Staff Reporter :
The seventh EU-Bangladesh joint commission meeting was held on Wednesday in the city aiming to review their current relations and find out ways to expand trade ties and other bilateral issues.
Economic Relations Division (ERD) Senior Secretary Mohammad Mejbahuddin and acting Managing Director of Asia and Pacific Department of European External Action Service (EEAS) Ugo Astuto led their respective sides in the daylong meeting.
The talks were held at National Economic Council (NEC) conference room in the city’s Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area.
More than 50 high level officials from different ministries and departments, including finance, foreign affairs, commerce and law ministries and Internal Resources Division (IRD) joined the meeting. According to sources concerned, different important issues, including country’s economic progress, infrastructural development, human rights, new trade strategy, labour law, trade union, working environment in apparel sectors, foreign direct investment (FDI) in service sector were discussed in the meeting.
The team, according to the sources, is also expected to meet the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Election Commission officials and leaders of opposition political parties to discuss about democracy in Bangladesh through holding a free, fair and inclusive election.
The outcome of the discussion will be disclosed through a press conference today (Thursday), the sources confirmed.
The last meeting of the Bangladesh-EU Joint Commission was held in February this year.
However, the high-powered three-member delegation of European Union arrived Dhaka yesterday morning.
