Bangladesh will have to take a safe path in its cooperation with Russia as it faces many sanctions, said Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain after a meeting with Russian Ambassador to Bangladesh Alexander Mantytskiy yesterday.
UN Resident Coordinator Gwyn Lewis and Japanese Ambassador Iwama Kiminori also called on the foreign affairs adviser yesterday.
“Our position is that we will not fight any war. I said, as there are sanctions against Russia, we will do whatever interaction and cooperation we can have,” said Touhid.
Mantytskiy sought the interim government’s support so that the work on Rooppur nuclear power project can continue without being hampered.
“I said we will definitely continue it. A big investment has been made there. If it is not completed, we will not get its result,” Touhid Hossain said.
Mantytskiy also handed over a letter from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to Touhid Hossain, congratulating him on his appointment as foreign adviser.
Meanwhile, the Japanese ambassador told Hossain that under the “Strategic Partnership,” Japan will continue its support for Bangladesh’s development and prosperity, and stand by its side during the transition process.
He said Japan will keep up with the existing projects related to the Rohingya refugees.
The UN resident coordinator told the media that a UN team of independent experts would visit Dhaka next week to investigate the killings during the students’ protest.
“They will assist us so that we can rightly probe the killings and punish those responsible,” Hossain told the media.
They also discussed economic cooperation, LDC graduation, climate change, and the ongoing UN humanitarian operations concerning Bangladesh.
