Dhaka //

Chief Advisor to the interim government of Bangladesh, Professor Dr. Muhammad Yunus, has urged Argentina to utilize the emotional relationship between the two countries surrounding football in various fields, especially trade and expanding bilateral cooperation.

Argentine Ambassador to Bangladesh Marcelo Sessa made the call when he met the Chief Advisor at the State Guest House Jamuna in Dhaka on Sunday (January 19).

Referring to the widespread support of Bangladeshis for the Argentine football team, Professor Yunus said, “We have an emotional relationship. We can move forward based on this. The ground is ready. We can take it to other areas as well.”

The Chief Advisor urged the Ambassador to increase cotton trade with Bangladesh and explore investment opportunities in this sector through wholly owned or joint ventures and explore the possibility of energy cooperation.

Dr. Marcelo Sessa told Yunus that there are still many areas of cooperation between Argentina and Bangladesh that are unexplored, which hold huge potential for both countries. He requested to consider opening an embassy of Bangladesh in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Marcelo Sessa said that if the embassy is opened, we will be able to utilize the good relations we have for the benefit of both countries.

He mentioned that Argentina currently has a trade volume of about 700 million US dollars with Bangladesh, which is tilted in his country’s favor. The Argentine government is trying to balance bilateral trade by increasing imports from Bangladesh.

Currently, Argentina exports soybeans, wheat, corn, raw cotton and other products to Bangladesh and imports ready-made garments worth about 22 million US dollars from Bangladesh. Marcelo Sessa emphasized on working closely in various sectors including cotton, joint investment, pharmaceutical industry, textiles, increasing cooperation in football including women’s football, microfinance, sending trade delegations, LNG and rice disease prevention.

He appreciated Bangladesh’s commitment to sign the International Convention against Enforced Disappearances on August 29, 2024. The ambassador sought Bangladesh’s cooperation in introducing a microfinance system in Argentina. Lamia Morshed, Principal Coordinator for SDGs at the Office of the Principal Advisor, and officials from the Office of the Principal Advisor and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were present during the meeting.

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