of trade and investment.
He underlined the importance of signing agreements for investment promotion, avoidance of double taxation and air services.
Elmar Mammdyarov also appreciated the position of Bangladesh on the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute for Bangladesh’s steadfast support for Azerbaijan for its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The Bangladesh delegation is visiting Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, for a bilateral visit to Azerbaijan and to attend the OIC Conference of Donors for Palestine from June 10-11 led by Foreign Minister Dipu Moni.
Dipu Moni stressed the need for further deepening and widening bilateral relations between the two brotherly Muslim countries based on commonality of history, culture and interests.
She also underscored the need for regular consultations between the two countries to expand collaboration in various fields, including trade, investment, education, culture, health and medical sciences and human resource development and labour mobility.
The Foreign Minister requested her Azerbaijani counterpart to consider early conclusion of few agreements between the two countries such as joint economic commission, investment promotion and protection, avoidance of double taxation, trade and economic cooperation, health and medical sciences cooperation, cultural cooperation, visa exemption, air services and manpower cooperation.
She expressed deep appreciation to the President of Azerbaijan who agreed to conclude an MoU on manpower between the two countries soon so that skilled and semiskilled workforce from Bangladesh could be recruited in the infrastructure and development projects of Azerbaijan.
The Foreign Minister briefed him about human resource development and stringent policy towards safe and dignified migration process in Bangladesh, and about the government-initiated safe migration process through BOESL and BMET.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Minister assured her of working towards early completion of negotiations on those agreements and signing of those at the sidelines of UNGA in New York in September 2013.
After the meeting, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on bilateral consultation mechanism between Bangladesh and Azerbaijan was signed at the Azerbaijani Foreign Office by both Foreign Ministers. (Source: UNB)
