Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali will travel to Portugal next week at the invitation of his Portuguese counterpart Rui Machete, so as to improve bilateral relations with the European country.
“This is the first time official talks are being held at such a level,” said a foreign ministry senior official.
Trade, investment, and migration are expected to be the major areas of discussion between the two ministers, the official said.
Meanwhile, Italian Deputy Foreign Minister Beneditto Della Vedova will arrive in the capital on February 18 for a three-day trip.
Official talks between State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam and Vedova will be held this Thursday.
“Italy is important to us, as nearly 200,000 Bangladeshis currently reside in the European nation,” said another foreign ministry official.
Trade, investment, migration and expatriate welfare will dominate the official talks, he said.
“We expect Italy will also seek Bangladesh’s support in becoming a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council,” he added.
Italy, Sweden, and the Netherlands want to become non-permanent members of UNSC for the 2017-18 term, and seek support from Bangladesh.
