Irish Minister Simon Coveney to meet PM Hasina on Monday

Irish Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Simon Coveney arrived in Dhaka today (17 March) on a two-day official visit aimed at boosting bilateral trade and investment.

Additional Foreign Secretary (Bilateral-East and West) Nazrul Islam warmly welcomed the Irish Minister at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.

State Minister for Commerce Ahasanul Islam (Titu) hosted an iftar-dinner in honor of the visiting Irish Minister Sunday evening at the State guesthouse Padma.

The Irish minister will meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her official residence on Monday morning.

The Irish Minister will also meet with Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud and Private Industry and Investment Adviser to Prime Minister Salman F Rahman on Monday.

He will inaugurate the new Honorary Consulate of Ireland in Dhaka and join St. Patrick's Day celebration.

Earlier, he visited India as part of his government's St Patrick's Day programme.

He will conduct a series of political, trade and Ireland-Bangladesh community meetings, according to the Irish government.

Ambassador of Ireland to India, Kevin Kelly says, "I am also glad that Minister Coveney will officially open Ireland's first Honorary Consulate in Dhaka, Bangladesh, which is an important milestone in our relations with Bangladesh," Kelly said.

In its desire to further expand the bilateral relations with Dhaka, Ireland has recently appointed Cosmos Group Deputy Managing Director Masud Jamil Khan its Honourary Consul in Bangladesh.

About the minister's visit Khan said, "Building on the existing excellent relations, Bangladesh and Ireland have scope to work together to strengthen the bilateral ties tapping the potential of cooperation and collaboration in broad areas."

"Bangladesh is a very fast growing country and Ireland is a very developed and educated country. Both sides can work very well together," he told UNB.

Bangladesh and Ireland established diplomatic relations in early 1972.

Both countries are keen on expanding bilateral economic cooperation with Ireland showing interest in taking skilled IT manpower from Bangladesh.

During the past 27 years Bangladesh's exports to Ireland have increased at 16.8% annually from $7.1 million in 1995 to $466 million in 2022, according to official figures.