On Monday, the foreign ministries of Bangladesh and Ireland signed the first Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Biennial Consultations during their inaugural Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) in Dublin.
According to a press release received here today, the Foreign Secretary (Senior Secretary) Ambassador Masud Bin Momen and his Irish counterpart Secretary-General Joseph Hackett led their respective delegations to the FOC, which was held in the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs.
In the 52 years that Bangladesh and Ireland have maintained diplomatic ties, this would be the first agreement signed.
Bangladesh Ambassador to Ireland Saida Muna Tasneem attended the FOC along with officials from the foreign ministry and Bangladesh High Commission, London.
The foreign secretary said that he had a very fruitful discussion with his Irish counterpart covering the entire gamut of bilateral relations including political and humanitarian support demonstrated by the Irish people and politicians during Bangladesh’s Liberation War in 1971.
In addition, he emphasized the significance of encouraging more Bangladeshi students to enroll in Irish universities and hiring deserving IT professionals from Bangladesh for the Irish IT sector through EU Talent collaborations.
The former Irish foreign minister Seán MacBride, who established an investigative panel to seek justice over the horrific death of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of the nation, was honored by the foreign secretary.
Recalling the Irish Enterprise, Trade, and Employment Minister Simon Coveney TD’s recent official visit to Bangladesh on the occasion of St. Patrick’s Day, Secretary General Joe reaffirmed the Irish Government’s commitment to constructive and forward-thinking engagements with Bangladesh, particularly in the areas of trade, investment, hiring health professionals, and climate change.
The Irish Secretary General commended Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for her outstanding humanitarian gesture of hosting over a million Rohingyas from Myanmar and praised Bangladesh for its tremendous growth and socio-economic progress over the past 15 years.
In order to fully realize the potential of newly formed bilateral collaborations, the two foreign secretaries emphasized the necessity of establishing embassies in their respective capitals as soon as possible.
