11/06/2026
Foreign Minister Dr. Khalilur Rahman held an official bilateral meeting with the Foreign Minister of Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov on 08 June in Moscow. The two leaders discussed the entire gamut of bilateral relations and their wider engagement and cooperation in the regional and international forums including the United Nations. Both leaders recollected their friendship began four decades ago when they were representatives of their respective countries to the United Nations.
Delegates present at the meeting from the Bangladesh side were Humaiun Kobir and Mr. Nazrul Islam. Foreign Minister Rahman is currently visiting Moscow at the invitation of his Russian counterpart. Foreign Minister Mr. Rahman recalled the historic contribution of the former USSR during Bangladesh’s Liberation War. The former USSR was one of the first countries to recognize Bangladesh. Both the Foreign Ministers looked forward to the 55th anniversary of their diplomatic relation in 2027.
The Russian Foreign Minister Mr. Sergey Lavrov reiterated their vows to widen and strengthen bilateral relations with Bangladesh. He warmly congratulated Bangladesh Foreign Minister for being elected as the President of the 81st Session of the UNGA. Foreign Minister Rahman thanked Russia for its support to his UNGA Presidency candidature.
During the meeting, the two leaders took stock of bilateral cooperation in sectors and areas such as industry, power & energy, agriculture, research & technology, culture, education, tourism, transport and defence and resolved to expand and deepen cooperation in these areas.
Bangladesh Foreign Minister discussed to increase bilateral trade volume and requested Russian government for duty free quota free (DFQF) market to Bangladesh’s products and urged steps for fast-track registration process for Bangladeshi products. He requested Russia in invest in special economic zones and Hi-Tech parks in Bangladesh including in emerging sectors such as light-to-heavy engineering, food and agro-processing, petrochemicals, steel manufacturing, IT, etc.
He further requested Russia to support Bangladesh for concluding an FTA between Bangladesh and Eurasia Economic Commission (EEC). Currently, EEC has five members namely Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. He sought Russian support for Bangladesh to be an official member of BRICS and SCO to which Russian Foreign Minister replied positively.
Thanking the government of Russia for the fuel loading of the first unit of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, the Bangladesh Foreign Minister requested Russian Foreign Minister to extend full support in expediting the commissioning of the second unit as planned.
The two Foreign Ministers discussed about the recruitment of more manpower from Bangladesh for safe and secure jobs. They stressed the need for an early concluding of all pending MoUs and agreements between Bangladesh and Russia including two agreements namely the readmission agreement and the human resource agreement.
Bangladesh Foreign Minister requested for the safe repatriation of a number of Bangladeshis stranded in Russia. Foreign Minister Lavrov assured full consideration of his government of this matter.
Both the Foreign Ministers discussed about the safe, secure, and dignified repatriation of forcibly displaced Rohingya people from Bangladesh to their homeland and Foreign Minister Lavrov indicated that the Russian government would be willing to help in finding a lasting resolution of the issue.
Thanking the Russian Foreign Minister for welcoming him in Moscow, the Bangladesh Foreign Minister invited his Russian counterpart to visit Bangladesh at a mutually convenient time.
