bangladesh
Power Division, USAID sign agreement to cut carbon emissions
The Power Division and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to cut carbon emissions in Bangladesh, helping ensure the country's energy security.
Power Division Deputy Secretary Nirodh Chandra Mandol and Rebecca Robinson, acting director of the Economic Growth Office of the USAID, signed the MoU in Dhaka Sunday to implement the project "Bangladesh Advancing Development and Growth Through Energy (BADGE)."
Under the project, $17.2 million will be spent to cut carbon emissions in the country, Power Division Secretary Habibur Rahman said.
Read: AIBL signs agreement with Padma Diagnostic
According to the Power Division, the project will also help increase the cooperation between the private sector and educationists in reducing carbon emissions.
The BADGE project will also help improve regulatory oversight of energy systems by creating transparent and efficient energy markets, it added.
Power Division Additional Secretary Md Mohsin Chowdhury, Bangladesh Power Development Board Chairman Mahbubur Rahman and Power Cell Director General Mohammad Hossain also spoke at the event.
Chinese FM’s upcoming Dhaka visit part of regular contacts: FS
Foreign secretary Masud Bin Momen on Sunday said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s planned visit to Bangladesh next week is part of their “regular contacts.”
“It can’t be said (there’s) urgency (from the Chinese side). Since he will be visiting this region, he expressed desire to come here if we can give him time. We are looking into the timings,” he said when a reporter wanted to know why so urgency from the Chinese side.
In January 2017, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi had an hour-long stopover in Dhaka.
“This time, he will be coming for a longer period,” said the foreign secretary.
Read: Bangladesh Missions in Australia, Denmark & Switzerland get new envoys
Talking to a small group of reporters at his office on Sunday, the foreign secretary said the two countries will discuss ways to strengthen the relations during the visit.
He said the Rohingya issue might also come up for discussion as the Chinese foreign minister was part of trilateral meetings in the past on Rohingya repatriation.
Responding to a question, the foreign secretary said there are four-five MoUs in the pipeline which are yet to be finalized.
Foreign minister AK Abdul Momen is now visiting New York to attend an event on non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and he will go to Cambodia to attend the ASEAN Regional Forum meeting on August 5-6.He is expected to return home on August 6 evening.
The Chinese foreign minister is likely to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina apart from a bilateral meeting with his Bangladesh counterpart Momen to discuss bilateral, regional and global issues.
Read: Allama Siddiki appointed Bangladesh envoy to Australia
Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming met Momen last week at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and discussed various issues of mutual interest including the proposed visit of the Chinese foreign minister.
Momen told reporters on Friday said he will be happy to receive Wang noting that the visit has been finalised.
"The Chinese Foreign Minister is a very respectable man, very close to me. He will come here. I said that the Chinese foreign minister will come to my city and I will not receive him or I will not be able to meet him, it does not look good," he told reporters expressing displeasure over a section of media reports quoting him.
Wang is a member of the 19th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, State Councilor and a member of the Leading CPC Members Group of the State Council.
ACC's spree continues against relatively small fry
Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Sunday approved the case against chairman of Lakshmipur Model Union of Chandpur Sadar Upazila and the owner of Shapla Media Production Company Salim Khan as the commission found illegal wealth of TK 34 crore and concealing the information of about Taka 67 lakh.
ACC Assistant Director and Investigation Officer Ataur Rahman will file the main case soon, ACC Secretary Mahbub Hossain told the reporters.
As the complaint against Salim Khan was initially proved, a notice of submission of assets statement was issued against him with the approval of the commission, the ACC Secretary said.
After verifying the asset statement submitted by him, evidence of concealment of information of assets of Tk 66 lakh 99 thousand. In addition, the investigation of the ACC found evidence of assets outside the known income of TK34 crore 53 lakh 81 thousand and the case has been approved against him under Section 26 (2) and 27 (1) of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2004.
Read: Bangladesh’s First Digital Factoring Marketplace TREDX Launched
Earlier, on April 26, Metropolitan Sessions Judge KM Imrul Kayes banned Salim Khan from traveling abroad for 60 days in view of ACC's application. Later the time is extended in view of reapplying.
