Russia has expressed solidarity with Bangladesh on the Rohingya issue, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday.
The Rohingya issue was discussed during talks between Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Moscow on Monday.
At the meeting, Dr Momen briefed his Russian counterpart on the status of 1.1 million forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals, the Rohingyas, who have taken shelter in Bangladesh, a foreign office spokesman said.
Dr Momen also sought active support of the Russian Federation in expediting the process of repatriation of Rohingyas by encouraging Myanmar to create a conducive environment in the Rakhine state.
Mr. Lavrov welcomed the idea of involving the ASEAN in the repatriation process.
The two foreign ministers also took stock of the various aspects of bilateral ties and discussed important regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest.
Dr Momen put emphasis on the initiatives of the two countries to boost bilateral trade at the expected level, the foreign office said in a media release.
He urged the Russian investors and companies to enter into joint ventures or set up 100 per cent-owned business ventures in the 100 special economic zones, which are currently being set up in Bangladesh, as well as in hi-tech parks.
Mr Lavrov said that the economic forum in Saint Petersburg would be the ideal platform for Bangladesh to attract Russian and foreign investors.
Dr Momen also sought support from Russia for duty-free and quota-free access of Bangladeshi products to the Russian market as well as to the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union.
A memorandum of cooperation between the government of Bangladesh and the Eurasian Economic Commission is expected to be signed soon.
Both the foreign ministers have expressed deep satisfaction with the pace of progress of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant project under the state export credit extended by the government of the Russian Federation, which stands as a signature initiative in the bilateral relations.
The Russian foreign minister assured Bangladesh of timely completion of the project and training of the essential scientific and technical personnel.
The two foreign ministers also expressed their satisfaction over the successful operation and engagements of Gazprom in different gas fields of Bangladesh.
"Both the foreign ministers expressed their satisfaction over the first meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic and Scientific & Technical Cooperation Commission which was held in Moscow in October 2018," said the media release.
Later, Dr Momen met with senior officials of Gazprom International and discussed geophysical survey and the exploration of natural resources from the Bay of Bengal with the joint cooperation of Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration & Production Company Limited (BAPEX).
Gazprom expressed their interest to invest in the LNG sector of Bangladesh.
mirmostafiz@yahoo.com