The United Kingdom (UK) Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Cameron has congratulated Hasan Mahmud on his appointment as Bangladesh's new foreign minister.

“I look forward to working with you, building on our deep shared history, people-to-people ties and wide-ranging shared interests and values,” Cameron wrote in a congratulatory letter to his Bangladesh counterpart.

In the letter, he said the recent statement issued by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office reflected these values and set out the UK's views on democracy and human rights.

“We will continue to engage constructively with you on these issues.”

British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Sarah Cooke handed over the letter to the Bangladesh foreign minister when she called on him at the ministry in Dhaka on Wednesday.

In the letter, Cameron said that the Bangladesh-UK bilateral relationship is evolving from being development-focused, to a modern economic, security and migration partnership.

“I hope that by working together we can boost our trade and investment ties, strengthen our security partnership and collaborate on global and regional challenges such as climate change, a free and open Indo-Pacific and the welfare of the Rohingya refugees,” wrote the British foreign minister.

He also attached great importance to progressing cooperation on addressing illegal migration, including from Bangladesh.

“I look forward to hearing your priorities for our relationship and to working together to deliver our mutual interests,” Cameron said.

He conveyed his good wishes to Hasan Mahmud as he started his new role.