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Bangladesh and Indonesia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for mutual cooperation in the energy sector, foreign ministry said on Tuesday.
Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr A. K. Abdul Momen and his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi signed the MoU on behalf of their respective countries in Jakarta on Monday, officials said.
Dr Momen, who is now in Jakarta, also signed a bilateral MoU for agricultural cooperation on behalf of Bangladesh.
While the energy-sector MoU aims at promoting long-term sales and delivery of the conventional form of energy and developing new and renewable energy sources and power plants in Bangladesh, the agriculture one is intended to foster collaboration in producing, marketing, promoting technology transfer and exchange of best practices in the field of agriculture.
The Foreign Minister requested his Indonesian counterpart to ease the market access for Bangladeshi readymade garment products in Indonesia.
Expressing his satisfaction with the recent increase in bilateral trade volume between the two countries surpassing the three-billion-dollar mark, Dr Momen noted the stark imbalance between Bangladesh’s import and export volumes.
The gap can only be reduced by promoting the export of Bangladeshi products to the Indonesian markets, especially the ones for which Bangladesh has competitive advantages, the minister said during his meeting with the Indonesian FM.
Recognising Indonesia as an important trade partner of Bangladesh in the ASEAN region, he said that there was great potential to further enhance bilateral trade and investment, given the complementary strengths and resources.
He expressed his hope that the bilateral Preferential Trade Agreement between the two countries would be finalised soon.
Dr Momen is visiting Jakarta to accompany President Mohammed Shahabuddin as the latter, at the invitation of President Joko Widodo of Indonesia, participating in the 43rd ASEAN Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit – two grand events attended by top leaders from the Southeast Asia region and beyond.
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