EU postpones talks with Bangladesh

The European Union (EU) has postponed talks with the Bangladesh government, scheduled in September.

It has been postponed amid growing concerns over the recent violence, diplomatic sources confirmed Wednesday.

Talks were scheduled to sign a new cooperation and foreign assistance deal.

ources said no new date has been fixed for the dialogue.

As per an EU spokesperson, the decision to halt talks is consistent with EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell’s claims on 27 July that the 27-member bloc was gravely concerned at the killings by law enforcers during the recent student movement to reform quotas in government jobs.

The bloc would monitor government responses to the crisis closely, Borrell said.

On 25 October last year, a Bangladesh government delegation that included Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and EU representatives including the bloc’s chief Ursula von der Leyen had agreed to launch discussions in September this year for further expanding bilateral cooperation and bolstering EU assistance for Bangladesh.