On September 20, 2020, the ACC issued a notice to Salim Khan and his wife Shahanara Begum asking for an account of their assets as preliminary evidence of illegal assets was found during the investigation. After checking various documents including income tax statement of Salim Khan, his family expenditure account was found to be TK34 lakh 88 thousand 800 taka while his total income is 61 lakh 72 thousand taka including the salary and allowance received as the chairman of the union council.
A notice to file a statement of assets was issued after the ACC's investigation found evidence of illegal assets,he added.
In addition, on April 6 of this year, an enforcement team led by ACC assistant director Rafi Nazmus Sa'dat conducted an operation by the enforcement team for verifying the allegations against Salim Khan.
During the operation, the ACC team made a spot inspection of the proposed land for Chandpur Science and Technology University at a distance of 800 meters from the Meghna River along the Chandpur-Haimchar road at Lakshmipur Mauza of Chandpur Sadar Upazila.
Read: ACC seizes Tk 80 lakh from DIG Prison’s house
The education minister's family has recently been accused of irregularities in the acquisition of land for the proposed Chandpur University of Science and Technology.
It is alleged that the education minister's family members, relatives and his close friends bought and sold land in Lakshmipur Mauza of Sadar Upazila while his elder brother Dr. Jawadur Rahim Wadud 99 percent of one acre land in 6 deeds, his cousin Zahidul Islam 61 percent of one acre and Laxmipur UP chairman Salim Khan also bought a few acres of land there.
Man on bike killed by city bus
A 40-year-old man riding on his bike was killed after being hit by a bus in the Jatrabari area of the city Sunday morning, said police.
The deceased was identified as Abul Kalam, son of late Abdur Razzak, originally from Darikandi village of Daudkandi upazila in Cumilla. He used to work in a Rod shop in Bangshal’s Nayabazar.
Read: Two killed as bus rams into human hauler in Dhaka's Mirpur
Rashedul Islam, the cousin of the deceased said that Razzak died on the spot when he was run over by a Taj Paribahan’s bus on the Dhaka Chittagong highway between Rayerbazar and Matuail around 10:30 am.
Later, police recovered his body and sent it to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital morgue for an autopsy.
Tamanna Akhtar, sub-inspector (SI) of Jatrabari police station confirmed the matter to UNB.
Bangladesh Missions in Australia, Denmark & Switzerland get new envoys
The government has appointed new envoys for its Missions in Australia, Denmark and Switzerland.
Mohammad Sufiur Rahman, currently serving as the Bangladesh High Commissioner to Australia, has been appointed as the next Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN Offices in Geneva and Ambassador of Bangladesh to Switzerland.
M Allama Siddiki, currently serving as Bangladesh Ambassador to Denmark, has been appointed as the next High Commissioner of Bangladesh to Australia.
Also read: Allama Siddiki appointed Bangladesh envoy to Australia
On the other hand, the government appointed AKM Shahidul Karim, currently serving as Bangladesh ambassador to Bhutan, as the new Ambassador of Bangladesh to Denmark.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs made the announcements separately on Sunday.
Sufiur Rahmanis is a career foreign service officer belonging to the 9th batch of the Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) Foreign Affairs cadre.
In his diplomatic career, Rahman has served extensively in various capacities both at the Headquarters as well as in Bangladesh Missions abroad such as New Delhi, Geneva and Islamabad, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday.
He also served as Director at SAARC Secretariat in Kathmandu.
Before Australia, Sufiur Rahman served as Bangladesh High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and Bangladesh Ambassador to Myanmar.
He has in his bag the experience of representing Bangladesh in numerous bilateral and multilateral meetings.
Sufiur Rahman did his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology (BUET).
He also completed MBA from Institute of Business Administration, University of Dhaka.
High Commissioner-designate Siddiki is a career foreign service officer belonging to the 10th batch of the Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) Foreign Affairs cadre.
