SETTLING ROHINGYA ISSUE
Hasina seeks Thai help
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina meets with her Thai counterpart Yingluck Shinawatra at 2nd Asia-Pacific Water Summit meeting room of CMICE in Thailand on Monday. Photo: PMO
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday sought support from Thailand in convincing the Myanmar leadership to award citizenship to Rohingyas so that they stop coming to Bangladesh to take refuge.
Hasina sought the help at a bilateral meeting with her Thai counterpart Yingluck Shinawatra on the sidelines of the 2nd Asia-Pacific Water Summit (APWS) held at the meeting room of CMICE in the afternoon.
The premier also sought Bangkok’s support to become an Asean dialogue partner, integrated part of East-West Economic Corridor and Mekong Ganga Cooperation.
Briefing reporters after the bilateral talks, PM’s Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad said that both leaders discussed issues of mutual interests, including activities of the Joint Trade Committee and problems of beginning the construction work on the Dhaka Elevated Expressway.
At the meeting, Hasina informed Shinawatra that the government has selected the revised alignment-2 of the Dhaka Elevated Expressway project and it would be sent to the Cabinet Committee soon for its approval.
She hoped that Italian-Thai Development Company would start construction work on the 26-km expressway soon after the approval of the revised alignment-2.
About duty-free access, the Thai prime minister informed Hasina of her government’s decision to extend duty- and quota-free access to selected Bangladeshi products under WTO LDC provision to reduce trade gap and recruit Bangladeshis for Thailand’s fishery and construction sectors. She hoped that the two countries would sign a MoU at the shortest possible time.
The Bangladesh prime minister also expressed her happiness over the meeting of the Joint Trade Commission of the two countries after 24 years focusing on setting target to double the trade volume between the two countries by 2016.
Recalling the visit of Shinawatra to Dhaka in December last, Hasina said the visit has ushered in a new era of relations between Bangladesh and Thailand as Bangladesh holds Thailand as a very close friendly neighbour.
Hasina also sought the support of Thailand to Bangladesh’s candidature for the position of regional director of the South East Asian Regional Office of World Health Organization for period of 2014-2019.
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