The diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and the European Union (EU) have reached a new level with the signing of the Partnership Agreement (PCA). Those concerned believe that this agreement will further consolidate and multi-dimensionalize the bilateral relations. Foreign Minister Dr. Khalilur Rahman visited Brussels on Monday (April 20). He was accompanied by the Prime Minister’s Foreign Affairs Advisor Humayun Kabir.
\nThe Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday that during this visit, the Bangladesh-EU Partnership Agreement (PCA) was signed at the headquarters of the European External Action Service (EEAS) in the presence of the Foreign Minister and the High Representative and Vice President of the European Union Kaya Kalas. This agreement has opened a new horizon in Bangladesh-EU diplomatic relations.
\nDr. Khalilur Rahman and Kaya Kalas welcomed the signing of the PCA as a future-oriented framework for bilateral relations. They expressed hope that the agreement would further strengthen cooperation between the two sides in the political, economic, development and security sectors. They also opined that it would enhance mutual coordination in common regional and global interests.
\nIn the subsequent bilateral meeting, both sides reaffirmed their commitment to further advance the long-standing partnership between Bangladesh and the EU. In the meeting, the Foreign Minister briefed the EU representative on the recent democratic progress in Bangladesh and the ongoing reform, reconstruction and development activities of the government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.
\nShe thanked the EU for sending a strong election observation mission to Bangladesh on the occasion of the recently held 13th national elections. In response, Kaya Kalas commended Bangladesh for organizing a successful and acceptable election.
\nThe meeting focused on enhancing cooperation in various areas, including trade and investment, regional cooperation, migration and the Rohingya crisis. The Foreign Minister highlighted the priority issues for Bangladesh, including market access and the need to build a sustainable economic partnership with the EU. At the same time, he expressed his desire to start negotiations on a Bangladesh-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and an Investment Protection Agreement (IPA) expeditiously.
\nThe Foreign Minister expressed his gratitude for the EU\u2019s humanitarian assistance on the Rohingya issue and sought their continued engagement in a sustainable solution to this protracted crisis. During the visit, he held a bilateral meeting with Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Maxime Privo. In addition to reviewing Bangladesh-Belgium relations, the meeting expressed optimism about strengthening trade, investment, connectivity, innovation and multilateral cooperation.
\nBoth sides agreed to host the third Bangladesh-Belgium Bilateral Dialogue in Brussels later this year. The Foreign Minister called for increasing Bangladesh\u2019s engagement in Belgium\u2019s skilled sectors\u2014logistics, port management, pharmaceuticals, technology and water management. In addition, detailed discussions were held on immigration, visa and consular issues and the Rohingya situation.
\nOn the same day, he met with Ekaterina Zaharieva, Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation of the European Commission. The meeting focused on expanding Bangladesh-EU cooperation in the research, science, technology and startup sectors. The Foreign Minister called for increasing cooperation in various areas including artificial intelligence, digital innovation and sustainable development under the \u2018Horizon Europe\u2019 program.
\nThe Foreign Minister was accompanied on this one-day visit by Foreign Ministry Secretary Dr. Md. Nazrul Islam, Bangladesh Ambassador to Geneva and Permanent Representative to the UN Nahida Sobhan, and Bangladesh Ambassador to Belgium and Head of the EU Mission Khandaker Masudul Alam.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and the European Union (EU) have reached a new level…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":64008,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[284],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-64007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-64-2.jpg?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1?v=1776763847",1280,720,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-64-2.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1?v=1776763847",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-64-2.jpg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1?v=1776763847",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-64-2.jpg?fit=640%2C360&ssl=1?v=1776763847",640,360,true],"large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-64-2.jpg?fit=640%2C360&ssl=1?v=1776763847",640,360,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-64-2.jpg?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1?v=1776763847",1280,720,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-64-2.jpg?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1?v=1776763847",1280,720,true],"covernews-slider-full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-64-2.jpg?resize=1115%2C715&ssl=1?v=1776763847",1115,715,true],"covernews-slider-center":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-64-2.jpg?resize=800%2C500&ssl=1?v=1776763847",800,500,true],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-64-2.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1?v=1776763847",1024,576,true],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-64-2.jpg?resize=540%2C340&ssl=1?v=1776763847",540,340,true],"covernews-medium-square":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-64-2.jpg?resize=400%2C250&ssl=1?v=1776763847",400,250,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"Biz Trend 24","author_link":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/author\/online24"},"category_info":"National<\/a>","tag_info":"National","comment_count":0,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-64-2.jpg?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1?v=1776763847","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":63643,"url":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/?p=63643&lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":64007,"position":0},"title":"Foreign Minister’s Brussels visit, Bangladesh-EU Partnership and Cooperation Agreement to be signed","author":"Biz Trend 24","date":"April 15, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"A Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) is being signed between Bangladesh and the European Union to further institutionalize bilateral cooperation. A delegation led by the Foreign Minister will soon visit Brussels to sign the agreement. Today, Wednesday (April 15), European Union Ambassador to the Ministry, Michael Miller, called on Foreign\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "National"","block_context":{"text":"National","link":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/?cat=284&lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-48.