Also read: Sufiur Rahman appointed Bangladesh envoy to Switzerland
In his diplomatic career, Siddiki has served extensively in various capacities both at the Headquarters as well as in Bangladesh Missions abroad such as Tokyo, Kolkata, Islamabad and London.
Before Denmark, Siddiki has served as Bangladesh Ambassador to Turkey.
He has in his bag the experience of representing Bangladesh in numerous bilateral and multilateral meetings.
Siddiki obtained his Honours and Masters in Public Administration from the University of Dhaka.
Ambassador-designate Karim is a career foreign service officer, belonging to 18thbatch of Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) Foreign Affairs cadre.
In his diplomatic career, Karim has served extensively in various capacities both at the Headquarters as well as in Bangladesh Missions abroad such as Stockholm, Cairo and London.
He was the Bangladesh Consul General in Jeddah.
Just before leaving for his maiden Ambassadorial assignment in Bhutan, Karim was serving as the Chief of Protocol at the Ministry.
He obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology (BUET).
He also participated in the executive programme at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore as well as completed the Japanese Language Course at Kansai Kokusai Center in Osaka, Japan.
South Korea to help Bangladesh enhance autism-related treatment facilities
South Korea will continue its support for the Institute of Paediatric Neurodisorder and Autism (IPNA) IPNA to enhance autism-related treatment facilities in Bangladesh and deepen bilateral ties, Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) Country Director Young-Ah Doh said Sunday.
She was addressing the seminar "Enhancement of Diagnosis and Treatment of Neurodevelopmental Disabilities for Children in Bangladesh," held at the IPNA, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), in Dhaka.
Under the same title, KOICA supported an 11-day long online fellowship programme, comprising 20 IPNA officials, for the second year in a row.
The intensive training was conducted by the Inje University of South Korea to share the country's experience in neurodevelopmental disorders and improve the integrated diagnostic capacity building of the IPNA.
A detailed presentation on the lessons learnt and best action plans were delivered by the IPNA officials. They focused on topics such as improving the ability to diagnose and treat neurodevelopmental disorders, counselling and psychotherapy for children with neurodevelopmental disorders and their families; therapeutic communication for psychotherapists, occupational therapy practice framework, sensory interaction, education and counselling practice.
Young-Ah Doh hoped that the training would strengthen the base for treating children with neurodevelopmental disorders.
Dr Md Sharfuddin Ahmed, vice-chancellor of the BSMMU, thanked KOICA for its close partnership with IPNA since 2012.
Online app introduced for foreign tourists in Bandarban
Local administration introduced an online app aiming to ease the travel permit process for foreign tourists in Bandarban district.
From now, the tour guide has no need to submit an application after appearing physically to travel in Bandarban, said deputy commissioner Yeasmin Parvin Tibriji.
Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs Minister Bir Bahadur Ushwe Sing inaugurated online software at the DC office on Sunday.
Foreign tourists, who want to visit Bandarban, can apply on the web software through their tourist guide and will receive their travel permit within five days, said Yeasmin Parvin.
Read: Padma Bridge to bring good luck for the Sundarbans tourism
Before getting permission from the local administration, the application of the foreign tourists will be sent to the special branch for police verification, she said.
“Earlier, tourist guides had to appear before the local administration physically for taking permission for any foreign tourists which is such a lengthy process and sometimes they get harassed. But through the newly introduced software, the visitor can know everything by tracking,” she added.
The visitors can know easily why his/her application is cancelled through the app, said Yeasmin.
Allama Siddiki appointed Bangladesh envoy to Australia
The government has appointed M. Allama Siddiki, currently serving as Bangladesh Ambassador to Denmark, as the next High Commissioner of Bangladesh to Australia.
High Commissioner-designate Siddiki is a career foreign service officer belonging to 10th batch of the Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) Foreign Affairs cadre.
In his diplomatic career, Siddiki has served extensively in various capacities both at the Headquarters as well as in Bangladesh Missions abroad such as Tokyo, Kolkata, Islamabad and London.
Also read: Sufiur Rahman appointed Bangladesh envoy to Switzerland
Before Denmark, Siddiki has served as Bangladesh Ambassador to Türkiye.
