Moscow ready to help Dhaka boost agriculture, fisheries

Russia has expressed its interest to help Bangladesh develop its agriculture and fisheries sectors, reports UNB.

The interest was conveyed during a meeting of the Bangladesh-Russia Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation held recently in Moscow, according to official sources.

A 16-member Bangladesh delegation, led by then ERD Secretary Kazi Shofiqul Azam, attended the commission's first-ever meeting since its inception on March 1 in 2017 while some 20 officials from Russia joined the session.

After the meeting, the sources said a protocol was signed between the two sides where a six-point agenda was included for the cooperation in the agriculture and fisheries sectors.

Referring to the protocol, the officials said the two sides agreed to continue work on increasing volume and broadening nomenclature of bilateral agricultural trade.

At the meeting, the Russian side expressed the interest that its Federal Service for Veterinary Phytosanitary Surveillance wants to share requirements for import of livestock products from Bangladesh.

Both sides, sources said, expressed mutual interest in cooperation between the Federal Service for Veterinary Phytosanitary Surveillance and relevant service of Bangladesh in the field of quality control of fish products.

They also expressed their eagerness to intensify the bilateral interaction in the field of agricultural education and training, as well as research and development.