Bangladesh, Gambia agree on peacekeeping cooperation framework
Bangladesh and the Gambia Sunday signed a joint declaration agreeing on, among other issues, the co-deployment of the Bangladeshi and the Gambian armed forces at the UN peacekeeping missions, reports UNB.
Foreign minister AK Abdul Momen and his Gambian counterpart Mamadou Tangara signed the joint declaration.
Earlier in a meeting at the Armed Forces Division, both sides discussed the modalities of such co-deployment.
Bangladesh thanked the Gambia for championing the issues of "accountability and justice" related to the "genocide perpetrated by Myanmar" against the forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals.
Momen, during his meeting with Tangara, also appreciated the continued engagement of the Gambia with the legal team in the case on Rohingya at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Tangara assured the Bangladesh side of continuing mutual collaboration for a sustainable solution to the Rohingya crisis, including their safe, dignified and voluntary return to Myanmar.
The meeting, held at the state guesthouse Jamuna, called for the acceleration of the ongoing processes of justice and accountability to address the human rights violation against the Rohingyas in Myanmar, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Gambia foreign minister is leading a six-member high-level delegation, including the Gambia defence minister, on an official visit to Bangladesh.
The senior officials of the Bangladesh foreign ministry also attended the meeting.
The visiting foreign minister earlier had courtesy meetings with prime minister Sheikh Hasina, commerce minister Tipu Munshi, and Chief of Army Staff General SM Shafiuddin Ahmed.
The high-level delegation visited Rohingya camps in Cox's Bazar last weekend. The Gambia foreign minister also paid a visit to the Liberation War Museum today.
The two ministers committed to "further strengthening the long-standing friendly and brotherly relations between the two countries and working towards maintaining peace, and justice in the global arena."
They agreed to forge cooperation in potential areas, including education, agriculture, IT and ICT, trade and investment and people-to-people contacts.
The meeting highlighted the importance of increased dialogue and enhanced economic, political and security cooperation in the areas of mutual interest for Bangladesh and the Gambia.
The two ministers also discussed South-South cooperation in the context of a multilateral framework, close cooperation in agriculture and the global scenario due to the Ukraine crisis.
The Gambia foreign minister, who is in Bangladesh as a special envoy of the president of the Gambia, delivered a lecture on the foreign policy of the Gambia at the Foreign Service Academy (FSA) as part of the Bangabandhu Lecture Series in the afternoon.