Bangladesh and Singapore have agreed to accelerate the process for concluding the signing of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to further strengthen the trade and commerce ties between the two nations.

This was decided during a conversation over the telephone between Foreign Minister Dr. AK Abdul Momen and his Singaporean counterpart Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan today, a foreign ministry press release said here.

During the conversation, Dr Momen said FTA between Bangladesh and Singapore would be mutually beneficial by further enhancing the bilateral trade and investment.

The Bangladesh foreign minister expressed satisfaction over the excellent bilateral relations existing between the two friendly countries and said Dhaka considers Singapore as a role model of Economic Development.

The two Foreign Ministers agreed on the necessity of exploring synergies in new areas of cooperation for expanded bilateral engagement.

Dr. Momen sought Singapore's and ASEAN's proactive role in bringing a sustainable and permanent solution to the Rohingya crisis by ensuring their urgent return to their homeland in Myanmar.

In reply, Dr. Vivian assured that Singapore would remain engaged on the issue and of Singapore's continued support for a durable solution of the crisis.

Dr. Momen noted with satisfaction Singapore Government's continuous support to the Bangladeshi expatriate workers during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

He further suggested that Singapore may consider employing more of skilled workers from Bangladesh especially in their health and other service sectors.

Dr. Momen urged Singaporean investors to further invest in power, telecommunication, renewable energy, power transmission sectors in Bangladesh taking advantage of the existing investment-friendly atmosphere here. -BSS