Special Correspondent :
Bangladesh and Russia have taken a significant step toward enhancing bilateral collaboration in quality control and standardisation, with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) and Russia’s Federal Agency on Technical Regulating and Metrology (GOST R).
The MoU was signed on Monday at the BSTI headquarters in Tejgaon, Dhaka. S. M. Ferdous Alam, Director General (Grade-1) of BSTI, and Anton Shalaev, Chief Executive of GOST R, inked the agreement on behalf of their respective countries.
The signing ceremony was presided over by Maksura Noor, NDC, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Industries. The distinguished attendees included Ekaterina Semenova, Minister-Counsellor of the Russian Embassy in Dhaka; Md. Mosharraf Hossain, Director General of the Eastern Europe and CIS Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Md. Hafizur Rahman, Administrator of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), and senior officials from the Ministries of Industries and Foreign Affairs, the Russian Embassy and BSTI. According to officials, the MoU paves the way for deeper technical cooperation in key areas such as standardisation, metrology, and conformity assessment. It is expected to foster mutual exchange of expertise and information, ultimately supporting bilateral trade through the harmonisation of standards.
“This partnership marks a new era of collaboration, aligning our standardisation systems with global practices and strengthening Bangladesh’s integration into the international regulatory framework,” said S. M. Ferdous Alam.
The agreement reflects BSTI’s broader efforts to expand international partnerships and elevate the quality assurance ecosystem in Bangladesh, while also helping Russian stakeholders gain better access to the South Asian market. Officials from both sides expressed optimism that the cooperation would lead to tangible benefits in technology exchange, industrial development, and trade facilitation.
