Reciprocal visa exemption agreement with Egypt for diplomatic and official passport holders will be signed soon, Home Affairs Adviser Lieutenant General Md. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury (retd.) said.
He made this known during a courtesy call on the Egyptian Ambassador to Bangladesh Omar Mohie Eldin Ahmed Fahmy at his office in the Ministry of Home Affairs at the Bangladesh Secretariat on Tuesday (May 13, 2025) afternoon.
The advisor said that the draft of the mutual visa exemption agreement for diplomatic and official passport holders has been sent to Egypt through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for approval. If it is approved by Egypt, the agreement will be finally signed. Moreover, the issue of issuing on-arrival visas for ordinary passport holders is also being considered. The ambassador assured all-out cooperation from Egypt in this regard.
The meeting discussed various issues related to law and order and security between the two countries, police training, prevention of illegal immigration and human trafficking, countering transnational terrorism, exchange of intelligence information, mutual legal assistance, and exchange of experience on border security.
At the beginning of the meeting, the advisor welcomed the ambassador and said that Egypt is a close friend of Bangladesh. The country is the custodian and bearer of ancient civilization and Islamic history and tradition. Thanking the advisor, the ambassador said that Bangladesh and Egypt have had excellent bilateral relations for the past 50 years. This relationship is based on mutual respect and trust.
The ambassador said that the best police training academy in the African continent is located in Egypt. Egypt can assist Bangladesh in police training and capacity building. Moreover, Egypt is interested in cooperating with Bangladesh in the security sector. At this time, drawing the attention of the ambassador, the advisor said that the issue of suppressing transnational crime networks must be reflected in mutual security cooperation. He said that in addition to cooperation in the field of security, the two countries can sign agreements on preventing illegal immigration and human trafficking and mutual legal assistance.
When the ambassador asked about the biggest security threats to Bangladesh at present, the advisor said that there is no major security threat to Bangladesh at present. However, Rohingya refugees are one of the main obstacles and security concerns in Bangladesh’s security. Some Rohingya are creating security problems at the border. The advisor called on Egypt to provide financial assistance for the rehabilitation of the Rohingya and moral support for the repatriation of the Rohingya.
Stating that Egypt can cooperate with Bangladesh on border management and security, the advisor said that Egypt has a long border with Israel, which is one of the most disputed borders in the world. However, the Egyptian border guard force has been managing it very efficiently. He said that in this regard, arrangements can be made to exchange mutual experiences by organizing workshops and training between the border guard forces of the two countries. If this is done, I think the BGB will be able to perform its duties on the Myanmar border with more efficiency and skill.
Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs Nasimul Gani, Joint Secretary (Political-1) of the Public Security Division Md. Jasim Uddin Khan, Director General of the Africa Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs BM Jamal Hossain and other concerned officials were present at the meeting.
