Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud will represent Bangladesh at the 3rd EU Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum, which will be held in Brussels on February 2.
High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission Josep Borrell will chair the meeting, including an opening plenary session, three roundtable discussions and a closing session.
The Brussels Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum builds on the success of the previous two EU Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forums (held in Paris in February 2022 and in Stockholm in May 2023).
The foreign minister on Wednesday said there would be a number of meetings on the sidelines of the Forum.
He will leave for Brussels on Wednesday night. This will be his first visit to the EU headquarters.
"I will get only two and a half days for the engagements in Brussels," the minister said, adding that his office is setting as many bilateral meetings as possible on the forum's sidelines.
“Let’s see how many meetings we can accommodate,” he said, adding that so far, some meetings with his counterparts from other countries have already been scheduled.
He recalled visiting Uganda for the NAM summit when he attended 17 bilateral meetings on the sidelines in two days.
The EU Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum will unite the EU and its Member States with countries from the East coast of Africa in the West to the Pacific islands in the East.
The EU and Indo-Pacific partners will discuss how to address the increasing number of complex economic, environmental, geopolitical, and security challenges that affect both regions.
It will provide a platform for dialogue, for shaping a collective vision for the region's future and for identifying practical ways to enhance cooperation and deepen solidarity.
Europe and the Indo-Pacific are highly interconnected and interdependent, that is why the EU Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum serves as a crucial platform for fostering dialogue and cooperation between Europe and the Indo-Pacific, directly supporting the objectives set forth in the Indo-Pacific strategy, while addressing shared challenges and opportunities in this vital region.
The meeting is held at the ministerial level. It is an important demonstration of the political commitment and momentum behind implementing the EU Indo-Pacific Strategy, according to the organizer.
The foreign minister will return to Dhaka on Sunday evening.