Romania to donate 0.2 million AstraZeneca jabs to Bangladesh

Romania will donate 0.2 million AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine doses to Bangladesh, a foreign ministry spokesman said on Saturday.

“Romania made the announcement when Foreign Minister Dr A K Abdul Momen held official talks with Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu in Bucharest on Friday,” he said. 

During the meeting, Dr Momen also sought support from Romania in regard to GSP facilities in the European market.

This is the first official visit to Bucharest at the level of the foreign minister since the independence of Bangladesh. 

Both the foreign ministers expressed deep satisfaction over the current progress of bilateral engagements between the two friendly countries.

The Bangladesh foreign minister put emphasis on the initiatives of the two countries to boost the volume of bilateral trade at the expected level. 

He urged the Romanian investors and companies to enter into joint ventures or 100 per cent owned business ventures in the 100 special economic zones, which are currently being set up in Bangladesh as well as in High-Tech Parks.  

The two foreign ministers consented to extending cooperation in the areas of education and culture. 

The possibilities of sending skilled, unskilled manpower from Bangladesh to Romania have also been discussed.

Foreign Minister Dr Momen apprised Mr Bogdan of the latest developments and the measures taken by the government of Bangladesh for the rehabilitation of the forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals and sought active cooperation of Romania and the international community to ensure the safe repatriation of the refugees to their homeland.

Mr Bogdan praised the efforts that have been taken by Bangladesh towards the forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals and assured possible assistance of Romania in this regard.

They exchanged opinions and experiences on cooperation in different international and regional fora between Bangladesh and Romania.  

Mr Bogdan thanked Bangladesh for robust cooperation in different International organisations.

After the meeting, a memorandum of understanding on “Foreign Office Consultation” between the two foreign ministries has been signed by the two Foreign Ministers. At the end of the bilateral official talks, both the foreign ministers took part in a joint press conference.

In the afternoon, Dr Momen visited the University Politehnica of Bucharest (UPB), the largest Technical University not only in Romania but also in the whole East European region. 

In presence of Dr Momen, a memorandum of understanding between the Bangladesh Embassy in Romania and the University Politehnica of Bucharest related to “Promotion of the UPB Excellence Scholarship Program” has been signed by the Rector of the University and the Ambassador of Bangladesh. 

This MoU will create opportunities for Bangladeshi students to pursue their higher study in the technical field in UPB with the university scholarship.