Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Abdul Awal Mintoo held a courtesy meeting with Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi at the Bangladesh Secretariat on Sept 7.
State Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Sheikh Faridul Islam was also present.
During the meeting, the two sides agreed to hold the next meeting of the Joint Working Group on biodiversity conservation in the Sundarbans in Bangladesh under the existing memorandum of understanding between the two countries.
They also agreed to hold the next bilateral meeting in Bangladesh under the protocol signed for Royal Bengal Tiger conservation.
The two sides decided that the next meeting on transboundary conservation of the Asian elephant would be held in India.
They also exchanged views on environmental protection, climate change, transboundary environmental challenges, carbon credits, emissions reduction and the development of a green economy.
Minister Mintoo said Bangladesh and India, as close neighbours, have closely interconnected environmental and ecological interests.
Challenges such as climate change, floods, droughts, river and water resource management, air pollution and biodiversity loss are not confined to the boundaries of any single country, he said.
He stressed the need to further strengthen mutual trust, information and experience sharing, and effective regional cooperation to address these challenges.
