Dhaka a reliable partner of Moscow

Terming Bangladesh a reliable partner of his country, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov yesterday highly appreciated the improving bilateral relations between the two countries since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's official visit to Moscow in 2013.

Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali had official talks with his Russian counterpart in Moscow in the morning. He witnessed the signing of two Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with Russia on cooperation in the field of mass communications.

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Mahmood urged the Russian minister to consider resuming the Bangla Service of Radio Moscow, according to a message received here.

This was the first official visit by a Bangladesh foreign minister to Russia at the invitation of the Russian FM since the then USSR recognised Bangladesh as an independent country in January 1972.

The visit also coincided with 45 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Lavrov expressed happiness at the increased two-way trade that crossed $1.5 billion in 2015-2016 and hoped that bilateral economic cooperation would be further intensified in future.

Mahmood handed over a letter from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to Lavrov. Hasina in the letter addressed to her Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev invited him to visit Bangladesh.

The Bangladesh minister sought Lavrov's support for duty- and quota-free access of Bangladeshi products to Russian market and also to the member states of Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union.

The two ministers discussed regional issues of mutual interests, including the situation concerning the Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar.

Later, Mahmood visited the Russian telecom and mass communications ministry and had a meeting with the minister-in-charge Nikolai A Nikiforov.