Bangladesh to get 200,000 AstraZeneca shots from Romania as gift

Romania will donate 200,000 doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine to Bangladesh.

Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu made the announcement during official talks with his Bangladesh counterpart Dr AK Abdul Momen in Bucharest Friday.

Dr Momen emphasized initiative from both countries to take the bilateral trade volume to an expected level.

He urged Romanian investors and companies to enter joint ventures or 100% owned business ventures in the 100 special economic zones, which are currently being set up in Bangladesh, and in high-tech parks.

The foreign minister also sought support from Romania on GSP facilities in the European market.

The two foreign ministers took stock of the various aspects of bilateral ties and discussed important regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest.

This is his first official visit to Bucharest at the invitation of the Romanian foreign minister and also the maiden visit at the foreign minister-level since the independence of Bangladesh.

During the talks, Dr Momen reiterated the strong admiration of Bangladeshis for the south-eastern European country due to the valued support and contribution received from the Romanians during the Liberation War in 1971.

Both the foreign ministers expressed deep satisfaction over the current progress of engagements between the two friendly countries.They agreed to extend cooperation in the areas of education and culture.

The possibilities of sending skilled and unskilled workers from Bangladesh to Romania were also discussed.

Rohingya crisis

Dr Momen apprised Bogdan of the latest developments and the measures taken by the Bangladesh government for the rehabilitation of the forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals and sought the active cooperation of Romania and the international community to ensure the repatriation of these people to their homeland.

Bogdan praised the steps taken by Bangladesh towards the forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals and assured of possible assistance in this regard.

Also, the ministers exchanged opinions and experiences on cooperation in different international and regional fora between Bangladesh and Romania.

They discussed and exchanged views on current important global as well as regional issues.

Bogdan thanked Bangladesh for its robust cooperation in different international organizations.

Momen invited his Romanian counterpart to visit Bangladesh along with a business delegation. The Romanian foreign minister happily accepted the invitation.

After the meeting, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on "Foreign Office Consultation" between the two ministries was signed by them.

At the end of the bilateral official talks, both the ministers took part in a joint press conference.

Education

Momen visited the Politehnica University of Bucharest (UPB), the largest technical university in East Europe.

During his meeting with the rector, they discussed various aspects of cooperation in the field of education between the two countries.

In presence of Dr Momen, an MoU between the Bangladesh Embassy in Romania and the UPB was signed on "Promotion of the UPB Excellence Scholarship Program”.

The rector of the university and the Bangladesh ambassador inked the agreement.

The MoU will create opportunities for Bangladeshi students to pursue higher studies in the technical field at the UPB with scholarships.

The rector of the university announced four scholarships for Bangladeshi students, which will be increased in the coming years.

Dr Momen invited the rector to visit Bangladesh to attend the Peace Conference to be held in Dhaka from December 4 to December 6.