The European Union will be sending an Election Exploratory Mission (ExM) to Bangladesh next week, to assess the situation on the ground ahead of the country's next national election.
The delegation is likely to begin its visit on July 9.
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The main objective of the ExM is to assess the "advisability, usefulness and feasibility" of a possible EU Election Observation Mission (EOM) for the upcoming parliamentary elections, according to the EU Mission in Dhaka.
This includes an assessment of the political environment and electoral framework, in close partnership and consultation with all relevant stakeholders - government authorities, political parties, civil society organisations and academics.
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European Union Ambassador to Bangladesh Charles Whiteley had a series of meetings in the last couple of months including with Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen.
In his meeting with Momen, they discussed the proposed deployment of an EU Election Observation Mission in Bangladesh ahead of the next election.
Momen welcomed observers from the EU and other countries during the elections.
The foreign minister reiterated that the government wants "free, fair and credible" general elections.
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He informed the ambassador of the steps taken to empower the Election Commission to enable it to conduct a "free and fair" election.