Date: 28 October 2018, Dhaka

The first meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economy, Scientific and Technical Cooperation between the governments of Bangladesh and the Russian federation was held in Moscow from 22-24October, 2018.The meeting was presided by Shofiqul Azam,Senior Secretary,ERD,Bangladesh government as co-chairand Ivan V. Shestakov, Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Russian federation and Head of the Federal agency for Fishery.

Bangladesh delegation comprised   representatives from ERD,Ministry of Foreign Affairs,Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Information & Communications Technology , Ministry of Science & Technology,Ministry of Power,Energy and Mineral Resources,Export Promotion Bureau,Bangladesh Bank,and  FBCCI as well as Bangladesh Ambassador in Moscow and Embassy officials. The Russian delegation comprised of members from concerned government Ministries and business bodies.

The First session of the Commission encompassed a wide range of areas of cooperation for discussion between Bangladesh and Russia- ranging from Trade, Investment, Power and Energy, Food, Agriculture,Fisheries and Livestock, Science and Technology,ICT, Education, Industry,Research and Development to Manpower Recruitment.The meeting was the first meeting between the governments of Bangladesh and Russia in order to create a platform for discussion on cooperation on broad areas and sectors. The Agreement on Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economy, Scientific and Technical Cooperation was signed between Bangladesh and Russia in 2017.

The creation of the IGC will provide the opportunity to review the existing level of cooperation ,to identify potential sectors and determine a sense of direction for future cooperation .The meetings were held in a friendly atmosphere where both sides came up with the proposal of respective areas  of cooperation.Taking into account the sustained economic growth that is happening both in Bangladesh and Russia,both sides underlined that enhanced cooperation should be maintained in the sector of Trade and Investment, Science and Technology, Education and Research, Agriculture, Power and Energy,Food,ICTand manpower recruitment to utilize the potentials of cooperation.Both sides also underscored the importance of exchange of knowledge and expertise and establish further People- to People contact. The need of participation of both public and private sectors in different areas of cooperation was also highlighted.

At the concluding day of the meetings, a Protocol was signed between the two countries identifying potential sectors of cooperation and determining future course of actions. Bangladesh side welcomed the friendly gestures of the Russian side for their readiness to exchange training and experiences in different areas. In order to forge more economic cooperation, both sides identified the necessity of institutional cooperation and streamlining and simplifying of existing procedures of trade and commerce. It was decided that the next Session of the Inter-governmental Commission Meeting will be held in Dhaka next year.