The United Kingdom in a bilateral meeting in Dhaka on Tuesday pressed for free, fair and participatory elections in Bangladesh.
It also offered assistance in holding the upcoming general election in a free and fair manner without violence.
‘As a long standing development partner, they have said that the UK wants to see free, fair and participatory elections without violence,’ foreign secretary Masud Bin Momen told reporters after the fifth UK-Bangladesh Strategic Dialogue at the Bangladesh Foreign Service Academy. He said that the UK had also offered Bangladesh to provide any assistance required for holding a free and fair election.
‘They have said that they are ready to extend any specific involvement or support in this regard. But we have said that it is our internal matter. We have an independent Election Commission constituted under a law and it is competent enough to hold free and fair elections,’ said the secretary, who led the Bangladesh team to the dialogue.
He said that the government was committed to holding a free and fair general election by January next year.
UK permanent under-secretary of the foreign, commonwealth and development office Sir Philip Barton led the British delegation to the strategic dialogue with Bangladesh.
Without responding to any question, Philip Barton said that the dialogue was a reflection of the growing relationship between the two countries, and their desire to work together more closely on economic, trade and development partnerships and on regional and global security issues.
About the participatory election, Masud Bin Momen said that the government and the EC would take all measures to make sure people could cast their votes while some might have different expectations here.
And it would be the responsibility of the party concerned to join the elections, the secretary added.
The two countries agreed to establish a Joint Working Group on migration and returns of undocumented migrants as three to four Bangladeshi migrants were getting undocumented in the UK every month, he mentioned.
They also agreed to conclude the Standard Operating Procedures governing the returns documentation processes and timescales prior to the first session of this Working Group by October, according to a press release.
The UK and Bangladesh agreed to continue cooperation on global and regional security.
The Western bloc, including the United States has recently been pressing for free and fair elections in Bangladesh so that its people could exercise their democratic voting rights.
The two sides reflected on their strong defence cooperation, and looked forward to the Defence Dialogue that would take place in London the next year, according to the release from the British High Commission in Dhaka.
The dialogue covered the full breadth of the Bangladesh-UK relationship, including political and diplomatic relations, economic, trade and development partnerships, and global, regional and security issues.
The UK and Bangladesh welcomed the evolution of the bilateral relationship into a modern economic, trade and security partnership, which advances shared global and regional priorities such as tackling climate change and the Rohingya refugee crisis, said the release.
The two sides agreed to work together to increase mutual prosperity ahead of Bangladesh’s graduation from Least Developed Country status.
Bangladesh welcomed the UK’s generous Developing Countries Trading Scheme and acknowledged its role in integrating Bangladesh into the global economy, creating stronger trade and investment opportunities, said the release.
In discussions on democracy and human rights, the UK encouraged free, fair, participatory and peaceful elections so the people of Bangladesh can exercise their democratic rights, the release said.
The UK also underlined the need to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms.
The UK emphasised its commitment to the Indo-Pacific region, as evidenced by membership of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and ASEAN Dialogue Partner status, while Bangladesh highlighted its recently published Indo-Pacific Outlook.
The UK stressed its unwavering support for the Ukrainian government and people in the face of this assault on their sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The fourth Strategic Dialogue was hosted by the UK in September 2021 while the first dialogue was hosted by Bangladesh in March 2017.
UK permanent under-secretary Sir Philip Barton arrived in Dhaka on Monday on a tow-day visit to Bangladesh.
