Biman Bangladesh Airlines and NovoAir on Wednesday signed a special re-protection agreement for transporting each other’s passengers on domestic routes. 

The agreement was signed at the Balaka Bhaban, the head office of Biman. 

Mohammad Ali Osman Noor, deputy general manager (Pricing & RMS ) of Biman and Mes-bah-ul Islam, head of marketing and sales of NovoAir signed on behalf of their respective organisations.

Mokabbir Hossain, managing director and CEO of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, Mofizur Rahman, managing director of NovoAir and senior officials of both airlines were present.

Under this agreement, both airlines will carry passengers to each other’s domestic destinations in case of flight disruption or delay. 

At the same time, domestic passengers connecting international destinations will also be facilitated under the SRA.

Biman MD Mokabbir Hossain said he is delighted to have entered into such an agreement with NovoAir. 

“I hope passengers of both carriers will be highly benefited by this initiative,” he added. 

Managing Director of NovoAir Mofizur Rahman said they are proud to have entered into such an agreement with the national flag carrier. 

“We hope the passengers will get better service as a result of such mutual cooperation. NovoAir and Biman Bangladesh Airlines will work together in future for the development of the country's aviation sector,” he added. 

Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited has inaugurated its Bauphal sub-branch at Hospital road area in Patuakhali sadar.

Md. Aminur Rahman, executive vice president and head of Barisal Zone of the Bank inaugurated the sub-branch as chief guest on Tuesday, said a press release.

Md. Ibrahim Faruk, chairman, Nazirpur union parishad addressed the program as special guest. 

Presided over by Md. Zahirul Islam, senior vice president and head of Patuakhali Branch, Md. Moniruzzaman, in-charge of the sub-branch thanked the audience.

Businesspersons, Professionals and social elites were present in the occasion.

Uber on Tuesday  announced that it has enlisted 5000 vehicles on its platform to provide convenient and affordable transportation for riders, along with creating livelihood opportunities for its drivers, after a lengthy lockdown.

Uber’s enlistment drive follows a BRTA order which stipulated that ridesharing could only resume with enlisted vehicles. To comply with the directive, Uber has been raising awareness amongst the driver community to apply for enlistment certificates and also facilitating the application process on the BRTA portal, said a press release.

Uber resumed operations in Dhaka on 22nd June with its affordable UberX service and just this week has restarted services across its Premier and Intercity categories.

Ratul Ghosh, Head of Bangladesh and East India, Uber, said, “As our cities start to open, we want to ensure safe and convenient transport to Move Bangladesh Forward and help our communities on the path to recovery. We remain committed to working with authorities to facilitate the enlistment process for our drivers so that they can start earning a livelihood on our platform as soon as possible and are confident that our ridesharing services are best placed to provide the highest standards of safety and hygiene for riders and drivers in the new normal.”

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, Uber has launched multiple new services for supporting the needs of its riders, which have also created earning opportunities for drivers. These include Uber Connect, the package delivery service, which enables customers to transport packages from the safety of their homes and Uber Rentals, which allows riders to book affordable multi-hour, multi-stop options to travel in the ‘new normal.’

Over the past two weeks, Uber has also launched a comprehensive set of safety measures including an interactive Go Online Checklist for both riders and drivers, a mandatory mask policy for riders and drivers, industry first pre-trip mask verification selfies for drivers, an updated post-trip feedback mechanism and a cancellation policy.

The Cosmos Foundation is pleased to announce that Ambassador Li Debiao, a distinguished retired Chinese diplomat, has joined its Advisory Board as a Member.

Ambassador Li Debiao, a native of Ningho in the Zhejiang province, joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing, China in 1949.

He devoted the next four decades of his life and career to the service of China and its Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

As a diplomat he spent a total of twenty-six years in foreign postings. Of these, twenty were spent in Europe, two in Africa and four in Asia.

He was Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of Nepal. In course of his tour of duty there he made a significant contribution towards advancing Sino-Nepalese bilateral relations.

At the Ministry, he worked in the Department of Soviet and European Affairs and in the department of Asian Affairs.

He was also Directorof the the Office of Policy Research and Study.

Following his retirement, he has been Advisor to a number of prominent institutions in China.

The other members of the advisory Board of the Cosmos foundation are: Dr Danilo Turk, former President of the republic of Slovenia; Ambassador George Edward Moose, Vice Chairman United States Institute for Peace; Ambassador Krishnan Srinivasan, former Foreign Secretary of India; and Professor Haider A. Khan of the Korbel School of Institute of International Studies at the University of Denver.

Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, Principal Research Fellow at the Institute of South Asian studies at the National University of Singapore and former Foreign Advisor, Government of Bangladesh, is the President of the Cosmos Foundation.

Leaders of non-banks or non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) on Tuesday said they would come forward to revive the country's economy in the face of ongoing COVID-19 crisis by working on liquidity crisis, enhancing internal economic capacity and supporting the bond market.

They made the remarks at an online  press conference with the newly-appointed committee members of Bangladesh Leasing and Finance Companies Association (BLFCA).

Highlighting the success of the financial institutions, BLFCA Chairman Mominul Islam, also managing director (MD) and CEO of IPDC Finance Limited, said, NBFIs have been contributing to the socio-economic development of the country for the past few years.

Currently 33 financial institutions with their 276 branches and 8,358 officers are serving 255,000 customers across the country.

“By now, we have provided 6.4 percent loans to the banking sector, 13.3 percent to SMEs, 12.3 percent to industries, 45.5 percent  to depositors, and 17.4 percent to general people,” he added.

He also mentioned that the capital capacity of the institutions is 16.9 percent while the capacity of the banking sector is 11.6 percent. NBFIs are also 1 percent ahead of them in terms of growth.

BLFCA Executive Member Arif Khan, also MD and CEO of IDLC Finance Limited, said nobody wants to invest in private financial institutions due to a high rate of government treasury bills.

“In order to enhance the bond market, the government has to pay more attention to mutual funds. If the bond market develops, the banking sector will also develop,” Arif khan added.

Golam Sarwar Bhuiyan, Abu Zafar Md Saleh, vice-chairmen of  BLFCA, SM Shamsul Arefin, its executive member, among others, spoke at the occasion.