UK wants to be part of Bangladesh's success story: Cameron

British Prime Minister David Cameron today expressed his country's willingness to be part of Bangladesh's success story as he held a meeting with his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina on the sidelines of G7 outreach meeting here.

"The British premier told our Prime Minister that UK wants to be part of Bangladesh's success stories," Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque told a news briefing after the bilateral talks between the two premiers at hotel Shima Kanko here.

Haque said the discussion was held in a very cordial atmosphere as the two leaders discussed various bilateral and global issues and agreed to work together.

He said the issues of bilateral trade and investment largely dominated their meeting when the British premier highly lauded the development model of Bangladesh.

"On the very outset of the meeting, Sheikh Hasina narrated successive achievements of Bangladesh and background history of achieving 7.05 percent economic growth rate," the foreign secretary said.

Prime Minister's Principal Secretary Abul Kalam Azad, Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim and Bangladesh Ambassador to Japan Rabab Fatima were present at the meeting.

Pointing out the cooperation between Bangladesh and Britain in aviation security, the British Prime Minister expressed satisfaction over the progress in this area.

Haque said Cameron was curious to know about Bangladesh's premier's viewpoint on Britain's prospective exit from the European Union (EU).

"In reply, our Prime Minister said she favours Britain's stay with EU in the present era of integration and globalization. She said Britain should rethink the matter seriously as fate of many people is linked to the issue," the foreign secretary said.

Hasina, he said, told the British premier that she believed UK's membership in EU would benefit his country's economy while she also pointed out that the three Bangladesh origin British parliament members and Bangladesh diaspora in Britain also want Britain to continue in the EU.

The Britain is one of the largest destination Bangladeshi goods.