{"id":20694,"date":"2026-01-07T18:37:50","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T12:37:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/USBnews24.com\/?p=20694"},"modified":"2026-01-07T18:38:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T12:38:14","slug":"eu-bangladesh-to-finalise-negotiation-of-a-comprehensive-partnership-agreement-soon-visiting-eu-managing-director-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/USBnews24.com\/?p=20694","title":{"rendered":"EU\u2013Bangladesh to finalise negotiation of a Comprehensive Partnership Agreement soon, visiting EU managing director says"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
DHAKA, January 7, 2026 ,\u00a0 Chief Adviser Office\u00a0 : Paola Pampaloni, the visiting Acting Managing Director for Asia-Pacific at the European External Action Service (EEAS), paid a courtesy call on Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at the State Guest House Jamuna in Dhaka on Wednesday.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
During the meeting, the two sides discussed a wide range of issues covering Bangladesh\u2013EU relations, including negotiations on the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Partnership and Cooperation (PCA), the upcoming general elections and referendum, combating illegal migration, and expanding trade and investment.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Ms Pampaloni mentioned that the initiation of negotiations on the Comprehensive Partnership Agreement in November 2024 came after 20 years during which time there was a general partnership agreement.<\/div>\n
\"May<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Ms Pampaloni congratulated the Chief Adviser for the \u201cincredible and massive\u201d work he has undertaken since assuming leadership of the Interim Government in August last year, particularly in carrying out important reforms to which the European Union, as Bangladesh’s political and largest commercial partner, attaches great importance, and ensuring peace and stability at a critical juncture for the country.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\u201cIt was remarkable. It was very closely followed and appreciated by the European Union,\u201d she said, adding that when the Interim Government took office, the ambition for reforms was huge.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
The senior EU official welcomed the progress made on the PCA between the EU and Bangladesh. She said the pact would pave the way for deeper ties between the two partners and open up significant opportunities in trade and investment.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
In response, Professor Yunus thanked the EU for its sustained support to the Interim Government over the past 17 months. He described the PCA as one of the most important agreements for Bangladesh and said it would \u201csolidify\u201d Bangladesh\u2013EU relations.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Ms Pampaloni noted that the EU attaches top priority to its relationship with Bangladesh, reflected in its decision to deploy a significant, high-level election observation mission to monitor the February 12 general elections.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
She said the head of the EU Election Observation Mission would arrive in Bangladesh later this week and is expected to hold a series of meetings with political leaders and relevant authorities.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Professor Yunus said both the February 12 general elections and the referendum were crucial for Bangladesh\u2019s democratic transition. He noted that political parties have endorsed the July Charter and expressed confidence that they would campaign for \u201cyes\u201d votes in the referendum.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think any party will seek a \u2018no\u2019 vote,\u201d he said.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
The Chief Adviser reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring that the vote would be free, fair, participatory, and peaceful. \u201cPeople in this country have not been able to vote in free and fair elections for the past 16 years under autocratic rule. This time, they will vote in a festive manner,\u201d he added.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Ms Pampaloni stressed the importance of a peaceful election, saying Bangladesh\u2013EU relations could reach new heights following a successful democratic transition, ushering in a new era of engagement between Dhaka and the world\u2019s largest economic bloc.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Lutfey Siddiqi, Special Envoy of the Chief Adviser, and Lamiya Morshed, SDG Coordinator and Senior Secretary, and Michael Miller, the European Union Ambassador to Bangladesh, were also present at the meeting.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DHAKA, January 7, 2026 ,\u00a0 Chief Adviser Office\u00a0 : Paola Pampaloni, the visiting Acting Managing Director for Asia-Pacific at the European External Action Service (EEAS), paid a courtesy call on Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at the State Guest House Jamuna in Dhaka on Wednesday. During the meeting, the two sides discussed a wide range of issues covering Bangladesh\u2013EU relations, including negotiations on the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Partnership and Cooperation (PCA), the upcoming general elections and referendum, combating illegal migration, and expanding trade and investment. Ms Pampaloni mentioned that<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11808,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/USBnews24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/USBnews24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/USBnews24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/USBnews24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/USBnews24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20694"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/USBnews24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20694\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20695,"href":"https:\/\/USBnews24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20694\/revisions\/20695"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/USBnews24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/USBnews24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/USBnews24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/USBnews24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}