Bangladesh and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have stressed the importance of early materialisation of a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the two countries to bolster trade, investment, and economic cooperation.

The issue featured at a meeting between Acting Foreign Minister Humaiun Kobir and UAE State Minister for International Cooperation Reem bint Ebrahim Al Hashimy in St John's, Antigua and Barbuda, on November 2, said a foreign ministry press release this morning. 

They met on the sidelines of the 28th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

Both ministers stressed the necessity of advancing the proposed agreement as they discussed a range of bilateral and multilateral issues to strengthen Bangladesh-UAE relations.

The discussions focused on facilitating employment opportunities for skilled and semi-skilled Bangladeshi workers in the UAE labour market and safeguarding the welfare of Bangladeshis already living there.

UAE investment in Bangladesh's port facilities and reciprocal support in multilateral forums also came up for discussion.

The UAE side expressed particular interest in supporting Bangladesh in addressing the Rohingya crisis, including its root causes.