Sweden has reiterated its assurance of extending political support along with humanitarian assistance to resolve the prolonged Rohingya crisis.
The assurance was made when outgoing Ambassador of Sweden to Bangladesh Alexandra Berg von Linde paid her farewell call on Foreign Minister Dr. Hasan Mahmud at the latter's office on Wednesday, a foreign ministry's press release said.
In reply, the foreign minister thanked the Swedish government for its humanitarian support to the forcibly displaced Rohingyas in Bangladesh and its commitment towards resolving the crisis.
During the meeting, Dr Hasan appreciated growing Bangladesh-Sweden trade and investment relations and sought Sweden's engagements with Bangladesh in ICT, skills development, and waste-2-energy sectors.
The foreign minister lauded the Swedish envoy's efforts and contributions to further strengthening bilateral relations between the two friendly countries.
He recalled with gratitude Sweden's recognition to Bangladesh as one of the earliest European countries, on 4 February 1972 and thanked the Swedish government for continued development cooperation support for Bangladesh over the last five decades.
The Swedish Ambassador deeply appreciated the holistic support from the Bangladesh authorities in discharging her responsibilities.
She stated that the visits of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to Sweden in 2017 and Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden to Bangladesh, in her capacity as the Goodwill Ambassador for the UNDP, in March 2024 have deepened the bilateral relations between the two countries.
Linde also shared her satisfaction on being able to witness the celebrations of the 50 years of diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and Sweden during her tenure in Bangladesh and hoped for expanded bilateral ties in the days ahead.
Highlighting that robust presence of around 50 Swedish companies, including H&M, Scania, Volvo, Ericsson in Bangladesh, she suggested that Swedish companies with expertise in green-tech, smart city and sustainable solution could augment the capacities of Bangladesh, particularly in green transition, digital transformation, and smart city solutions.
The Foreign Minister hoped that she would be Bangladesh's goodwill ambassador to Europe in the coming days.
