Romania to donate 2 lakh AstraZeneca shots to Bangladesh

Romania will donate 2 lakh doses of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine to Bangladesh.

Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu made the announcement during official talks with his Bangladesh counterpart Dr AK Abdul Momen in Bucharest Friday, says a press release.

Dr Momen emphasised initiative from both countries to take the bilateral trade volume to an 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, and in high-tech parks.

Dr. Momen also sought support from Romania in questions of GSP facilities in European market.

This is first official visit to Bucharest at the level of Foreign Minister since the independence of Bangladesh.

The two foreign ministers took stock of the various aspects of bilateral ties and discussed important regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest.

During the talk, Dr. Momen reiterated the strong admiration of the people of Bangladesh for the Romanian due to the valued support and contribution received from the people of Romania during the Liberation War in 1971.

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

They consented on 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 his Romanian counterpart 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 the active cooperation of Romania and the international community to ensure the repatriation of the forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals to their homeland.

Mr. Bogdan praised the efforts has 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 a robust cooperation in different International organizations.

Foreign Minister Momen invited Mr. Bogdan to visit Bangladesh along with a business delegation. He happily accepted the invitation.

After the meeting a memorandum of Understanding on "Foreign Office Consultation" between the two Foreign Ministries has been signed by them.

At the end of the bilateral official talks, they took part at a joint press conference.

Momen visited the University of Polythcnica of Bucharest (UPB), the largest technical university in East Europe.

During his meeting with the rector, they discussed various aspects of cooperation in the field of education between the two countries.

In presence of Dr Momen, an MoU between the Bangladesh Embassy in Romania and the UPB was signed on "Promotion of the UPB Excellence Scholarship Program."

The rector of the university and the Bangladesh ambassador inked the agreement.

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

The rector of the university announced four scholarships for Bangladeshi students, which will be increased in the coming years.

Dr Momen invited the rector to visit Bangladesh to attend the Peace Conference to be held in Dhaka during December 4-6.