UK reaffirms support for BD's initiatives

London, June 12 (UNB): UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade and President of the Board of Trade, Jonathan Reynolds, has reaffirmed the UK's support for Bangladesh's interim government's initiatives to recover the misappropriated funds, siphoned off to various countries.
Reynolds gave the assurance when he met Chief Adviser (CA) Prof Muhammad Yunus at the British Parliament on Wednesday.
Prof Yunus highlighted the interim government's efforts in economic recovery, particularly reforms in the banking sector, stabilisation of foreign exchange reserves, and maintenance of macroeconomic stability.
The meeting focused on enhancing bilateral trade relations and fostering investment opportunities between the two friendly nations, said the CA's deputy press secretary.
Their discussions encompassed mutual interests, including strategies to boost trade and bring increased British investment in Bangladesh.
CA's Security Adviser Dr Khalilur Rahman, Special Envoy to CA Lutfey Siddiqi, and SDG Affairs Principal Coordinator Lamiya Morshed, among others, attended the meeting.
Special Envoy Siddiqi proposed initiation of a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) between the UK and Bangladesh, noting that Dhaka has already started discussions on FTAs with several countries, including Japan.
UK Trade Envoy to Bangladesh Baroness Rosie Winterton and British High Commissioner to Dhaka Sarah Cooke also participated in the meeting.
BSS adds, CA's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam has said Bangladesh has expedited efforts with the UK authorities concerned to bring back its stolen money.
Recovering stolen money is a very time consuming and hard task, and that is why the interim government has expedited efforts to bring back the stolen money, he told a press briefing in London on Wednesday.
Alam said Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Chairman Dr Mohammad Abdul Momen and Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Dr Ahsan H Mansur are accompanying the CA during his London tour.
The ACC chief and the BB governor held a meeting with the national crimes agency of the UK regarding the asset recovery.
The agency has experience on how to identify the trail of asset laundering and attach the stolen assets, he said, adding that it has already taken two moves to this end.
The press secretary said they are also holding meetings to learn how different countries recovered their stolen assets.
He said Prof Yunus raised the asset recovery issue at a meeting with UK National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell. They also discussed Rohingya issue, Bangladesh's initiatives in consensus building, and regional peace and stability in South Asia.