British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Sarah Cooke on Monday met BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.

Different bilateral issues including trade, business and investment, the next general election of Bangladesh and the money siphoned off the country to the UK came up for discussion in the hour-long meeting held at BNP Chairperson’s Gulshan office in the city.

BNP standing committee members Abdul Moyeen Khan and Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, BNP leader Shama Obaid and Tabith Awal were present in the meeting.

Briefing reporters about the outcomes of the meeting, Amir Khosru said how soon Bangladesh is going to elections was also discussed. 

“They (UK) wanted to know the matter of how quickly it is possible for an elected and accountable government to come to power through a fair election in Bangladesh,” he said.

Noting that different bilateral issues were discussed, the BNP leader said the meeting discussed how the bilateral ties alongside various trade, business and investment between Bangladesh and the UK could be taken forward further.

Mentioning that a huge amount of the laundered money was siphoned off to the UK, Amir Khosru said the UK’s role and cooperation for bringing back the smuggled money were discussed.  The UK assured of overall cooperation in this regard, he said.

The BNP leaders informed the British envoy about the casualties in the student-led movement as well as the torture and harassment carried out against BNP leaders and activists in the last 15-16 years, and false cases filed in the time. 

At the time, the matter of trial also came up for discussion. They (UK) wanted to know about the matter of justice in the country, said Amir Khosru.

The UK High Commission in a social media message said that British High Commissioner Sarah Cooke met with senior BNP leaders on Monday.

“They discussed national reconciliation and charting a peaceful pathway to an inclusive, prosperous and democratic future for the Bangladeshi people,” it said.