He has in his bag the experience of representing Bangladesh in numerous bilateral and multilateral meetings.
Siddiki obtained his Honours and Masters in Public Administration from the University of Dhaka.
Also read: Shahidul Karim Bangladesh's new ambassador to Denmark
Austerity reducing imports to $6 billion a month: Salman F. Rahman
Prime Minister’s Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman F Rahman has emphasized on diversification of exports and reducing imports to stabilize the currency's depreciating trend.
He was speaking at a business luncheon meeting organized by Bangladesh-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry at a city hotel on Sunday.
Salman said the austerity measures initiated by the government and the central bank to rein in a bullish trend of import since the beginning of the second half of last fiscal year are paying dividends as import costs have shrunk to $6 billion from over $8 billion a month.
“It [imports] used to be $8 billion a month, which came down to $7 billion last month and $6 billion this month. I believe our issues will be resolved pretty soon," he said.
Salman said the prime minister took proactive initiatives to protect the economy in pandemic times and she did the same when the dollar prices began skyrocketing.
Read: Govt to provide financial support to ensure compliance in industries: Salman F Rahman
"Alongside, Bangladesh Bank has taken initiatives to reduce imports at the right time."
"When this government came to power we have about 4 thousand MW capacity in electricity but now it has become 22 thousand MW which reveals our potent energy situation. Though we now have a better situation to attract the FDI and I also admit there is room for development,” he says.
The policies that make RMG a successful enterprise have to be replicated in other sectors," he added.
Dr. Selim Raihan, Executive Director of South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM) presented the keynote speech on “Anatomy of a Macroeconomic Crisis”.
"We shouldn’t call the situation a crisis rather we say it is a challenge," he added. "Yes, our foreign reserves have some pressure but we need not be compared with other countries like Srilanka and Pakistan as our economic base is more stable and stronger."
President of FBCCI Md. Jashim Uddin were present on the occasion as special guest while Haznah Md Hashim, Malaysian High commissioner to Bangladesh was present as a guest of honor.
Jashim Uddin says that the Bank shouldn’t impose higher interest to stabilize exchange rate, because the SME and other business can be demoralized and fall into distress.
Read: Sufiur Rahman appointed Bangladesh envoy to Switzerland
Malaysian High commissioner to Bangladesh Haznah Md. Hashim thanked BMCCI to organize this well-timed seminar on burning issues.
"As a brotherly nation and important trade and business associate, Malaysia will continue to support Bangladesh with all its strength as far as our bilateral bond become strong," she said.
At the beginning BMCCI President Syed Almas Kabir said BMCCI "powerlunch" aimed for macroeconomic analysis which broadly focus on the current economic situation and inform us the overall health of economy a comprehensive view of the recent global financial crisis within a framework and the factor concerning our monetary and fiscal policy for crisis management.
At the end of the programme, CEO of Robi Axiata Ltd. and as a Vice President of BMCCI Riyaaz Rasheed thanked all and expressed his gratitude being a part of this grand event.
Sufiur Rahman appointed Bangladesh envoy to Switzerland
The government has appointed Mohammad Sufiur Rahman, currently serving as the Bangladesh High Commissioner to Australia, as the next Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN Offices in Geneva and Ambassador of Bangladesh to Switzerland.
Sufiur Rahmanis is a career foreign service officer belonging to 9th batch of the Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) Foreign Affairs cadre.
In his diplomatic career, Rahman has served extensively in various capacities both at the Headquarters as well as in Bangladesh Missions abroad such as New Delhi, Geneva and Islamabad, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday.
Also read: Shahidul Karim Bangladesh's new ambassador to Denmark
He also served as Director at SAARC Secretariat in Kathmandu.
Before Australia, Sufiur Rahman served as Bangladesh High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and Bangladesh Ambassador to Myanmar.
He has in his bag the experience of representing Bangladesh in numerous bilateral and multilateral meetings.
Sufiur Rahman did his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology (BUET).
Also read: Bangladesh to continue to attract increasing foreign investment despite issues: US
He also completed MBA from Institute of Business Administration, University of Dhaka.