Bangladesh today sought Tajikistan's support for its aspiration to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), as the two countries pledged to deepen bilateral cooperation and expand engagement with Central Asia. The issue came up when Tajik Deputy Foreign Minister Idibek Kalandar paid a courtesy call on State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam at her office in Dhaka. The state minister highlighted Bangladesh's growing diplomatic engagement with Central Asia and other Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries as part of the government's strategy to broaden geopolitical connectivity and diversify its foreign policy outreach.
SCO Membership Aspiration
Shama Obaed Islam sought Tajikistan's support for Bangladesh's aspiration to become a member of the SCO. She noted that several Central Asian countries, including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, are members of the regional organisation. The Tajik deputy foreign minister responded positively and assured Bangladesh of his country's support for its SCO membership aspiration.
Strengthening Bilateral Relations
During the meeting, Shama stressed the importance of further strengthening bilateral relations, referring to the shared cultural values and historical ties between Bangladesh and Tajikistan. She underscored the need to expand cooperation in trade, commerce, investment, and economic diplomacy, describing them as key priorities of the government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.
Areas of Cooperation
The state minister also called for deeper collaboration in education, culture, sports, tourism, technology, knowledge and expertise sharing, skills development, vocational training, women empowerment, and youth entrepreneurship. She further emphasised enhanced youth exchanges, people-to-people contacts, business-to-business collaboration, and government-to-government cooperation through institutional mechanisms and bilateral frameworks.
Rohingya Crisis
Referring to the Rohingya crisis, Shama reiterated that the safe, voluntary, and dignified repatriation of the displaced Myanmar nationals to their homeland remains imperative and sought Tajikistan's continued support in international forums, including the United Nations. She described Bangladesh as a strong advocate of global peace and stability and highlighted the country's outstanding contribution to United Nations peacekeeping operations.
Reaffirmed Commitment
The meeting reaffirmed the commitment of both countries to strengthen bilateral cooperation and explore new avenues of engagement between Bangladesh and Tajikistan.
