Today, the first meeting of senior officials to organize partnership dialogue between Bangladesh and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) was held at the GCC Secretariat in Riyadh. The Bangladesh delegation was chaired by Foreign Secretary (Senior Secretary) Masood Bin Momen and the GCC delegation was chaired by GCC Secretariat Assistant Secretary General (Political) Dr. Abdul Aziz Al Waisheg. Senior officials from GCC member states also participated in the meeting.
In the meeting, the two sides discussed in detail the draft joint action plan for the next five years (2024-2028) on political and security, trade and investment, agriculture and food security, climate change and environmental protection and possible cooperation in cultural fields. In the discussion, both sides fruitfully discussed the Palestinian situation, regional peace and stability, transportation security in the Red Sea, what to do to solve the Rohingya problem, countering the negative effects of the Ukraine-Russia war, countering terrorism and extremism, and cyber security.
When the Secretary of State presented specific proposals on food security, agricultural cooperation, removal of trade and investment barriers, climate change and environmental protection, the GCC member states expressed a positive attitude. Among the recommendations of the Secretary of State, it is proposed to form a technical committee to advance the discussion in the areas of cooperation included in the action plan for cooperation in renewable energy, contract farming, free trade agreement, inclusion of the private sector in investment.
In the discussion, the Foreign Secretary said that Bangladesh’s historic brotherly relationship with GCC member states has reached a new height under the leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. He expressed hope that this relationship will be more rapid in the future. He expressed Bangladesh’s steadfast support for the peace and stability of the Middle East and said that the stability of the Middle East is very important in the global context. He also said that about 50 lakh Bangladeshi expatriates live in the GCC region, who continue to make important contributions to the economy of Bangladesh and the host country. He expressed his gratitude to the governments of the GCC countries for their overall cooperation and working for their welfare.
The draft action plan discussed in the meeting will be presented for finalization at the next foreign ministerial meeting. Note that on 18 November 2022, a memorandum of understanding was signed with the GCC on the regular ministerial partnership dialogue program of Bangladesh.