The European Union on Tuesday night assured BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman of enhanced cooperation with Bangladesh in the coming days.
“They [the EU] said they would extend cooperation on a larger scale and with greater commitment in the days ahead,” BNP Standing Committee member Nazrul Islam Khan told reporters after a meeting between Tarique and an EU delegation.
The delegation, led by EU Ambassador Michael Miller, held talks with Tarique at the BNP Chairperson’s Gulshan office in the evening. The meeting lasted for more than one and a half hours and focused on the upcoming 13th national parliamentary election, the overall political situation, and labour rights.
Besides Tarique, those present included Nazrul and acting chairman’s adviser Mahdi Amin.
Nazrul said Tarique thanked the European Union for its continued support to Bangladesh’s development and urged it to play a more effective role in the future. In response, the EU delegation expressed its willingness to enhance cooperation in multiple areas.
He said the EU raised concerns over labour rights, to which Tarique Rahman responded that BNP had played a key role in ensuring workers’ welfare.
Nazrul said the EU informed the BNP that it would send a large election observation mission for the upcoming polls.
According to Nazrul, Tarique told the delegation that BNP had long demanded an early election and was committed to holding a peaceful, free and fair poll on the schedule announced by the Election Commission.
“This was the first meeting of Tarique Rahman with a foreign delegation at the party office since his return to the country on December 25,” he added.
