Dhaka, 29 April 2019:

Russia expressed solidarity with Bangladesh on Rohingya issues and reiterated to continue its supports including humanitarian assistance. The Rohingya issues were discussed in detailed during the bilateral talks between Foreign Minister Dr.  Momen and his Russian counterpart Mr. Lavrov held at Moscow today. During the meeting, Dr. Momen briefed his Russian counterpart on the status of 1.1 million forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals, the Rohingyas, who have taken temporary shelter in Bangladesh.

Dr. Momen sought active support of the Russian Federation in expediting the process of repatriation of these displaced people by encouraging Myanmar to create a conducive environment in the Rakhine state for return of the Rohingya. Mr. Lavrov welcomed the idea of involving ASEAN in the repatriation process.

Foreign Minister Dr. A. K. Abdul Momen, MP, held official talks, in a most warm and friendly atmosphere, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow this morning. This is the first official visit of the present Bangladesh Foreign Minister to Moscow and the third as a whole at the invitation of the Russian Foreign Minister. The two Foreign Ministers took stock of the various aspects of bilateral ties as well as discussed important regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest.

During the talk, Foreign Minister Dr. Momen reiterated the strong admiration of the people of Bangladesh for the Russian Federation due to the valued support and contribution received from the people of the then Soviet Union during the Liberation War in 1971 and for the rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts after the independence. Both the foreign Ministers expressed deep satisfaction over the current progress of bilateral engagements between the two friendly countries.

Foreign Minister Dr. Momen put emphasis on the initiatives of the two countries to boost the volume of bilateral trade at the expected level. He urged the Russian investors and companies to enter into joint ventures or 100 percent owned business ventures in the 100 special economic zones, which are currently being set up in Bangladesh as well as in High-Tech Parks. Mr. Lavrov informed that Economic forum in Saint Petersburg would be the ideal platform for Bangladesh to attract Russian and foreign investors. Foreign Minister Dr. Momen also sought support from Russia for duty-free quota-free access of Bangladesh’s products to the Russian market and also in the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union. A memorandum of Cooperation between the Government of Bangladesh and the Eurasian Economic Commission is expected to be inked soon.

Both the Foreign Ministers have expressed deep satisfaction on the pace of progress of the project for implementing the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant under the state export credit extended by the Government of the Russian Federation, which stands as a signature initiative in the bilateral relations. The Russian Foreign Minister assured Bangladesh of the timely completion of the project and training of the essential scientific and technical personnel. The two Foreign Ministers expressed their satisfaction for the successful operations and engagements of Gazprom in different gas fields of Bangladesh. Both the Foreign Ministers expressed their satisfaction over the first meeting of theIntergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic and Scientific & Technical Cooperation Commission which was held in Moscow in October 2018. The two Foreign Ministers consented on extending cooperation in the areas of education and culture. They also expressed satisfaction at the ongoing defence cooperation between the two countries.

They also exchanged opinions and experiences on cooperation in different international and regional fora between Bangladesh and Russia. He particularly thanked Bangladesh for supporting different Russian candidature. They also discussed and exchanged views on the current important global as well as regional issues.

At the end of the bilateral official talks, both the Foreign Ministers took part at a joint press conference.

Later, Mr. Momen met with the senior officials of GAZPROM International and discussed about geophysical survey and the exploration of natural resources from the Bay of Bengal with the joint cooperation of BAPEX Bangladesh. GAZPROM expressed their interest to invest in LNG sectors in Bangladesh.