Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman has reaffirmed Bangladesh’s firm commitment to strengthening its longstanding friendly relations with Argentina and expanding cooperation in key priority sectors.
Argentine Ambassador to Bangladesh Marcelo Carlos Cesa met the Foreign Minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday. During the meeting, both sides identified priority areas to enhance bilateral engagement.
They discussed ways to expand bilateral trade with a focus on diversifying exports and imports. The talks also covered strengthening technical collaboration in agriculture and advancing sports cooperation, particularly through effective implementation of the existing memorandum of understanding on football. Both sides explored opportunities in energy trade, supply chain partnerships and increasing Bangladesh’s apparel exports.
Rahman proposed a multi-sectoral dialogue among relevant stakeholders with a focused agenda to accelerate bilateral cooperation.
He welcomed the reopening of the Argentine Embassy in Dhaka and appreciated Argentina’s recent concurrence to reopen the Embassy of Bangladesh in Buenos Aires.
He stressed Bangladesh’s commitment to operationalising its resident mission in Buenos Aires at the earliest opportunity to further institutionalise bilateral engagement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The Foreign Minister also sought Argentina’s support for Bangladesh’s candidature for the Presidency of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Ambassador Cesa congratulated Rahman on assuming office and conveyed the good wishes of the Government of Argentina to the newly elected government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman. He said bilateral relations stand poised for further strengthening under the new leadership.
Earlier, the Argentine Ambassador paid a courtesy call on State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam, MP.
The State Minister highlighted the strong people-to-people bond between the two countries, particularly through football. She proposed structured cooperation in youth and women’s football development.
She also stressed the importance of establishing a platform such as a Bangladesh-Argentina Chamber of Commerce to strengthen business networking and promote structured private sector engagement. She proposed importing pharmaceuticals, ceramics and jute products, alongside ready-made garments, from Bangladesh.
The meetings concluded with both sides expressing optimism about the future of Bangladesh-Argentina relations and reaffirming their commitment to elevating the partnership to a dynamic and multidimensional level through concrete and result-oriented actions.
