President Wulff praised Bangladesh during his meeting with civil society representatives at the Goethe Institute in Dhaka on Tuesday morning.

The former caretaker government adviser of Bangladesh, Sultana Kamal, who was present in the meeting, told bdnews24.com that the German president had described the country as ‘‘progressive."

According to Kamal, Wulff would go back to Germany with a very positive opinion of Bangladesh.

Support for Afghanistan

Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Dr. Dipu Moni informed the German president that Bangladesh was committed to seeking peace and stability for Afghanistan, according to a government press statement.

At the discussion Wulff lauded Bangladesh’s role in fostering peace in South Asia. He also called on the Dhaka government to participate in the International Conference on the Reconstruction of Afghanistan in Bonn, scheduled for early December. The Foreign Minister confirmed that a high-level delegation from Bangladesh would attend the Bonn Conference.

German-Bangladesh Economic Relations

The German president used his visit to Bangladesh to express the view that Germany's long-standing and very good relations with Bangladesh were now starting to bear fruit. In an interview with the Daily Star newspaper Wulff pointed to the fact that trade between the two nations was growing very rapidly. According to recent data, the overall trade volume between Germany and Bangladesh in 2010 increased by more than 23 percent compared to the previous year. It reached a volume of 2.8 billion euros in this period. During the same period, the value of exports from Bangladesh to Germany increased by 18 percent to 3,35 billion euros while German exports to Bangladesh increased by 55 percent 464 million euros. Germany is the second largest export market for Bangladeshi products.

Against this background the President of the Bangladesh-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Saiful Islam, described the German president's visit to Bangladesh as a huge opportunity for his country. Islam told Deutsche Welle that ‘‘Bangladesh can benefit politically, economically and culturally from the visit of the German president’’.

Long diplomatic ties

Bangladesh has long maintained good relations Germany. Germany was one of the first European countries to officially recognize Bangladesh as a newly independent country in 1972. Bangladesh also warmly greeted German reunification in 1990. Both countries have a long and successful bilateral relationship on most international issues.

Since the independence of Bangladesh, German churches and numerous non-governmental organizations have undertaken huge efforts to advance the social and economic growth of Bangladesh through the provision of economic development aid.

According to the German Foreign Office, high-level contacts between Germany and Bangladesh have intensified since 2009. Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visited Berlin from 23 to 25 October 2011, holding talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel and a number of other German ministers. During that visit, declarations of intent were signed on cooperation in the fields of climate protection and health care.

In June 2011, German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Niebel visited Dhaka, accompanied by EU Development Commissioner Piebalgs.

Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Dipu Moni held talks in Berlin in September 2010. During that visit, Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle and his Bangladeshi counterpart signed an agreement on cultural relations between the two countries.

Thus the German President's visit to Bangladesh comes as a part of a long line of diplomatic contacts between the two countries. During his present visit Wulff described Bangladesh as "a key partner in tackling global challenges."

The president hopes that ‘‘his visit will contribute to intensifying the cooperation between two countries and deepening dialogue on key issues for the future."

Wulff met with President of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, Md. Zillur Rahman, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as well as the leader of the opposition Khaleda Zia, on the second day of his visit. He also delivered a lecture at Dhaka University to students, teachers, academicians and intellectuals.

On Wednesday, the final day of his visit, the German president will go on a boat trip on the river Buriganga. He will then leave Dhaka for Indonesia.

Author: Arafatul Islam
Editor: Grahame Lucas