Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen
World must reject nuclear weapon use: Dhaka
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has said the world must unequivocally reject the use of nuclear weapons while supporting the peaceful use of nuclear technology for the benefit of humankind.
In his address to the commemorative High-level event organized on the sidelines of the 76th UNGA, the Foreign Minister expressed Bangladesh’s firm stance and unwavering constitutional commitment to general and complete disarmament.
Read:FM hands over his new book on Sheikh Hasina’s speeches to PM
The clarion call of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1974 to free the world from the scourge of nuclear war, forms the cornerstone of Bangladesh’s commitment and adherence to nuclear disarmament, said Dr Momen.
Rohingya Repatriation: Int'l community urged to take concrete actions
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has called on the international community including the UK to take concrete actions for creation of a conducive environment in Myanmar for sustainable return of Rohingyas to their homeland in Rakhine State.
Lord Ahmad, British State Minister for Foreign Affairs for South Asia, United Nations and the Commonwealth met the Foreign Minister at the Permanent Mission of Bangladesh in New York recently and discussed various issues including the Rohingya crisis.
Read: Rohingya repatriation: Dhaka seeks ICRC role in creating conditions in Rakhine
In the meeting, the issue of climate change was also discussed.
Rohingya repatriation: Dhaka seeks ICRC role in creating conditions in Rakhine
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has said ICRC should work more actively in Rakhine State with Myanmar authorities for creating a conducive environment so that the Rohingyas can go back to their homeland in a sustainable and dignified manner.
Dr Momen made the call when he had a meeting with Peter Maurer, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in New York recently.
Maurer expressed gratitude from ICRC to Bangladesh, particularly to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for her humanitarian gesture in providing shelter to the Rohingyas when they entered Bangladesh after being persecuted in the homeland by their own state machinery.
Bangladesh is now hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas in Cox's Bazar district and Bhasan Char.
Bangladesh at the UN General Assembly reiterated that the crisis was created in Myanmar and its solution lies in Myanmar.
Also read: ICRC continues supporting protection of detainees in Bangladesh amid COVID-19
Bangladesh 'pursuing legal recourse' to bring back Bangabandhu killer from US
Bangladesh is persuing legal recourse in the US for the repatriation of fugitive Rashed Chowdhury, a convicted assassin of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has said.
"It is in the legal process. We’re pursuing it."
Read:Bangladesh, Kuwait to chart out roadmap for boosting bilateral cooperation: FM
But the legal process is a time-consuming matter in the US, he said, responding to a poser at a press briefing in New York on Tuesday.
“(But) we are hopeful (of bringing back Rashed Chowdhury to Bangladesh). Our belief is that we’ll be able to bring back the person to the country after completing the legal process,” said Dr Momen.
He said that Bangladesh had earlier brought another killer back to the country from the US.
Biman to resume Dhaka-New York flights soon: Momen
Biman Bangladesh Airlines will resume its direct flights between Dhaka and New York soon, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has said.
The flight services between the two cities have remained suspended since July 2006.
The Foreign Minister expressed his optimism while briefing reporters at Lotte New York Palace on Monday on the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's participation at different events on the sidelines of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly.
Read: Biman to restart Delhi, Kolkata flights within air bubble Sep 5
“Our Prime Minister came to New York by an aircraft of Biman yesterday (Sunday)…. Now our Biman has come here. Our expectation is that the operations of Biman would begin on this route in the near future,” he said.
The Foreign Minister said that Bangladesh also signed an agreement with the Federation Aviation Authority (of the US)."This is why, we can be optimistic."
The Prime Minister arrived in New York on Sunday by a VVIP chartered aircraft of the national flag carrier Biman, raising the image of Bangladesh to a new height.
Dr Momen said the entire entourage of the Prime Minister was given honour at the airport and faced no immigration hassle. All the entourage members left by cars directly from the airport. "Our prestige has increased due to Sheikh Hasina,” he added.