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-48.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-48.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-48.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-48.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":64742,"url":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/?p=64742&lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":64007,"position":1},"title":"EU Representative Meets Foreign Affairs Advisor","author":"Biz Trend 24","date":"April 30, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Eric Kurzweil, Managing Director for Asia and the Pacific of the European Union External Action Service (EEAS), paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Tarique Rahman's Foreign Affairs Advisor Humayun Kabir. The meeting was held at the Prime Minister's Tejgaon office today (April 30). The meeting was attended by European\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "National"","block_context":{"text":"National","link":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/?cat=284&lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-43-3.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-43-3.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-43-3.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-43-3.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-43-3.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":38525,"url":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/?p=38525&lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":64007,"position":2},"title":"Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar to visit Dhaka","author":"Biz Trend 24","date":"August 13, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Amid the rapid development of Dhaka-Islamabad bilateral relations, Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar will visit Bangladesh on August 23. The Pakistani media outlet The Dawn reported this in a report on Tuesday (August 12). The report said that since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "International"","block_context":{"text":"International","link":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/?cat=115&lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Untitled-design-2025-08-13T161817.942.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Untitled-design-2025-08-13T161817.942.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Untitled-design-2025-08-13T161817.942.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Untitled-design-2025-08-13T161817.942.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Untitled-design-2025-08-13T161817.942.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":63041,"url":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/?p=63041&lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":64007,"position":3},"title":"India agrees to send Hadi’s killers back","author":"Biz Trend 24","date":"April 9, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Dhaka and Delhi held fruitful meetings during Foreign Minister Dr. Khalilur Rahman's first visit to India. Both sides expressed their determination to work together in the future in the field of regional cooperation and security, in addition to advancing bilateral relations. In addition, Dhaka considered India's agreement to send back\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "National"","block_context":{"text":"National","link":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/?cat=284&lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":67145,"url":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/?p=67145&lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":64007,"position":4},"title":"Food aid handed over to Kuwait, emphasis on strengthening ties","author":"Biz Trend 24","date":"May 25, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Setting a unique example of diplomatic solidarity and brotherhood, the first consignment of food aid sent by Bangladesh to the people of Kuwait has been officially handed over. Around 240 tons of emergency food items are being sent from Bangladesh to Kuwait in multiple flights, which is being seen as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "National"","block_context":{"text":"National","link":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/?cat=284&lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Untitled-design-44-6.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Untitled-design-44-6.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Untitled-design-44-6.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Untitled-design-44-6.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Untitled-design-44-6.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":56473,"url":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/?p=56473&lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":64007,"position":5},"title":"Discussions were fruitful, US Ambassador’s message to take relations forward","author":"Biz Trend 24","date":"February 8, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"US Ambassador Christensen has indicated that the existing diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and the United States will be further strengthened. The US Ambassador arrived at the Foreign Ministry at around 11 am today, Sunday (February 8). At the beginning of the event, he held a meeting with Foreign Secretary Asad\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "National"","block_context":{"text":"National","link":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/?cat=284&lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Untitled_design_-_2026-02-08T154307.581_1200x630.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1%3Fv%3D1770543885&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Untitled_design_-_2026-02-08T154307.581_1200x630.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1%3Fv%3D1770543885&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Untitled_design_-_2026-02-08T154307.581_1200x630.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1%3Fv%3D1770543885&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Untitled_design_-_2026-02-08T154307.581_1200x630.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1%3Fv%3D1770543885&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Untitled_design_-_2026-02-08T154307.581_1200x630.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1%3Fv%3D1770543885&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=64007"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64007\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64009,"href":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64007\/revisions\/64009"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/64008"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=64007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=64007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=64007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}