State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir on Wednesday expressed Bangladesh’s readiness to elevate bilateral trade relations with Indonesia towards a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

The State Minister requested Indonesia to ease visa processing for Bangladeshi nationals to promote tourism, cultural exchanges and greater people-to-people connectivity.

The issues were discussed when Indonesian Ambassador to Bangladesh Listyowati paid a courtesy call on the State Minister for Foreign Affairs at his office.

During the meeting, they discussed a wide range of issues of mutual interest, including trade and business, investment in the energy sector, disaster management, education and training, capacity building, tourism, cultural exchange, people-to-people contacts, consular affairs, exchange of high-level visits, and cooperation on regional and global issues.

State Minister Kobir urged Indonesia to increase imports of Bangladeshi products and services with a view to further deepening and diversifying bilateral trade.

In response, the Indonesian Ambassador reaffirmed her support for diversifying Bangladesh’s exports to Indonesia, including pharmaceuticals.

Referring to the vulnerability of both Bangladesh and Indonesia to natural disasters, State Minister Kobir expressed interest in strengthening bilateral cooperation in disaster management.

Supporting the proposal, Ambassador Listyowati emphasized the importance of exchanging knowledge, sharing best practices and enhancing capacity-building initiatives to mitigate the adverse impacts of natural disasters.

State Minister Kobir also sought Indonesia’s support for Bangladesh’s aspirations to become a Sectoral Dialogue Partner of ASEAN and to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

Ambassador Listyowati reaffirmed Indonesia’s continued support for these important initiatives of Bangladesh.

The meeting concluded with both sides reaffirming their commitment to working closely together at the bilateral, regional and international levels on issues of mutual interest.