The "Italy-Bangladesh Friendship and Cooperation Association" has been launched in Rome with the objective of fostering collaboration in various aspects, particularly in the fields of economy, culture, sport, and people-to-people connections.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated on Friday that the association is expected to aid the two friendly nations and their citizens in drawing closer.
The association will also function as a shared platform for Bangladesh and Italy, especially since the two countries recently commemorated the Golden Jubilee of the establishment of diplomatic relations.
The signing ceremony of the association's memorandum of understanding (MoU) and articles took place at the Italian Senate on Wednesday.
The signing event, witnessed by Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen, was attended by Italian parliamentarians, distinguished citizens, members of ISIA (Italian Institute for Asia), honorary consul generals of Bangladesh in Italy, and officers at the Bangladesh Embassy in Rome, and others.
According to the statute, the association will be led by two presidents, one vice-president and one director, and a total of eleven board members.
Md Shameem Ahsan, Bangladesh's ambassador to Italy, Montenegro and Serbia, signed the MoU as the president of the association from the Bangladesh side, while Marco Lacarra, a member of the parliamentary group of the Democratic Party of Italy (PD), signed the document as the president from the Italy side.
Mario Morgoni, president of ISIA, assumed the vice president role of the association, and Eng Domenico Palmieri, secretary general of ISIA, will act as the director of the association.
Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen warmly congratulated the launch of the association and expressed his wishes for its successful and smooth operation.
While detailing the impressive developmental journey of Bangladesh in recent years, the foreign secretary suggested that the leadership of the association could visit Bangladesh to gain insights and knowledge about present-day Bangladesh.
This will eventually assist in outlining the association's future course of action to explore new areas of cooperation, he added.
Ambassador Ahsan, expressing his gratitude to ISIA for their initiative and support, expressed that the launch would greatly support the government's efforts to promote and expand bilateral relations.
MP Lacarra expressed his deep admiration for Bangladesh's remarkable success and pledged to work earnestly to strengthen and broaden mutual collaboration between Bangladesh and Italy, according to the foreign ministry.