Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)– Bangladesh and South Africa have agreed to exchange delegations of the government officials, business persons, experts and scientists in months to explore and strike common grounds for future cooperation.
The agreement was reached when top level officials from two sides held talks in the capital Dhaka on Monday to review the entire gamut of bilateral relations between the two countries.
Bangladesh Additional Foreign Secretary Ambassador Mustafa Kamal and Ambassador Anil Sooklal of South Africa led their respective sides in the meeting, officials said.
Ambassador Anil Sooklal, deputy director general (DDG) of Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), is leading a six-member South Africa delegation, which arrived in Dhaka on a four-day official visit to Bangladesh.
The two sides covered all prospective avenues of cooperation, while special focus was given to implementations of the pending agreements in the sectors of agriculture cooperation, avoidance of double taxation, cooperation in education, arts, culture and sports, and abolition of visa for official passports.
The next Senior Official’s Meeting (SOM) will be held in Pretoria in 2013, the foreign ministry officials added.
On the first day of their four-day tour, the delegation visited a state-of-the-art pharmaceutical plant near Dhaka and called on Foreign Secretary Mohammed Mijarul Quayes at his office in Dhaka.
Foreign Secretary Mijarul Quayes said Bangladesh was in the process of opening up a number of new missions in the region to increase her diplomatic presence in Africa.
He also urged two sides to focus attention on undertaking joint initiatives in the fields of industries and trade, human resources development, and higher education, among others.
The foreign secretary recalled the days of apartheid when the people of Bangladesh were united in their opposition of the oppressive regime.
He said that the commonality of values between the two peoples adequately addressed the impediment of geographical distance and could imbue the spirit of friendship.
BBN/SSR/AD-12June12-10:13 am (BST)
