Bangladesh and South Africa are set to hold the sixth round of Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) later this month after a gap of six years, with Dhaka expected to raise a series of long-pending bilateral issues, according to MoFA sources.
Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam will lead the Bangladesh side at the consultations, scheduled to take place on May 21–22, a senior official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) confirmed to Deshkal News on Sunday afternoon.
Officials said Bangladesh will place strong emphasis on unresolved matters during the meeting.
According to the MoFA official, Dhaka has raised 18 issues with Pretoria, although responses have so far been received on only two.
“This time we will discuss those pending issues. We will also request South African authorities to open an embassy in Dhaka,” the official said.
The consultations are also expected to address concerns over the safety of Bangladeshi nationals in South Africa, including incidents where Bangladeshis have been killed. “Yes, of course it will be discussed,” the official added when asked about the issue.
The upcoming FOC will focus on a broad range of areas, including political engagement, trade, labour cooperation, agriculture, and the establishment of a South African diplomatic mission in Dhaka.
This time FOC will be held in South Africa. The officials will leave Dhaka on 19 May and return on 24.
The previous, fifth round of the FOC was held on September 3, 2019. During that meeting, both sides expressed satisfaction over the steady progress in bilateral relations and discussed ways to deepen cooperation across multiple sectors.
Officials noted that the consultations provide an opportunity for comprehensive exchanges on bilateral, regional and global issues, with particular emphasis on trade promotion, sectoral cooperation, high-level visits and strengthening people-to-people contacts between the two countries.
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