Envoy: Bangladesh willing to intensify comprehensive ties with Iran

Tehran, IRNA - Bangladesh is willing to intensify cooperation in every possible field with Iran, said the country's Ambassador in Tehran A.F.M. Gousal Azam Sarker. Azam Sarker made the remarks in a meeting with Managing Director of the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) Ali Naderi on Tuesday. Azam Sarker said that it was the first time he had visited IRNA office. “IRNA has a very good and long background of nearly a century,” he stated. “I would like to highlight that the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and the Islamic Republic of Iran are traditional and for centuries we have been so close,” he added. They have common cultural roots and many commonalities, he said. Historically Iran and Bangladesh have been interacting and have good will in both countries and build relations in different fields, according to the Bangladeshi diplomat. We also welcome cooperation between IRNA and Bangladesh news agency, he said, expressing confidence that both sides were working on an MoU in this regard. He urged positive coverage of progresses in both Iran and Bangladesh by the two sides’ news agencies, further explaining that the international media does not provide positive coverage of the developments in the countries which are taking good strides in this regard. Cooperation between the two countries and the two news agencies of Bangladesh and Iran is a positive step and we will hope that the cooperation will increase, the ambassador noted. Bangladesh is striving very hard under the honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, he said, adding that the government has been making great efforts in economic development. Bangladesh is making good economic growth of 5.2% even during the pandemic, when many countries had negative growth, according to Azam Sarker. "According to the dream of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman [Former Prime Minister of Bangladesh] the golden and developed Bangladesh, in realization of that dream Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has taken up two programs: Vision 2021 of transforming Bangladesh into a digital, middle-income country," he stated, noting that Bangladesh has become a middle-income country in 2018. The next is the vision 2041 which is aimed at transforming Bangladesh into a developed nation by that time, as said by the ambassador who underscored that the government is working very hard to reach that goal. Accordingly, he called for establishing cooperation with Muslim and brotherly countries. Meanwhile, Naderi elaborated on IRNA's 90-year history, saying that the agency covers both domestic and international news. He described the south Asia region as important for IRNA. He stressed developing cooperation with Bangladesh as a friendly and Muslim country, saying that the current administration in Iran also wants this. Although Iran and Bangladesh have good relations, he said, they should make more efforts to expand economic cooperation. Naderi expressed IRNA's readiness to introduce the two countries’ capabilities to Iranian and Bangladeshi businesses and investors. He underscored the MoU which is slated to be signed by IRNA and Bangladesh news agency on the sidelines of the upcoming meeting of the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA) in Tehran in October. He noted that the head of Bangladesh news agency has also been invited to OANA meeting. Naderi hailed Bangladesh's move toward development, saying that Iran would be ready to boost its cooperation with Bangladesh in this regard. Follow us on Twitter @IrnaEnglish