EU-Bangladesh: Remarks of the High Representative/Vice-President Kaja Kallas, on the occasion of the initialling of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement

Check against delivery!  

Welcome to Brussels, dear Minister Rahman it is an honour to have you here. We appreciate your visit so early in your tenure. 

This allows me to congratulate also you and your government, especially as your government tackles the ambitious reforms that you have before you, not least through the Global Gateway and the response to the ongoing Rohingya crisis is also a vital pillar to our ties. 

I am pleased that you have come to Brussels for this very positive occasion, the initialling of the agreement. This marks a significant step forward in our relations. It responds to the need for a more strategic and comprehensive basis for the EU-Bangladesh relations, because the existing bilateral agreement dates back to 1994.

It also reflects our shared ambition to deepen cooperation and build resilience. The Partnership and Cooperation Agreement is rooted in shared commitment to international law and norms. It foresees greater cooperation on climate change, counterterrorism, migration, trafficking, money laundering, drugs, organised crime, and crisis management.

This agreement is also about prosperity for both of us through trade and investment, digital trade, customs cooperation, intellectual property rights, education and training, and science and technology. 

I would also like to thank both the negotiating teams really, in particular, the chief negotiators whose efforts have been really solid. I look forward to signing the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement in the near future once necessary formalities, including legal scrubbing are completed and to working together with you to make these commitments a reality. 

 So, thank you again for being here and thank you for the negotiators for their work. 

Link to the video: https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/media/video/I-287828