Director General of the Asia Pacific region, Africa and the Middle East and of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia Ambassador Kristi Karelsohn made a courtesy call on Foreign Secretary (Senior Secretary) Ambassador Masud Bin Momen at State Guest House Padma on 01 April 2024. The Foreign Secretary (Senior Secretary) thanked Ambassador Kristi Karelsohn for coming to Dhaka for the 1st Bilateral Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) between Bangladesh and Estonia. He praised Estonia’s advancement in the ICT sector and sought the country’s assistance, particularly in Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies. The Foreign Secretary (Senior Secretary) requested Estonia to consider expanding scholarships for Bangladeshi students and reiterated the importance of an exchange/linkage program between the Universities of Bangladesh & Estonia for cooperation in research on information technology and business. Both Foreign Secretary and Ambassador Kristi Karelsohn agreed that bilateral trade and investment levels between the two countries are still very low and there are plenty of scopes to increase them.
The Foreign Secretary suggested facilitating the Exchange of trade delegations or missions between the Chambers of Commerce or Trade Associations of both countries will help to unlock the potential of bilateral trade. He sought Estonia’s support and voted for Bangladesh’s candidatures in different international fora. The Foreign Secretary expressed hope that Estonia as an individual state and with the EU will remain active in mounting pressure on Myanmar to stop violence against Rohingya people, including sustainable return in safety and dignity to their ancestral land. The call on was followed by the 1st Bilateral Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) between Bangladesh and Estonia.
Additional Foreign Secretary (Bilateral- East & West) Ambassador Dr. Muhammad Nazrul Islam and Ambassador Kristi Karelsohn led their respective sides to the Foreign Office Consultations. All possible areas of bilateral engagements were discussed in the Foreign Office Consultations including political cooperation, candidatures in different multilateral forums, economic and digital cooperation including cooperation in blue economy and e-governance, ways of trade promotion, cooperation in sustainable development and climate change, and educational cooperation. Both sides also exchanged their views on issues of regional and global security including the situation in Myanmar, the Russia-Ukraine war, and the ongoing crisis in Gaza. The Foreign Office Consultations were followed by an iftar and dinner program hosted by the Additional Foreign Secretary (Bilateral- East & West) in honour of Ambassador Kristi Karelsohn and her delegation.