Canada to cooperate, support Bangladesh: High commissioner

Canadian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Lilly Nicholls on Monday said her country is committed to remaining a friend and partner of Bangladesh, reports UNB.
"We know that Canada and Bangladesh are both diverse countries; both champions of multilateralism, and both are trading nations and interested in maintaining a rules-based international order," she said.
As more and more countries think about the Indo-Pacific region as a strategic priority, the high commissioner said Canada is here to cooperate with and support Bangladesh as it graduates from LDC status.
Nicholls said she looks forward to having a discussion about the ways that they can expand that cooperation, and the ways in which Canada's vision of a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Pacific will include a vibrant, growing and open Bangladesh.
The envoy was speaking at a plenary session on "Defining Competition in the Indo-Pacific", moderated by Zillur Rahman, executive director of Centre for Governance Studies and chairman of Bay of Bengal Conversation.
US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas, Australian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Jeremy Bruer and British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Sarah Cooke, also spoke at the event.
Talking about Canada's Indo Pacific Strategy, she said the region is home to 65 per cent of the world's population and is rapidly becoming the global centre of economic dynamism.
"And we know that our security and our social and economic prosperity are intertwined with the Indo-Pacific, so Canada is taking action to make sure that Canadians will play a vital role in what we believe is becoming the most significant and strategic region in the world," said the high commissioner.
Canada recently launched our Indo-Pacific Strategy just short of a year ago, last November, and it is a "veritable game-changer" for Canada's role and position in the region.