Home Affairs Advisor Lieutenant General Md. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury (Retd.) has requested the Under Secretary of State (International Trade) Jarno Syrjala of Finland to open an embassy in Bangladesh.
He made this request during a courtesy call on the advisor at his office in the Ministry of Home Affairs at the Bangladesh Secretariat on Tuesday (April 08, 2025) afternoon.
The meeting discussed various issues related to mutual interests including law and order situation between the two countries, security issues, opening of the embassy, Rohingya issue, increase in trade and investment, and export of manpower.
Welcoming the ambassador at the beginning of the meeting, the advisor said that Finland has very good relations with Bangladesh. The country can cooperate in the various ongoing reform processes in Bangladesh. Moreover, the country needs to export skilled and educated manpower from Bangladesh at a higher rate. Assuring cooperation in this regard, the Under Secretary of State said that there are about 6,000 Bangladeshi immigrants in Finland, a significant number of whom are students. They are making an important contribution to the socio-economic development of the country.
The advisor said that since there is no direct embassy of Finland in Bangladesh, the visa process is complicated and lengthy. Currently, Finland is conducting its activities in Bangladesh through its embassy in New Delhi, India. He expressed the opinion that it is necessary to open an embassy of Finland in Dhaka to simplify the visa process and deepen the mutual relations between the two countries. Agreeing on this, Finland’s Under Secretary of State (International Trade) Jarno Syrjala assured the advisor that he would take the matter to the highest level of the government of that country.
Lieutenant General Md. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury (Retd.) said that Rohingya refugees are citizens of Myanmar. Bangladesh has given shelter to about 1.3 million Rohingyas for humanitarian reasons. Now it is time to repatriate them to their own country. He sought cooperation from the international community, including Finland, in this regard. The advisor called on the Under Secretary of State of Finland to import and invest in more ready-made garments from Bangladesh.
Veikko Kiljunen, Director of the Unit for South Asia and Southeast Asia of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, Ville Andersson, Team Leader of South Asia, Kimmo Lähdevirta, Non-Resident Ambassador of Finland (Delhi based), and senior officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs were present in the meeting.
