OREANDA-NEWS. July 18, 2013. Belarus and Bangladesh are set to sign nine international documents covering virtually all cooperation avenues, from financial sector and nuclear energy to joint programs in education and culture, the press service of the Belarusian government has told BelTA commenting on the official visit of the Bangladesh government delegation led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to Minsk.

This is the first visit of this level in the history of the bilateral relations. The program of the visit is packed with events and includes extended and one-on-one talks with Belarusian government officials. The Premiers of the two countries took part in the opening ceremony of the Belarus-Bangladesh Business Forum where they welcomed progress in the bilateral cooperation and promised assistance to business communities in promoting trade and economic cooperation, setting up joint ventures, holding joint presentations.

Prime Minister of Belarus Mikhail Myasnikovich and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina made an arrangement to hold the first session of the intergovernmental commission for trade and economic cooperation to elaborate a roadmap encompassing all promising projects.

Economic contacts between the two countries have been increasingly vibrant, the press service informed. Belarus views Bangladesh as a promising partner in Southeast Asia. The visit of Mikhail Myasnikovich to Bangladesh in November 2012 gave a powerful boost to the bilateral trade. The trade soared 12 times up to USD45 million over the four months of 2013 (USD 70 million in 2012). The recent arrangements open up great prospects to expand the bilateral trade manifold in the future.

The large-scale cooperation between the two countries began when Belarus provided USD 50 million in export loans to Bangladesh to buy Belarusian road and municipal machinery. The loan agreement can be viewed as a starting point for consistent advancement of Belarusian products on the market of Southeast Asia.

According to Prime Minister of Belarus Mikhail Myasnikovich, the bilateral trade and economic cooperation can and should result in joint ventures, joint projects in manufacturing and research projects. The two countries are well-positioned to expand cooperation in other areas, like transfer of pharmaceutical technologies, joint production of dairy products, supplies of tires, potash fertilizers and farm machinery.

According to sources in the Belarusian government, the talks are proceeding in a very open and trustful manner. The Premiers deem it necessary to keep strengthening the bilateral ties.

The official delegation of Bangladesh includes Minister of Foreign Affairs Dipu Moni, Lieutenant General Abu Belal Mohammad Shafiul Haque, Chairman of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) Ghulam Hussain, Vice-Chancellor of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology Professor Dr. Md. Elias Uddin Biswas and other officials. They were accompanied by an extensive business delegation featuring CEOs and owners of the country’s biggest companies.

Bangladesh would like Belarusian specialists to help construct the Ruppur Nuclear Power Plant. The works to build the NPP will be launched in 2014, which was coordinated with the Rosatom corporation.

The legal framework of the bilateral relations comprises the agreement on trade and economic cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Belarus and the Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh (came into force in May 2012).

Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina is a key political figure in the region. She leads the Awami League party. She is the elder daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first leader of the independent Bangladesh (1971) who is widely revered as the Father of the Nation. The country’s population is 163 million people; GDP is estimated at USD 118 billion (or USD 848 per capita), and foreign trade stands at USD 55 billion. The imports are dominated by machinery and equipment, chemical products, metalwork, textiles, foodstuffs, oil products and cement.

The strategic nature of political ties between Belarus and Bangladesh allows the two countries to intensify cooperation in all the key areas, including investment, manufacturing industry, agriculture, petrochemical industry, education and science, the press service of the government informed.

During the visit of Prime Minister of Belarus Mikhail Myasnikovich to Bangladesh in November 2012 the two countries signed six intergovernmental and 12 inter-agency agreements and treaties, including a cooperation agreement in education, science and technology, cooperation agreement in the defense industry and cooperation agreement on mutual protection of investment.