Read:Biman to resume flights to Delhi and Kolkata from Aug 22
He said the flight operations on the Dhaka-New York route were suspended many years ago. "Now the fleet of Biman has got expanded significantly with the addition of many new and latest aircraft, after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina came to power."
“The good news is that they allowed Biman (to land at John F Kennedy Airport, New York). So, I hope that the operations of Biman flights would start in the near future, though we don’t know the exact date,” he said.
“If flights resume on this route of Biman, Bangladeshis living in the US will be very glad,” said the Foreign Minister.
Vaccine equity, Rohingya, climate change on top of Hasina’s UNGA agenda
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to focus on the issues relating to equity in vaccine sharing, sustainable recovery, climate change and Rohingya crisis at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
"Covid-19 vaccines should be a public good without any discrimination," said Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Thursday sharing the key engagements of the Prime Minister.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam and Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen were, among others, present at the press conference.
Prime Minister Hasina leaves here on Friday morning on a two-week official visit to attend the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York and other engagements with a stopover in Helsinki, Finland.
The theme of this year’s UNGA is “Building resilience through hope-to recover from Covid-19, rebuild sustainably, respond to the needs of the planet, respect the rights of people, and revitalize the United Nations.”Dr Momen said the Prime Minister will address the UNGA on September 24 in Bangla and in-person.
The Prime Minister will highlight Bangladesh’s impressive development journey, inclusive economic development, and success in the health sector, said the Foreign Minister.
He said Bangladesh will host a side event on the Rohingya issue titled “Rohingya crisis: Imperatives for a sustainable solution” where many countries are expected to voluntarily join.
Read: Vaccine inequity undermining global economic recovery
The OIC, ASEAN and European countries have already responded positively.
Dr Momen said there will be a number of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the UNGA.
The Prime Minister will deliver a speech at a programme titled “UN Common Agenda: Action to achieve Equality and Inclusion.”
Bangladesh on track to get 24 crore Covid jabs by April: Momen
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Wednesday sounded hopeful regarding collection of Covid-19 jabs, saying Bangladesh is on track to get 24 crore vaccines either in March or April next year.
"Vaccine doses are coming under the COVAX facility, as gifts and from other sources," the Foreign Minister told reporters on the sidelines of the 'Fifth International Conference on Inclusive Business' organised by the Dutch-Bangla Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DBCCI) in Dhaka.
Read: UK OKs vaccines for 12 year olds, aims to avoid lockdowns
Dr Momen said that Bangladesh needs 26 crore vaccine doses and some jabs would be produced at home too. "However, there is no update on vaccine cooperation with Russia due to the Covid-19 situation in the country."
Dr Momen said that half of the 16 crore people are young, while 2.22 crore people have already been vaccinated.
"Despite significant vaccination in Bangladesh, the United Kingdom kept Bangladesh in the red list which is very unfortunate," he said.
Momen pitches for Bangladesh-Oman biz forum to bolster trade ties
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has pitched for the involvement of the business community in both Bangladesh and Oman to expand the scope of bilateral trade and investment.
"We may consider forming a ‘Bangladesh-Oman Business Forum’ to explore and strengthen business cooperation between the two countries," he said.
Dr Momen said that both sides need to facilitate B2B (business to business) interaction and exchange of visits among their business community.
The Foreign Minister was addressing a webinar titled 'Bangladesh-Oman Bilateral Trade & Investment: Challenges and Opportunities' on Monday night to celebrate 'Mujib Year' and the golden jubilee of the Independence of Bangladesh.
Read:Momen bats for joint climate event during COP26
Sheikh Khalifa Alharthy, Under Secretary for Diplomatic Affairs, Foreign Ministry of Oman, and Bangladesh Ambassador to the Gulf state, Mizanur Rahman, also shared their views at the webinar.
As a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member, Oman applies 5 percent customs duty for all countries, including Bangladesh.
"Although Oman individually can not offer any tariff preference to Bangladesh, Muscat can pursue GCC for DFQF market access of some of our products to Oman and the GCC market as well," Dr Momen said.
