Bangladesh and Kyrgyzstan vowed to strengthen bilateral relations during the second Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) between the two countries held in Bishkek on Tuesday.

Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh Ambassador Asad Alam Siam and Deputy Foreign Minister of Kyrgyzstan Kairat Tursunkulov led their respective delegations during the meeting.

Bangladesh delegation among others included its Ambassador to Tashkent M Monirul Islam.

At the end of the consultation, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation between the foreign service academies of Bangladesh and Kyrgyzstan was signed.

Another MoU on the Programme of Action during 2026-2027 between the two foreign ministries was signed to strengthen visible and pragmatic outcomes on mutual benefits between the two countries. Both delegations also agreed to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two friendly countries during 2027.

During the meeting, both delegations discussed the entire gamut of bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Kyrgyzstan including trade and investment, education and scholarship, employment opportunities and mobility, business-to-business interaction, friendship between parliaments, high-level visits, IT sector and technology transfer, culture, people-to-people contacts, and visa facilitation.

They also discussed and emphasised widening interaction and cooperation in international and regional organisations such as the UN, OIC, and SCO for the mutual benefit of both countries.

They attached high priority to exploring untapped potential and recalibrating the relations between Bangladesh and Kyrgyzstan. They also agreed to arrange high-level visits to further deepen the political cohesion.

On bilateral trade, investment, and economic cooperation between the countries, both sides agreed to encourage more private sector interactions and exchanges of business delegations to realise the potential.

They agreed on wider cooperation and partnership in the textile-garment sector and pharma industries, considering the potential both countries have in the sectors. They emphasised the geostrategic location and a market of over 180 million in the Eurasian region and as a gateway to the wider region for deeper and substantial cooperation.

Kyrgyzstan expressed its optimism in the matter on the basis of G2G, B2B, Private Sector-to-Private Sector mechanism in cooperation and strengthening business and investment initiatives.

The two countries also emphasised a wider people-to-people bridge, including cooperation in education and sports, exchanges of students, youths, tourists, and cultural troupes and employment opportunities of highly skilled and semi-skilled professional workforce from Bangladesh to Kyrgyzstan in sectors such as garments, pharma, and IT.

The Kyrgyzstan delegation mentioned that there is a huge scope for higher education for Bangladeshi students in medical colleges and stressed on a regular and legal pathway for student mobility.

The delegations discussed a few other bilateral instruments regarding cooperation in areas such as visa exemption for diplomatic and official passport holders, apex chambers, agriculture, trade and economic cooperation, cultural cooperation, tourism promotion, promotion and protection of investments, and cooperation in the fields of industries. They agreed to conclude the instruments at the earliest.

After the FOC, Foreign Secretary Asad Alam had a bilateral meeting with Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Zheenbek Kulubaev.

They discussed and laid emphasis on deepening engagement in both bilateral and multilateral fronts for the mutual benefit of both countries.

The Kyrgyz foreign minister recalled his meeting with Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman in September in New York and expressed his hope to work closely with Bangladesh and extended his invitation to his Bangladesh counterpart to visit Kyrgyzstan at a mutually convenient time.