Bangladesh and Indonesia have reaffirmed their commitment to deepening bilateral trade, investment and regional cooperation, with Dhaka urging Jakarta to increase imports of Bangladeshi products and services and support the country's regional economic ambitions.

Indonesian Ambassador to Bangladesh Listyowati paid a courtesy call on State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir at his office on Wednesday (9 September), during which they discussed a wide range of issues of mutual interest.

The discussions covered trade and business, investment in the energy sector, disaster management, education and training, capacity building, tourism, cultural exchanges, people-to-people  contacts, consular affairs, exchanges of high-level visits, and cooperation on regional and global issues.

State Minister Humaiun urged Indonesia to increase imports from Bangladesh to help deepen and diversify bilateral trade. He also expressed Bangladesh's readiness to move towards a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with Indonesia.

Humaiun also requested Jakarta to ease visa processing for Bangladeshi nationals to facilitate tourism, cultural exchanges and greater people-to-people connectivity.

In response, Ambassador Listyowati reaffirmed Indonesia's support for diversifying Bangladesh's exports to the country, including pharmaceutical products.

Highlighting the vulnerability of both Bangladesh and Indonesia to natural disasters, Humaiun expressed interest in strengthening bilateral cooperation in disaster management.

The Indonesian ambassador backed the proposal, stressing the importance of exchanging knowledge, sharing best practices and strengthening capacity-building initiatives to reduce the impact of natural disasters.

Humaiun also sought Indonesia's support for Bangladesh's bid to become a Sectoral Dialogue Partner of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

Ambassador Listyowati reaffirmed Indonesia's continued support for these initiatives.The meeting concluded with both sides reaffirming their commitment to working closely together at the bilateral, regional and international levels on issues of mutual interest.

SM/CitizenTimes