"I propose that frequent exchange of trade delegations at official and private levels should be encouraged to expand areas of trade and strengthen bilateral trade," he said.
Both Bangladesh and Oman, Dr Momen said, can participate in trade fairs held in each other’s capitals on a regular basis to familiarise with products.
Investment Prospects in Bangladesh
The Foreign Minister said that Bangladesh has prepared the ground for foreign investments with friendly policies and a favourable business environment.
It has put investment regulatory laws in place like Private Investment (Promotion and Protection) Act 1980, which ensures legal protection and non-discriminatory treatment for foreign investors.
As part of its liberal policy regime, Bangladesh offers various incentives like tax holiday, tax exemption and waiver of import duties, capital repatriation, ease of profit, investment opportunities in stock market for foreigners, and other preferential benefits, said the Foreign Minister.
"The government has taken active steps to improve the business climate by enhancing connectivity through infrastructure buildup and improve the ranking of Ease of Doing Business and One-stop Service for foreign investors," Dr Momen said.
The government, he said, has also taken initiatives to establish 100 economic zones in addition to the existing Exclusive Economic Zones, and several high-tech parks for IT industries are underway.
Policy towards Afghan depends on its attitude: FM
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Thursday said Bangladesh will decide its policy towards Afghanistan independently after observing the situation, their attitudes and policies but no terrorists will be patronized.
“We’ve zero tolerance...we'll in no way patronise any terrorists,” he told reporters referring to the involvement of few Bangladeshis in Afghanistan in the previous Taliban government.
Dr Momen said he was asked whether Bangladesh will follow the policy of India or Pakistan but he made it clear that the decision of Bangladesh is not linked with the decision of any other country.
While briefing journalists at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he said Bangladesh has a historic relationship with Afghanistan and is observing the situation in Afghanistan which is a member of Saarc.
“We believe in democracy. We should ensure people’s welfare and we’re yet to take any decision on the Afghanistan issue,” he said.
The Taliban on Tuesday announced an all-male interim government for Afghanistan.
The Foreign Minister said Bangladesh always believes in a people's government that comes through a political and democratic process and Bangladesh always extends support to such a government where people’s desire is reflected.
On Wednesday, State Minister for Foreign Affair M Shahriar Alam said Bangladesh is still waiting for a permanent government in place in Afghanistan without hurriedly reaching a decision whether it will welcome the interim government or not.
“We’re still observing the situation very closely. Our focus still remains on peace and stability fully free from any war,” he told reporters at his office.
Responding to a question on progress over bringing back BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman and other criminals, the Foreign Minister said he cannot tell it exactly as the government is following the issues as per the laws. “I don’t have any such progress report.”
Read: Bangladesh to take its policy towards Afghanistan independently
Vaccine should be a public good without any conditions: FM
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has reiterated Bangladesh's call for making COVID-19 vaccine a public good noting that there are incidents of date expiry of vaccine doses for not sharing those timely with other countries.
"Vaccine should be a public good," he said adding that some are tagging some conditions while sharing vaccine doses which he sees as an "indirect pressure" on countries like Bangladesh.
Read:Bangladesh to take its policy towards Afghanistan independently: FM
The Foreign Minister was briefing journalists at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on his recent visit to Switzerland, Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
"We had a very busy schedule with some positive outcomes," Dr Momen said.
Referring to his meeting with UNHCR, the Foreign Minister said the UN will soon get engaged in Bhasan Char.
He said they also discussed the climate issues as Bangladesh remains very vocal on the issues.
The Foreign Minister said they want actions and delivery with fulfillment of commitments on climate front.
Earlier, Dr Momen said a successful pandemic recovery must involve universal vaccination ending vaccine inequality.
Read: Pay compensation to climate vulnerable nations: FM to developed countries
In this regard, he referred to the unfortunate manifestation of vaccine nationalism and called the world to stand united against such vaccine inequity.
“It is time for the development partners to be more humane and help the deserving without discrimination. Vaccine should be a public good,” said the Foreign Minister while speaking at the United Nations high-level Forum on the Culture of Peace held at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday.