Assistant State Secretary of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland Ambassador Beat Nobs arrived here on Monday on a three day visit.Nobs, who arrived at 12 pm, will attend a bilateral political consultation between Bangladesh and Switzerland, the first of its kind, to be held here on Tuesday, officials at the Swiss Embassy said.
Mustafa Kamal, Additional Secretary (Bilateral) to the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of Bangladesh and Beat Nobs will lead their respective delegations
in the meeting,
The consultation is one of the major outcomes of the Memorandum of Understanding signed in the Swiss capital between the Foreign Ministers of Bangladesh and Switzerland in February 2012.
Further strengthening of bilateral political ties, expansion of trade and investment and underpinning the longstanding development cooperation between the two countries will be high on the agenda during the discussions.
Both countries will also endeavour to develop common understanding on a wide array of issues, including regional and multilateral ones.
During the visit, Nobs is also scheduled to meet Foreign Minister Dr Dipu Moni, Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque and representatives of the diplomatic missions, international organisations, international NGOs, civil society members and media.
He will also visit the project areas of ‘Community Based Climate Adaptation by Coastal Afforestation’ project, co-funded by the Swiss government, in Barguna.
Relations between Switzerland and Bangladesh have been excellent over the years. The trade between the two countries is growing rapidly as Bangladesh is a priority country for Swiss development cooperation. Cultural exchanges are also increasing between the two countries.
Last year, both the countries celebrated the 40th anniversary of bilateral relations through a series of events. Switzerland is one of the first countries to recognise Bangladesh after its independence. UNB
