19 March 2019, Dhaka

Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh Mr. Md. Shahidul Haque met the Foreign Secretary of Bhutan Mr. Sonam Tshong at the 2^nd Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) between Bangladesh and Bhutan held at the State Guest House, Padma in Dhaka this morning. During the talks, both sides discussed the entire gamut of bilateral relations and took stock of the progress in ongoing bilateral cooperation including in the areas of power, trade and investment, education, tourism, human resources development, science and technology, agriculture, food security, water resources management, climate change and people-to-people contact.

Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque who led a 19 member delegation drawn from the various Ministries and Departments of the Government, said that the 2^nd FOC will help in further intensifying bilateral cooperation between the two countries. At the outset of the Talks, he recalled the special relationship that Bangladesh and Bhutan share since 1971 when Bhutan became the first country to recognize the newly independent Bangladesh. He highlighted the successful visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to Bhutan in 2017 which further deepened the existing cooperation and prospects for collaboration.

Apart from bilateral issues, the two sides also discussed cooperative frameworks on transit and connectivity, specially under the BBIN framework which Bangladesh believes is crucial for the future development of the sub-region. Trilateral cooperation between Bangladesh, Bhutan and India in the field of hydroelectric power was also discussed. During the talks Bhutan showed keen interest to recruit Bangladesh Doctors to work in Bhutan.

Bangladesh Foreign Secretary revealed that today’s talks have laid the ground for a VVIP visit from Bhutan next month at the invitation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. During the VVIP visit, a number of bilateral instruments are expected to be signed by both sides related to cooperation on inland waterways for cargo transportation, cooperation in health and agriculture sectors and cooperation between the Public Administration Training Centers of the two countries for exchange of faculty members as well as training and capacity building.

Bhutanese Foreign Secretary expressed his happiness at holding of the FOC which hold special significance in light of the forthcoming visit of Bhutanese Prime Minister to Bangladesh. He highlighted that Bangladesh holds a special place for the Prime Minister of Bhutan since he is an alumnus of Mymensingh Medical College. He mentioned that Bhutan is highly optimistic about realizing full potential of cooperation with Bangladesh as well as exploring new areas of collaboration.

Foreign Secretary Tshong is leading an eight member delegation on a 3-day visit to Bangladesh.