The British secretary of state for International Development, Andrew Mitchell, now in Dhaka called on the opposition leader, Khaleda Zia, on Saturday evening and expressed ‘concern at decline in foreign investment’ in Bangladesh.

Andrew Mitchell arrived in the city Saturday on a three-day official visit to Bangladesh.

During an hour-long meeting at Khaleda’s Gulshan

office, they discussed bilateral relations, political, economic and trade matters.

Briefing newsmen BNP vice-chairman Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury who was at the meeting said the British minister viewed that foreign investment in a country declines when it suffers from political instability.

Mitchell expressed ‘a little bit concern over a little decrease of foreign investment’ in Bangladesh, Shamsher told the reporters.

During the meeting the British international development minister expressed hope that free, fair, neutral and acceptable election would be held in Bangladesh to overcome political instability. He also expressed hope that the UK would play a bigger role in investment in Bangladesh.

Khaleda termed the relations between Bangladesh and the UK historic and it would further enhance in the days to come. She expressed hope that Bangladeshi students would get more opportunity for scholarship for study in the UK.

She also sought the UK minister’s intervention in increasing visa facilities for Bangladeshis to get job in Bangladeshi restaurants in the United Kingdom.

Mitchell said the main objective of his visit was development, which was intended to lift people of Bangladesh out of poverty.