UK state minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan meets Hasan Mahmud
Visiting UK state minister for Indo-Pacific at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Anne-Marie Trevelyan met with foreign minister Hasan Mahmud at the latter’s office on Wednesday afternoon.
During the meeting, the foreign minister recalled Bangabandhu’s first historic visit to the UK on 8 January 1972 immediately after being released from the Pakistani captivity that formed the base of the friendly ties of the two countries, said a media release.
The British state minister expressed delight over the improved traffic condition in Dhaka and completion of mega infrastructure projects, such as metrorail, 3rd terminal of the airport and expressway and so on.
She highly praised the Bangladesh community living in the UK and their entrepreneurship efforts in different sectors including in culinary business.
Anne-Marie Trevelyan also congratulated Bangladesh’s upcoming graduation from LDC status in 2026 and assured of her government’s support during and after this economic transition.
She commended Bangladesh for generously hosting the Rohingyas and affirmed continuous political and financial support of the UK in this regard, including the recent one of 12 million pounds.
The foreign minister expressed satisfaction over expanding trade between the two countries that reached a landmark height of US$ 6 billion last year, and thanked the UK government for its support towards Bangladesh’s development efforts and being the highest FDI source for Bangladesh in 2023.
He requested for preferential and duty-free quota-free market access for Bangladeshi exportable, including apparels, into the British market until 2032 to support sustainable transition.
Hasan Mahmud also apprised the British state minister that Bangladesh has set a target of producing at least 40 per cent of its energy from renewable sources by 2041 and has started working through different projects including solar, wind, tides, waste-to-energy and so one to achieve the target. He hoped that the UK would be beside Bangladesh in its climate actions.
Speaking about the Rohingya issue, the foreign minister underlined that the only solution to this protracted Rohingya crisis lies in the safe, sustainable and dignified return of the Rohingyas to Myanmar and requested the British state minister for their active political support in it.
The two leaders further discussed cooperation in the areas of migration and skills development, capacity building, ease of doing business, rural development, climate and environmental challenges, green energy, aviation, defence, and other issues.