TDS Desk:

Dhaka has expressed its keen interest to work with Brazil to further strengthening the political and economic ties for the benefit of both the nations and to take the existing bilateral relations to a new height.

This was observed when Brazilian Ambassador to Bangladesh Paulo Fernando Dias Feres paid his maiden courtesy call on Foreign Secretary Md Jashim Uddin at the foreign ministry on Thursday, said a foreign ministry’s press release.

Recognising Brazil as a leading economic powerhouse in South America and globally, both the side agreed on the need to reduce the existing trade gap between the two countries.

They highlighted the importance of fostering collaboration in key sectors to promote mutual growth.

In this regard, they identified numbers of areas including agriculture, agro-processing industry, trade facilitation for Bangladeshi products such as ready-made garments RMG), apparel, and pharmaceuticals, as well as public health systems, regulatory frameworks, capacity building, and skill development.

Both sides also expressed interest in exploring opportunities in project financing and other relevant fields.

The foreign secretary recalled Brazil being the first country in South America to have recognized Bangladesh just after the liberation and thanked Brazil for the continuous support toward the democratic journey of Bangladesh.

The envoy expressed that Bangladesh has generated much interest in Brazil through its economic growth and engagements with Brazil including three Brazilian trade missions to Dhaka and in particular, the official visit of the Brazilian Foreign Minister to Dhaka in 2024.

While he mentioned the enthusiastic business people of Bangladesh that have been engaging with Brazil are doing really well despite the Brazilian tariff, he also encouraged other Bangladeshi business people to visit Brazil and engage with the Brazilian businessmen.

Ambassador Feres informed that Bangladesh is yet to tap the potential to access to Brazilian animal protein, particularly beef.

He suggested that Bangladesh may look into the trade to provide low-cost nutrition solution through Brazilian meat for Bangladeshi people.

The both sides agreed on increased exchanges of business delegations and trade missions as a part of amplifying people-to-people contact.

During the meeting, the foreign secretary highlighted on the arrangement of the third bilateral political consultation (FOC) that Bangladesh is scheduled to host next time.