Bangladesh-Canada holds Foreign Office Consultations in Ottawa, Canada

The fifth Bangladesh-Canada Foreign Office Consultations was held on 27 October 2023 after a gap of six years at the Global Affairs Canada in Ottawa. Ambassador Masud Bin Momen, Foreign Secretary (Senior Secretary) led the Bangladesh delegation while the Canadian delegation was led by Mr. Weldon Epp, Assistant Deputy Minister, Asia Pacific, Global Affairs Canada. A wide range of issues including political relations, economic cooperation, trade and investment, technical assistance, movement of people, response to the Rohingya crisis, and global and regional issues were covered in the consultations.

The Foreign Secretary applauded the strong partnership between Bangladesh and Canada that is built on shared values and mutual cooperation. The Assistant Deputy Minister commended the tremendous economic growth that has taken place in Bangladesh. He also appreciated Bangladesh for generously hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas and reaffirmed their continued partnership in responding to the crisis.

Highlighting the increased role of trade in bilateral relations, the two sides agreed to devise a mechanism to explore ways and means to diversify and expand trade. The two countries also agreed to work on elevating the relations to the next level leading to strategic partnership in the near future. The Foreign Secretary emphasized increasing collaboration in the capacity building of Bangladesh’s service sectors including skill development, trade facilitation, clean tech and energy and agri-food processing sectors.

The two sides agreed to consider forming a Technical Working Group to convert the recommendations of the the Joint Working Group (JWG) on strengthening the Commercial Relations between the two countries, into actions.

The long-standing issue of the deportation of NurChowdhury, the self-confessed and convicted killer of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family members, was raised strongly in the discussions. Deliberations were made on various aspects of the issue taking into consideration the discussions and decisions held in the past on this 28 yearlong unresolved issue. The two countries agreed to continue to engage in meaningful dialogue on the issue for its early resolution.

The issue of the misleading, false and motivated anti-Bangladesh propaganda from Canada on social media was also raised. The Bangladesh side informed the Canadian side that these Bangladeshi-Canadian anti-social elements are inciting hatred, violence extremism and radicalization in Bangladesh and that necessary actions may please be taken to stop such anti-Bangaldesh propaganda from Canada.

It was also decided that the Foreign Office Consultation between the two countries should be held annually to foster the relations between the two friendly countries and its next meeting would be held in Dhaka next year.

The High Commissioner of Bangladesh to Canada Dr. Khalilur Rahman, Director General (North America) Mr. Khandker Masudul Alam, and officials of the Bangladesh High Commission in Ottawa and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were present in the meeting. The High Commissioner of Canada to Bangladesh Dr. Lilly Nicholls and senior officials of the Canadian Government participated in the bilateral consultations.