British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is coming to Dhaka with the goal to elevate bilateral relations into strategic partnership.
Foreign Ministry sources said the British foreign secretary will come to Dhaka on a two-day visit on February 9.
After ten long years, a British foreign secretary will be visiting Bangladesh. Earlier in 2008, former foreign secretary David Miliband last visited Dhaka.
Johnson is likely to discuss the Rohingya crisis and matters related to the cargo ban imposed on Bangladesh by the UK government in 2016.
Diplomats are expecting that decision regarding lifting of the cargo ban might be finalized during Johnson's visit.
Besides, issues related to Brexit and visa will also be discussed with importance during this visit.
Apart from holding bilateral meeting with Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali, Johnson will also meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Diplomatic sources said the British foreign secretary's visit aims at strengthening the political relation between the two countries.
A government official said: "When a foreign minister of any country visits another country, it is done completely to serve political purpose. Our relation with UK is extremely good.
"We are trying to elevate our relationship into strategic partnership."
Rohingya crisis
The UK has always supported Bangladesh in matters related to the Rohingya crisis and played a strong role in it.
Regarding the matter, another government official said: "Because of the interest of the UK, the condition in Rakhine was discussed in the UN Security Council within five days after the torture on the Rohingyas began on August 25 [2017]. "
The official said: "Not only in the UN Security Council, but they [UK] also supported other international agencies and provided financial aid regarding the matter."
In September 2017, Boris Johnson organized a separate seminar on the Rohingyas during the UN General Assembly meeting at its Headquarters.
Bangladesh Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali along with other high-level delegations from other countries were present in the meeting.
According to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), at least 688,000 Rohingyas have entered Bangladesh fleeing the violence which erupted in Myanmar on August 25, 2017.Business cooperation
The UK is Bangladesh's third largest export market and the products from the country gets tariff free facility there.
"The UK currently follows the tax policy of the European Union but they will get out of this alliance within two years," said another government official.
The official said: "During the meeting with Boris Johnson, Bangladesh will ask to continue the tariff free facility even after Brexit is implemented.
"We had brought up this matter at several levels before, and the UK assured us that Bangladesh will not be affected by Brexit."
The bilateral trade between the two countries is worth around $4bn and most of it comes from Bangladesh's export income.Visa and immigration
There is no complexity between Bangladesh and the UK regarding the immigration.
However, Bangladeshis are facing some problems while applying for UK visas, which will be informed to Johnson during his visit to the country.
Regarding the visa issue, a government official said: "Currently, less visas are being issued. They [UK] are taking a lot of time.
"We will ask them to ensure that our students get to go to UK for studies without any hassle, and that they [UK] hire Bangladeshis for their curry industry."Cargo ban
UK slapped an embargo on direct air cargo shipment from Dhaka to London in March 2016 citing security reasons.
Last December, a high-level delegation from Bangladesh visited the UK where both the countries agreed that the security management has significantly improved here.
"We are hoping that declaration regarding uplifting the ban will be made during Boris Johnson's this visit," another government employee said.This article was first published on banglatribune.com
