Environment Minister Abdul Awal Mintoo held four bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification’s 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) in Ulaanbaatar.

The talks covered land degradation and drought, climate resilience, ecosystem restoration, biodiversity conservation, renewable energy, trade, labour migration and institutional cooperation.

The meetings were with India’s environment, forest and climate change minister on August 24, Mongolia’s foreign minister on August 25, the International Organization for Migration’s Deputy Director General for Operations Ugochi Daniels on August 26, and Mongolia’s environment and climate change minister the following day.

Mintoo noted that strengthening regional and international partnerships was essential to address transboundary challenges such as climate change and land degradation. Bangladesh was interested in sharing its experience and capabilities with partner countries while learning from their successful initiatives, he added.

In the meeting with India’s environment minister, the two sides stressed expanding their long-standing environmental and climate cooperation. Discussions covered climate-resilient agriculture, efficient water use, drought risk management, forest and biodiversity conservation, protection of the Sundarbans and coastal ecosystems in the Bay of Bengal, and the use of remote sensing and GIS technology, as well as technical capacity building.

They also discussed cooperation in renewable and clean energy, including solar power, battery energy storage, land-efficient renewable technologies and environmentally sound energy management.

With Mongolia’s foreign minister, the talks focused on deepening bilateral relations and strengthening diplomatic representation by opening embassies in both countries.

Alongside environmental and climate cooperation, the two sides discussed expanding bilateral trade, particularly Bangladeshi exports of agricultural products, processed food, pharmaceuticals and ready-made garments. They also explored regular and safe employment for skilled and semi-skilled Bangladeshi workers in construction, services and agriculture, given demand in Mongolia’s labour market, with emphasis on government-to-government arrangements, recognition of skills and protection of migrant workers.

In the meeting with IOM’s deputy director general for operations, the two sides discussed the links between climate change and migration, capacity building for climate-vulnerable communities, and ensuring safe, orderly and regular migration.

With Mongolia’s environment minister, the two countries discussed institutionalising their environmental and climate cooperation, including a prospective memorandum of understanding. Land restoration, biodiversity, climate adaptation, sustainable natural resource management and capacity development were identified as possible areas of cooperation.

Bangladesh expressed interest in learning from Mongolia’s experience in pasture management, desertification control and drought resilience, and expressed interest in sharing its own experience in wetlands, coastal areas and community-based ecosystem restoration.

Mintoo said he hoped the meetings would strengthen practical cooperation with the countries and organisations concerned and give a new dimension to Bangladesh’s international partnerships on environment, climate resilience and sustainable development.