UAE-Bangladesh joint panel to meet this year

Dhaka: The joint commission of Bangladesh and the UAE will meet later this year after a lapse of 17 years to discuss enhanced economic ties as foreign ministers of the two countries identified the energy sector to be a prime area of cooperation.

"The joint commission, which did not meet in the past 17 years, is expected to meet in next couple of months," Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs, told a joint press briefing after talks with his counterpart Dr Dipu Moni during a one-day visit to Dhaka.

He said energy, particularly renewable power, was expected to be a major area of cooperation and the commission was expected to reach specific agreements on several issues including investment and agriculture and other areas, which were crucially "required by Bangladesh".

Moni said the commission is likely to meet ahead of Ramadan and expected to work out ways to reach specific agreements on a wide range of areas.

Bangladesh currently seeks to enhance power generation installing plants and exploring renewable energy sources as the country has a 1,500 megawatt power shortfall in summer.

"Fortunately, the economic meltdown is unlikely to last as long as feared earlier - that's good news for Bangladeshi workers in the UAE," Shaikh Abdullah said.