British Indo-Pacific Minister arrives to strengthen ties

Staff Reporter :
Indo-Pacific Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan from the UK on Friday arrived in Dhaka for her first ever visit to Bangladesh.
During her visit, she is expected to discuss a range of issues including security, democracy, human rights, trade, and the Rohingya crisis.
During her visit to Bangladesh, Anne-Marie Trevelyan is scheduled to hold meetings with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen.
In addition, she will also hold talks with representatives from civil society organisations, humanitarian activists, climate experts, and business groups, the British High Commission in Dhaka said in a press release.
The British High Commission also state that the purpose of the visit is to celebrate the successes of the UK-Bangladesh relationship and to further strengthen the close links between the two countries in the years to come, including through Bangladesh’s crucial election year.
As part of her visit to Bangladesh, Anne-Marie Trevelyan is expected to sign the UK-Bangladesh Climate Accord aiming to enhance cooperation between the UK and Bangladesh in climate action, both bilaterally and multilaterally. The accord is intended to help deliver the outcomes of COP26 and COP27.
“The UK has been proud to stand as a close partner of Bangladesh for more than 51 years. From trade and investment to defence, climate action, and humanitarian collaboration, our relationship is rooted in our shared principles. Through my visit, I look forward to strengthening our close and valued partnership even further,” said Anne-Marie Trevelyan.
British High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Robert Chatterton Dickson, said the UK’s historic partnership with Bangladesh is a unique and valued relationship.
|This visit reaffirms the UK’s commitment to Bangladesh and our shared ambitions for the future of our partnership. We will be working even more closely together on issues including trade and investment, climate, security, education and equality for women and girls, and the Rohingya crisis,” he said.
Minister Trevelyan will also visit Cox’s Bazar to see first-hand UK humanitarian support for Rohingya people in the camps.
During her visit, she set out how the UK is supplying food for 449,000 people living in the camps this month through the World Food Programme.
In addition, UK support will go to the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for pressure cookers that can help reduce the consumption of cooking gas.
While in Dhaka, the minister will also meet representatives of the Global Centre on Adaptation (GCA) to hear what GCA is doing with UK support in Bangladesh.
GCA is working to help local communities take the lead in building their resilience to climate change impacts. They are also helping source more finance for climate adaptation projects.