Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has informed the Asean Secretary General Dr Kao Kim Hourn that Bangladesh wants to arrange a diplomatic training course for the diplomats from Asean member states entitled as “Enhancing Engagement between Bangladesh and the Asean Region for Young/Mid-career Diplomats from Asean Countries”.
He also discussed the Youth Exchange Program between Bangladesh and the Asean countries every year during the meeting held in Jakarta on the sidelines of the recently held Asean Regional Forum (ARF) meeting, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday.
Apprising that Bangladesh has been playing an active role in ARF, since becoming a member of the Asean Regional Forum (ARF) in 2006, the foreign minister said that Bangladesh is strongly committed to the guiding principles of the forum to foster constructive dialogue and consultation on political and security issues of common interests and concerns as well as to make significant contributions to the efforts towards confidence-building and preventive diplomacy in the Asia-Pacific region.
They discussed the issues of mutual interests and expressed hope of exploring avenues of further engagements and cooperation in the coming days.
During the meeting, Foreign Minister Momen shared the concerns of Bangladesh on the issue of forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals and urged Asean for more coordinated and proactive support to create a congenial atmosphere for an early, safe and dignified repatriation of more than 1.2 million Myanmar nationals from Bangladesh.
The foreign minister requested Asean to assist and expedite Bangladesh's bid to be a Sectoral Dialogue Partner (SDP) of Asean.
The Asean secretary general assured of extending full support to Bangladesh's endeavour of becoming the Sectoral Dialogue Partner (SDP) of Asean.
Describing the impressive socio-economic developments of Bangladesh under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina over the last 14 years, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen mentioned that Bangladesh is now internationally recognized as a role model for development.
He also said being located between Asean and Saarc, Bangladesh provides a lot of opportunities and potentials to furthering trade, investment and wide economic relations with the Asean countries.
"Bangladesh can play a pivotal role in bridging these two important regions, if the status of Sectoral Dialogue Partner of Asean is obtained," he said.
What is ASEAN
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or Asean, was established on August 8, 1967 in Bangkok.
Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, Viet Nam, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Cambodia are the ten member states of Asean.
For external engagement, to date, Asean has established Dialogue Partnerships with Australia, Canada, China, European Union, India, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, United Kingdom and the United States.
The Sectoral Dialogue Partnerships include Brazil, Norway, Pakistan, Switzerland, Türkiye, and United Arab Emirates.
Development partners include Chile, France, Germany and Italy.
