Bangladesh and Azerbaijan have the opportunity to boost economic and trade cooperation on the sound momentum in bilateral political ties.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam said after a meeting with Azerbaijan Foreign Minister Elmar Oglu Mammadyarov in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, said Bangladesh foreign ministry on Friday.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the 18th NAM Mid-term Ministerial Meeting held in Baku on April 5-6, reports UNB.
The two ministers agreed to further expedite the conclusion of the bilateral agreements on protection of investment and avoidance of double taxation.
They also agreed to work on creating an institutional mechanism to conduct high-level Foreign Office consultations on a regular basis.
Shahriar Alam requested the Azerbaijan authorities to favourably consider the product registration applications by two pharmaceutical companies from Bangladesh.
The two ministers agreed that bilateral business forums can help promote further contacts between the private sectors of the two countries, including in the tourism and hospitality sector.
The Azerbaijan Foreign Minister enquired about preparations for the meeting of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers to be held in Dhaka from May 5-6 next.
He said he looks forward to attending the meeting.
The State Minister thanked Azerbaijan as Chair of the NAM Ministerial Meeting for facilitating the adoption of a short consensus text on the Rohingya humanitarian crisis in the final outcome document.
Shahriar and Elmar Oglu Mammadyarov exchanged views on the latest situation of the possibility of the return of the Rohingyas to Myanmar's Rakhine State.
They stressed the need for NAM and OIC to remain seized with the situation of refugees and internally displaced peoples in their respective Member States.
The Azerbaijan minister sought Bangladesh's support for Baku's bid to host the World Expo 2025.
The Bangladesh State Minister also had a meeting with Anvar Bin Mohammed Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of the UAE, in the morning.
The UAE State Minister acknowledged Bangladesh's role in dealing with the Rohingya humanitarian crisis and assured of his county's continued support.
The two ministers discussed issues concerning visa facilitation for Bangladeshi expatriate workers in the UAE.
The UAE minister reiterated the interest of his country's private sector to recruit Bangladeshi workers in certain sectors.
State Minister Alam held separate bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Afghanistan and Libya.
They exchanged views on a range of issues of bilateral interest.
The NAM Ministerial Meeting was concluded in the afternoon with the adoption of the Baku Declaration and the Final Document.
The host government of Azerbaijan announced their decision to host the 18th NAM Summit in Baku in 2019.
