On Saturday, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa concluded his two-day visit to Dhaka. He was accompanied by several senior Sri Lankan leaders, including the Minister of Education and the Secretary to the Prime Minister. During his trip, he paid homage at the Bangladeshi National Martyrs’ Memorial, along with paying a tribute to the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh’s Father of the Nation, at the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum in Dhaka. He also met with Bangladeshi President Md. Abdul Hami and Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen.
On the last day of the visit, he met with his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina, wherein he congratulated her for Bangladesh’s 50 years of independence. The country is celebrating its golden jubilee celebrations from March 17 to March 27 and several South Asian leaders, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, and Nepalese President Bidya Devi Bhandari, are set to visit the country during this period.
According to the joint communiqué on Rajapaksa’s visit, they also discussed “international and regional issues of common interest” and accordingly vowed to develop the bilateral relationship based on principles of “sovereignty, equality, friendship, trust and understanding for the mutual benefit of the people of the two countries”. Rajapaksa applauded Bangladesh’s role in maintaining regional peace by accepting and housing over 1.1 million Rohingya Muslims. In this regard, he reiterated the Sri Lankan side’s commitment to “the voluntary, safe, speedy, dignified, and sustainable return” of the refugees to Myanmar. The Sri Lankan leader further expressed his gratitude to the Bangladeshi side for its support in the United Nations Human Rights Council, where Sri Lankan authorities are being investigated for the atrocities committed during its civil war that ended in 2009. Furthermore, they highlighted the importance of “enhanced interaction and increased high-level exchanges” to counter “terrorism, violent extremism, and radicalisation.” They also agreed to collaborate in the United Nations on several issues, including health, climate change, and disaster management.
As a result of the meeting between the two premiers, they signed six memoranda of understanding (MOU) on youth development, agriculture, technical education, and training of healthcare workers, amongst other things. Additionally, they called upon the relevant officers from both countries to work towards the expedited implementation of the MOUs.
They also spoke of signing a Free Trade Agreement between the two countries, citing the inadequate exploitation of bilateral trade potential. In this regard, they expressed their desire to expedite the completion of a joint feasibility study on such an agreement. In the meantime, they agreed to work towards a bilateral Preferential Trade Agreement and use existing Joint Working Groups to further this goal.
Sri Lankan PM Signs MOUs on Agriculture, Education, Health on Bangladesh Trip
During Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’s visit to Bangladesh, the two sides signed 6 MOUs to enhance cooperation in several fields. including agriculture and youth development.
March 22, 2021
SOURCE: PID