Dhaka: Bangladesh has been widening its diplomatic presence in the friendly countries to cover more countries by Bangladesh Missions abroad, according the Foreign Ministry in Dhaka.

At present, Bangladesh has 69 missions abroad and Bangladesh maintains its diplomatic relations with the rest of the world either through concurrent accreditation or by appointing Honorary Consuls General or Honorary Consuls.

Against this backdrop, the government reviewed the existing arrangement of concurrent accreditation and decided to accredit 38 Bangladesh Missions abroad with the responsibility to maintain ties with 96 countries of the world.

Before the re-arrangement, 30 Bangladesh Missions abroad used to be concurrently accredited to 69 countries.

Therefore, the review thus has enabled Bangladesh to cover 27 additional countries through its diplomatic outposts.

This expansion will give the country more edge in terms of reaching out to a greater global audience.

The decision has been taken in keeping with Bangladesh’s growing economy, exemplary success in socio-economic development, pivotal role in the global peacekeeping operations and vibrant engagement with the multinational forums, topical and cross cutting issues of importance.

The present government has attached due importance to gradually expanding the diplomatic network and as a result of the drive in the last 5 years, 11 Bangladesh Missions — Athens, Brasilia, Lisbon, Mexico City, Port Louis, Beirut, Istanbul, Kunming, Milan, Mumbai and Vienna — were either opened or re-opened.

Two other missions — Warsaw and Copenhagen — are expected to be in operation by the end of this fiscal year.