FE Report
Spain is interested to invest in the country's infrastructure, especially transport, and power and energy sectors.
Spanish Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Ignacio Ybanez Rubio expressed the interest at a meeting with Foreign Minister A H Mahmood Ali at the Foreign Office on Sunday.
"We have a very useful meeting with the minister. We discussed various bilateral and international issues, and emphasised more cooperation in various fields," the visiting Spanish secretary told reporters after a meeting with the foreign minister.
He also expressed his country's gratitude for Bangladesh's support in being elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for 2015-2016 term.
According to Mr Rubio, a number of Spanish companies are working in Bangladesh with local companies, and are mostly involved in textile sector.
"But they are now more and more interested to diverse their business and ready to move to other areas like infrastructure, transport and energy."
The Spanish secretary said they discussed various international and bilateral issues, including the country's political situation. But he denied making any comment on the issue.
"We have conversation on various issues, and the minister explained the situation. We have discussed the issues best for both the countries," he added.
Earlier, the Spanish secretary had a meeting with State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam MP. The meeting was also attended, among others, by maritime affairs secretary at ministry of foreign affairs Rear Admiral M Khurshid Alam, additional foreign secretary Mizanur Rahman, director general (UN) Mustafizur Rahman and director general (Europe) Mahbub Hasan Saleh.
The meeting was very congenial and will help consolidate the existing bilateral and diplomatic relations between the countries further, said the state minister in a statement issued to the press.
The Spanish secretary praised Bangladesh for receiving the prestigious Women in Parliaments Global Forum Award. He also appreciated the country's economic progress and steps taken to face terrorism.
"I wanted to come here to express my gratitude for Bangladesh's support. We're ready to cooperate with the country in the two years," said Mr Rubio while talking to reporters at the ministry after the meeting.
He also pointed out that Bangladesh is a member of the UN Human Rights Committee, and this is another area where both the countries are going to work together.
The Spanish delegation, led by the secretary, also agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to conduct foreign office consultations between the two countries.
The delegation included, among others, Chief of Cabinet of Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Nuria Reigosa, Ambassador Luis Tejada Chacon, Deputy General Director for Southern and Eastern Asia Fernando Alonso, Deputy Chief of Mission in Spanish Embassy in Dhaka Patrick Sandoval, and Economic and Commercial Counsellor in Spanish Embassy in New Delhi Carlos Jimenez.
In the evening the Spanish secretary also met State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid.
The secretary arrived in Dhaka on Sunday to discuss various bilateral issues with Bangladesh.
mzrbd@yahoo.com
