Dhaka has expressed its keen interest to work with
Brazil to further strengthening the political and economic ties for the benefit
of both the nations and to take the existing bilateral relations to a new
height.
This
was observed when Brazilian ambassador to Bangladesh Paulo Fernando Dias Feres
paid his maiden courtesy call on Foreign Secretary Md. Jashim Uddin at the
foreign mimnistry on Thursday, said a foreign ministry’s press release here.
Recognizing Brazil as a leading economic powerhouse in South America and
globally, both the side agreed on the need to reduce the existing trade gap
between the two countries.
They
highlighted the importance of fostering collaboration in key sectors to promote
mutual growth.
In
this regards, they identified numbers of areas including agriculture,
agro-processing industry, trade facilitation for Bangladeshi products such as
ready-made garments RMG), apparel, and pharmaceuticals, as well as public
health systems, regulatory frameworks, capacity building, and skill development.
Both
sides also expressed interest in exploring opportunities in project financing
and other relevant fields.
The
foreign secretary recalled Brazil being the first country in South America to
have recognized Bangladesh just after the liberation and thanked Brazil for the
continuous support toward the democratic journey of Bangladesh.
The
envoy expressed that Bangladesh has generated much interest in Brazil through
its economic growth and engagements with Brazil including three Brazilian trade
missions to Dhaka and in particular, the official visit of the Brazilian
Foreign Minister to Dhaka in 2024.
While
he mentioned the enthusiastic business people of Bangladesh that have been
engaging with Brazil are doing really well despite the Brazilian tariff, he also
encouraged other Bangladeshi business people to visit Brazil and engage with
the Brazilian businessmen.
Ambassador
Feres informed that Bangladesh is yet to tap the potential to access to
Brazilian animal protein, particularly beef.
He suggested that Bangladesh may look into the trade to provide low-cost
nutrition solution through Brazilian meat for Bangladeshi people.
The
both sides agreed on increased exchanges of business delegations and trade
missions as a part of amplifying people-to-people contact.
During
the meeting, the foreign secretary highlighted on the arrangement of the third
bilateral political consultation (FOC) that Bangladesh is scheduled to host
next time.