Brussels, 04/05/2001 (Agence Europe) - The cooperation agreement in terms of partnership and development between the Union and Bangladesh, which entered into force last 1 March, was published in its entirety in the Official Journal N°L118, with the Council decision to conclude it and a joint declaration specifying the terms for the respect of intellectual property, industrial and commercial. This agreement mainly aims to enhance and develop, beyond the framework defined in 1976, the various aspects of the cooperation in order to: support the sustainable economic and social development of Bangladesh, notably of the poorest sections of this country's population, which are among the least advanced on the planet, by granting special attention to women: contribute towards creating the right conditions for a development and a diversification of trade, while favouring direct investment and economic cooperation, as well as technical and cultural ties; encourage and enhance regional cooperation and North-South dialogue. The prevention of the diversion of chemical products precursors to drugs and capital laundering is the object of a relatively detailed undertaking, while the social issues (respect for the fundamental rights of workers and the improvement of their training) is broached in a specific chapter. Furthermore, the partners agreement to extend their cooperation to the fields of telecommunications and information society. They underline, in a commercial chapter, the undertaking by Bangladesh to take all necessary measures to effectively protect intellectual property industrial and commercial which, adds the annex, includes the protection of copyright (notably for computer programmes), brands, geographic indications and personal data. This agreement, which includes a developing clause, is valid for five years and automatically extended year on year.