Dhaka, 19 October 2020:

Three new resident Ambassadors of Sweden, Spain and Norway to Bangladesh made their maiden courtesy calls on the State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md. Shahriar Alam in the last couple of days.

While Swedish Ambassador Alexandra Berg Von Linde and Spanish Ambassador Francisco de Asis Benitez Salas called on the State Minister yesterday, the Norwegian Ambassador Espen Rikter-Svendsen met Minister Alam this afternoon.

 At the outset, the State Minister warmly welcomed the European Envoys to Bangladesh on their new assignments and assured them of best of cooperation during their tour of duty here in Dhaka. The Envoys expressed their resolve to work with the aim of taking their respective countries’ relations with Bangladesh to newer heights. State Minister Alam highlighted Bangladesh’s tremendous socio-economic developments, particularly during the last one decade in line with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Vision 2021 and Vision 2041 that envisage the transformation of Bangladesh into Sonar Bangla or Golden Bengal, as dreamt by the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Bilateral trade and investment issues figured prominently in all these meetings as the State Minister for Foreign Affairs exchanged views with the Ambassadors. With Spain, cooperation in the areas of culture and sports got special focus. With the Norwegian Ambassador, State Minister Alam sought enhanced cooperation between the two countries in education sector and blue economy. Issues like women empowerment, climate change etc. came up for discussion during the meeting between the State Minister and the Swedish Ambassador.

The Ambassadors of Sweden, Spain and Norway had arrived in Bangladesh last month and presented their Letters of Credence to the President on 23 September 2020.