DHAKA, 08 September 2021, (TON): UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has stressed on a coordinated international response on Afghanistan aimed at safeguarding regional stability, as he held a bilateral meeting with Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen.

Momen, who is on a visit to The Netherlands now, held the meeting on a virtual platform as his scheduled in-person meeting with Raab in London was not held on September 2 as the latter had to fly to Qatar for talks on Afghanistan.

The Taliban, after taking control of Afghanistan on August 15, are now in the process of forming a government, but a humanitarian catastrophe was already approaching amid millions of displaced people and a food crisis looming large.

During the meeting with Foreign Minister Momen, Raab discussed the strong relationship between the UK and Bangladesh.

He congratulated Bangladesh on its golden jubilee of independence and welcomed the last 50 years of UK-Bangladesh relations, while reiterating UK's support for the action Bangladesh has taken on climate change in the run up to COP26 and beyond, especially the country's transition away from coal to clean and renewable energy.

He pressed for Bangladesh to commit to a 2050 net zero target.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab conveyed the UK's appreciation to Bangladesh for hosting the Rohingya refugees, while reaffirming the UK's continued support to ensure dignified lives for the refugees in Bangladesh, to enable the Rohingya to return home to Rakhine state, and to maintain pressure on Myanmar.