BANGLADESH: The Bangladeshi government has praised and thanked Indonesia for its assistance to Muslim Rohingyas sheltered in a refugee camp in Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh. He also praised Bangladesh for accommodating Rohingya refugees from Rakhine state. The foreign secretary said the prime minister urged the Indonesian side to make investment in Bangladesh’s Special Economic Zones. During his visit, Widodo and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina signed five agreements, aiming to enhance bilateral relations, trade and investment, and boosting cooperation in different sectors between both countries. Hamid hosted a dinner session in honour of Widodo at the Bangabhaban building in Dhaka on Saturday evening. Jokowi is expected to hold talks with Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani on a number of issues including roles Indonesian could play in the Afghan peace process. Widodo paid homage at the National Mausoleum in Savar, in memory of those people, who were killed in the Liberation War in 1971 on Sunday.
Later, he visited the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum in Dhanmondi and placed a wreath at the portrait of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He reiterated his country’s support to the safe, dignified return of the displaced persons to the Rakhine State”, a joint statement said after Widodo visited a refugee camp in the Cox’s Bazar region of southern Bangladesh. According to Indonesia’s Department of Statistics, trade between Bangladesh and Indonesia now stood at $1.33 billion, of which $1.19 billion was in Indonesian exports. The Indonesian president arrived in Dhaka on Saturday afternoon on a two-day official visit at the invitation of his Bangladesh counterpart Md Abdul Hamid.
