The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) held a virtual meeting on Wednesday with Finland’s Ambassador for Human Rights, Katja Pehrman, to discuss democracy, human rights, the rule of law in Bangladesh, and the upcoming parliamentary elections.

According to a statement by the BNP Media Cell, the party urged the Finnish envoy to help expedite visa procedures for Bangladeshi citizens, particularly families and students, to ease applications from Bangladesh. 

BNP said that delays in obtaining visas from the Finnish Embassy in Delhi, due to India’s visa process, were affecting Bangladeshi students’ access to higher education in Finland.

Ambassador Pehrman assured the delegation that their concerns would be taken seriously.

The BNP delegation was led by Standing Committee Member Abdul Moyeen Khan. 

Other participants included BNP Finland chapter President Kamrul Hasan Joni, former International Affairs Secretary of Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dal Central Executive Committee and meeting coordinator Mohammad Khairuzman Lincoln, and Jaakko Koivusaari, a South Asia diplomat at Finland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

MN/