Dhaka on Wednesday emphasised the ‘expeditious conclusion of a tripartite agreement among Bangladesh, Nepal and India’ to import electricity from Nepal through India in a foreign office consultation meeting in Kathmandu.
The two countries also stressed the need for the operationalisation of the Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal Motor Vehicle Agreement signed back in 2015 for expanding trade and connectivity among the four countries in the region.
Nepal requested the Government of Bangladesh to eliminate the existing ‘Other Duties and Charges’ levied on Nepali products being exported to Bangladesh, according to a press statement issued by the foreign ministry in Dhaka. Â
Bangladesh delegation was led by foreign secretary Masud Bin Momen while Nepali delegation was led by his Nepali counterpart Sewa Lamsal in the 3rd round of Foreign Office Consultations between Bangladesh and Nepal, also attended by ambassadors of both countries and other senior officials.
‘Foreign Secretary Masud emphasised the expeditious conclusion of tripartite power agreement among Bangladesh-India-Nepal soon, which will help Bangladesh to import power from Nepal,’ said the statement.
Thanking the Government of Nepal for allocating land for construction of Monastery in Lumbini, the foreign secretary said that it would be a milestone between our relations and enhance people-to-people contact between Bangladesh and Nepal in the days ahead.
Both the foreign secretaries discussed all the major issues of mutual interests and agreed to promote cooperation encompassing all sectors, especially trade and commerce, transit and connectivity, power and energy sectors, tourism, culture and education.
They emphasised the operationalisation of the BBIN MVA framework to contribute to the individual country’s economy not only by expanding trade and connectivity, but also by creating more opportunity to promote people-to-people contact, said the foreign ministry statement.
Foreign secretary Sewa Lamsal stressed the importance of exploration of the untapped potential in economic, cultural and educational areas and proposed to establish meaningful collaborative partnership, including cooperation in the private sector.
She mentioned that Nepal would like to pursue more trade and investment cooperation with Bangladesh.
The Nepali foreign secretary urged the Bangladeshi side to explore investment opportunities in Nepal, including in hydropower sector, said the statement.
Both the foreign secretaries discussed regional issues of mutual interest and also underscored the necessity of revitalising SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) and strengthening BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) for promoting regional cooperation.
They also agreed to cooperate with each other at various multilateral forums, especially at the United Nations to pursue common interests in the areas of LDC graduation, poverty alleviation, climate change and safety and security of migrant workers, according to the statement.
A Memorandum of Understanding between Foreign Service Academy of Bangladesh and Foreign Service Institute of Nepal was signed by the foreign secretaries of the two countries at the meeting.