DHAKA, September 8. /TASS/. Russia and Bangladesh intend to develop their political dialogue and to expand bilateral contacts in all areas, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after the talks with his Bangladeshi counterpart Abul Kalam Abdul Momen.

"We state with satisfaction that, despite the objective difficulties, connected, in particular, to the coronavirus infection, we maintain the Russian-Bangladeshi political dialogue at a very good level, and together, we agreed to intensify bilateral contacts in all areas," he noted.

The Russian foreign minister pointed out that Bangladesh is Russia’s "good and long-standing partner" in South Asia, adding that the relations between the two countries have been built upon "principles of friendship, equality and mutual respect" over the course of over half a century.

The minister announced that, during the negotiations, which he holds in Dhaka for the first time, the sides "discussed the perspectives of development of ties in trade and investment and noted that Bangladesh is Russia’s second-largest trade partner in South Asia after India."

"In the recent years, the trade volume consistently exceeded $2 billion, and, in 2021, it almost reached $3 billion," he said. "There was a certain decrease last year, and the inter-governmental commission on trade and economic cooperation, which had another meeting in March, works on fixing this situation."

"Our flagship joint project is the construction of the Ruppur Nuclear Power Plant in Bangladesh," Lavrov underscored. "Today, we stated that the project is being implemented steadily, in accordance with schedule, with delivery and loading of the first nuclear fuel expected in October already.".