DHAKA: A seven-member delegation is set to take part at the second Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) between Bangladesh and South Africa in Pretoria on November 25-26.

Ambassador Mustafa Kamal, Secretary (Bilateral), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is leading the delegation.

External Publicity Wing of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a press release in this connection on November 23, 2013.

The release said: “The bilateral relations between the two countries have been excellent, which witness an upsurge in the recent years on a broad range of issues.

Last year, the two way trade between Bangladesh and South Africa hovered around $110 million and the prospect of increasing trade volume with South Africa and its neighbouring countries of Southern African Development Community (SADC) is immense.

There is a sizeable Bangladeshi community in South Africa contributing to the economies of the two countries.

Establishing air connectivity, maritime connectivity, opening of South African Mission in Dhaka and cooperation in fields of trade, education, agriculture, human resources development, rural & social development are likely to feature high during the talks.

The first round of SOM was held in Dhaka last year.”

BDST: 2135 HRS, NOV 23, 2013