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Bangladesh and Italy will hold political consultations in Rome on August 4 as the two countries seek to deepen cooperation in trade, investment, migration and a range of strategic areas, diplomatic sources said.

Senior foreign ministry officials from both sides will lead the talks, which are expected to cover trade and investment, migration and mobility, space and technology, defence and security, climate change and food security.

The consultations will also include discussions on regional and global developments, with both countries expected to explore new areas of cooperation to strengthen their longstanding partnership.

Ahead of the meeting, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is scheduled to hold an inter-ministerial meeting on Thursday to finalise Bangladesh’s position and review the proposed agenda.

Officials from relevant ministries and agencies are expected to attend the preparatory meeting.

Italy is one of Bangladesh’s major economic partners in Europe, with bilateral trade exceeding US$3.3 billion annually.

The country is also home to more than 200,000 Bangladeshi expatriates, who remit over US$1.3 billion to Bangladesh each year.