Desk Report:
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed and UK Home Secretary Lord Hanson (Rt Hon Lord Hanson) met in an important bilateral meeting on Tuesday (March 17, 2026) on the second day of the Global Fraud Summit held in Vienna, Austria.
The meeting, held in the ‘MOE3’ room of the Vienna International Centre in the afternoon local time, discussed issues related to mutual security and strategic interests of the two countries.
At the beginning of the meeting, the Home Secretary warmly welcomed Lord Hanson and highly appreciated the historic and partnership relations between Bangladesh and the UK. He expressed his commitment to further strengthen the existing cooperation in the fields of defense, counter-terrorism and maritime security. Lord Hanson also agreed to take the strategic partnership of the two countries to new heights.
The Minister sincerely thanked Lord Hanson for the UK’s continued support for Bangladesh’s stability and democratic reform process after the 2026 national elections. He said that the current government is committed to upholding good governance and democratic practices in the country. Based on a meeting with British High Commissioner Sarah Cook in Dhaka last week, the Minister called for accelerating mutual cooperation in the security reform, immigration management and criminal justice sectors.
One of the main topics of the meeting was the reform and modernization of the Bangladesh Police. Citing the rich experience and professionalism of the British Police, the Home Minister sought the UK’s technical and training assistance in the strategic reform of the Bangladesh Police, ensuring human rights protection and institutional accountability. He said that the UK’s expertise will be very helpful for Bangladesh in building a people-friendly and modern police force.
The Minister called on the UK to continue international pressure to ensure the safe and sustainable repatriation of the Rohingya population. He stressed the importance of the UK’s active role in maintaining regional stability and providing humanitarian assistance to the large number of displaced people.
Lord Hanson praised Bangladesh’s security sector reform plan and Bangladesh’s role in maintaining regional stability and assured cooperation in the aforementioned areas.
Representatives of the diplomatic missions of Bangladesh and the UK in Vienna were present at the meeting.
