Bangladesh has signed a significant diplomatic agreement with African nation Gambia in Dhaka aiming to co-deploy troops in UN peacekeeping mission.
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen represented Bangladesh and Gambian Foreign Minister Mamadou Tangara represented his country. The agreement they signed on Sunday is a Joint Political Declaration that outlines a mutual commitment towards strengthening political ties and cooperation between the two nations.
Prior to this, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during a meeting at her official residence Ganabhaban agreed in principle to a proposal by a Gambian delegation, led by its Minister of Foreign Affairs, to co-deploy Bangladeshi and Gambian troops in a suitable United Nations (UN) peacekeeping mission, pending approval from the United Nations.
With this, Bangladesh and Gambia will work together in the UN peacekeeping mission to establish peace in various conflict-prone regions of the world. The premier later directed the concerned to formulate Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to implement the proposal for deployment of troops in peacekeeping missions subject to UN approval.
Bangladesh-Gambia Peacekeeping treaty
After the signing of the diplomatic agreement on Sunday, Abdul Momen said, “Now the agreement we have signed is related to the co-deployment of peacekeeping forces. In the future, as many peacekeepers as we will go, we will take peacekeepers from them. It should be noted that currently Bangladesh is working in nine peacekeeping missions.
About 184,000 Bangladeshi peacekeepers have worked in the UN since its inception. Gambia’s foreign minister said that through this agreement there will be tripartite cooperation between Gambia, Bangladesh and the UN. Bangladesh now serves in the most peacekeeping forces. On the other hand, Gambia is also working on a peacekeeping mission. This is the first time that Bangladesh will work jointly with a country in peacekeeping.
The ministers also talk about Rohingya Issue
Regarding the Rohingya issue, Mamadou Tangara said, “The Gambia wants to play an effective role in human rights and peacekeeping in the international arena on the Rohingya issue.” He said that they want to work on this issue with Bangladesh. He also said that the Rohingya crisis is a humanitarian issue, so Gambia will continue to cooperate with Bangladesh on the issue.
Regarding Gambia’s case against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice, the country’s foreign minister said that Gambia’s case against Myanmar on the Rohingya issue will not only serve to ensure justice, but will also serve as a vocal upright protest against genocide in any part of the world. In this regard, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said, Gambia’s historic legal battle in the international court for the displaced Rohingya population will be a precedent for the question of human rights. He said, “We express our gratitude to Gambia for such a cooperative attitude towards the Rohingya issue.”
Moreover, praising the success of Bangladesh in dealing with the global situation, he said, ‘Bangladesh has done a great job in dealing with the impact of climate change and developing countries. We want to learn from this experience of Bangladesh. The agreement holds a lot of promises for both Bangladesh and Gambia. Both the peacekeeping mission and the case to ensure justice for the displaced Rohingya people and their repatriation is important issue for Bangladesh.
