Jay will hold official talks with his counterpart Foreign Secretary Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury at the foreign ministry in the morning. They are expected to review bilateral relations and measures to further boost cooperation between the two countries.

The talks will also focus on development in regional and international arena, said a foreign ministry press release.

The arrival of Jay, who is accompanied by Stephen Smith, head of the South Asia Department at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), and his wife Lady Jay, follows a visit by British MP Oona King two weeks back.

At the end of her visit, King termed Bangladesh's democracy 'fragile' and expressed concern for what she said was a "daily erosion of democracy in Bangladesh."

This will be the highest level visit by a British official since the May 21 grenade attack on British High Commissioner Anwar Choudhury.

King expressed serious concern over the grenade attack probe, which has made little headway.

Britain is the fifth largest bilateral development partner of Bangladesh and the third largest destination for export.