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Uzbekistan, and later expanded to include India, Pakistan, Iran and Belarus.

Khalilur arrived in Moscow on Sunday for a three-day visit at Lavrov’s invitation. Prime Minister’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Humayun Kabir and Bangladesh Ambassador to Russia Md Nazrul Islam also attended the meeting.

During the talks, Khalilur sought Russia’s support for concluding a free trade agreement between Bangladesh and the Eurasian Economic Commission, whose members include Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

With annual bilateral trade exceeding $2 billion, Bangladesh also sought duty-free, quota-free access for its products in the Russian market and requested a faster registration process for Bangladeshi goods.

The two sides reviewed progress on the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, the flagship project of Bangladesh-Russia cooperation. The first unit was commissioned on April 28, while the second is expected to begin operations later this year. Once fully operational, the plant is expected to generate up to 10 percent of Bangladesh’s total electricity supply.

The ministers agreed to expand cooperation across a range of sectors, including power, energy, agriculture, research, technology, culture, education, tourism, transport and defence.

Khalilur also invited Russian investment in Bangladesh’s special economic zones and hi-tech parks, particularly in light and heavy engineering, food and agro-processing, petrochemicals, steel manufacturing and information technology.