Bangladesh and Denmark strengthen green and sustainable partnership

Minister of Foreign Affairs, AK Abdul Momen, and Danish Minister for Development Cooperation, Flemming Møller Mortensen, on Monday signed a Sustainable and Green Framework Engagement to strengthen the partnership on climate and green transition between the two countries.

Celebrating the 50 years of diplomatic relations, the ministers have taken the Bangladesh-Denmark relations to a new level. The two countries wish to partner towards attaining a sustainable and greener future globally. The focus will be on Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation, Environmental Damage and Loss of Biodiversity, in the framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

Bangladesh and Denmark share a joint commitment in tackling global challenges such as climate change and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Denmark is the first country to enter into a Framework Engagement with Bangladesh aiming to provide knowledge and technology towards attaining a sustainable and greener future. The cooperation will bring all instruments into play, ranging from diplomatic action and development cooperation to climate funding and investments, trade and private sector relations, including public-private partnerships.

During the ceremony, the Bangladesh's foreign minister said that the Framework Engagement would serve as an expression of intent between Bangladesh and Denmark, which will be supplemented by an Action Plan involving the concerned government entities: "This initiative signals our two countries’ shared interest in further diversifying the content of our bilateral relations. It should help build synergies between Bangladesh’s home-grown climate change adaptation strategies and Danish innovation and technological expertise."

The Danish minister stated that he was very pleased to sign the agreement during his first visit to Bangladesh: “Denmark and Bangladesh are two countries with a strong and active engagement in the global climate agenda. Signing of the green framework document today, signals that we are ready to ‘walk the talk’ on the commitments made in the Paris Agreement – the international treaty on climate change”.