United News of Bangladesh

The United Nations Human Rights Council has adopted by consensus the first-ever resolution on artificial intelligence (AI), titled “Implications of Artificial Intelligence for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights”, with Bangladesh serving as the penholder and playing a leading role in advancing the initiative. During the ongoing 63rd session of the UN Human Rights Council, Bangladesh joined fellow Core Group members Algeria, Austria, Egypt, Greece, Guyana, Kuwait and Nepal in steering the initiative on AI and human rights. Guided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh, the initiative was first presented before the Council in August 2026 by former Ambassador and Permanent Representative Nahida Sobhan on behalf of the Core Group. Since then, the Core Group has pursued an open, inclusive and constructive process of engagement with Member States and relevant stakeholders. The consensus adoption marks a significant step forward in strengthening the Council’s consideration of the evolving relationship between artificial intelligence and human rights, while keeping human dignity, development, inclusion and international cooperation at the centre. It also reflects Bangladesh’s growing and constructive role in shaping international discussions at the intersection of emerging technologies, development and human rights, and its growing contribution to multilateral diplomacy. Bangladesh underscored that continued constructive engagement and cooperation among Member States and stakeholders will remain essential as the initiative moves forward.

Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi, who flew home on Monday, sat with Indian Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Dhiraj Seth in New Delhi on Tuesday. The interaction focussed on issues of Bangladesh-India bilateral cooperation and measures for strengthening defence ties, said the Indian Army. The government of India appointed Dhiraj Seth as Chief of the Army Staff with effect from June 30, 2026. Earlier in the day, Trivedi met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, in what was seen as further consultations amid efforts by both sides to take forward bilateral relations in a positive and constructive manner.  

Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi on Tuesday met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, which is seen as further consultations amid efforts from both sides to take forward relations in a positive and constructive way. Quoting diplomatic sources in New Delhi, BBC Bangla reported that his visit was intended to convey Dhaka's current stance regarding Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s potential visit to India. However, there has been no official statement regarding this visit from the Indian High Commission in Bangladesh, India's Ministry of External Affairs, or Prime Minister Modi's office. State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir on Monday said the visit of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to India will take place at a conducive time. "I am hopeful about it. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has never said that he will not visit India. The Indian High Commissioner is making efforts, and hopefully, Delhi will be receptive to his views," Kobir said. High Commissioner Dinesh Trivedi, while talking to reporters in Dhaka recently, laid emphasis on proper preparations by both sides before the meeting between Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, noting that there is no benefit in rushing. "We have to make sure that proper preparations are made because many issues will have to be discussed - trade, commerce, water - many issues. We are very positive about the future," he said in response to a question. After a courtesy meeting with Liberation War Affairs Minister Ahmed Azam Khan on Wednesday, the High Commissioner said they have to give both Prime Ministers a convenient time. "As far as the Prime Minister's visit is concerned, the atmosphere is absolutely positive," said the Indian envoy, noting that no discussion had been held about the timing or month, but the visit would definitely take place. He said there would be no issues for which a solution could not be found if the two leaders met and sat together. "See, challenges will be there. If we think there are no challenges, that would be wrong."

Biman Bangladesh Airlines will sign an agreement with Airbus on Wednesday to acquire 10 Airbus aircraft as part of its fleet expansion plan. The agreement will be signed at a ceremony, titled “Spreading Our Wings Together,” at Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden at 6:30pm. Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister M Rashiduzzaman Millat, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir, Executive Chairman of Invest Bangladesh Authority Ashik Chowdhury, and President and Managing Director of Airbus (India & South Asia) Jürgen Westermeier are scheduled to attend the ceremony. The deal signing will mark a significant milestone in Biman’s fleet expansion. Biman earlier signed deals with Boeing to procure 25 aircraft from the US company.

A delegation of the British Parliament’s All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) met Deputy Speaker Barrister Kayser Kamal at his office on Tuesday and discussed strengthening parliamentary cooperation between Bangladesh and the UK. The delegation, led by APPG Chair Apsana Begum, MP, also included Shockat Adam, MP, and Lord Qurban Hussain, a member of the House of Lords. The delegation congratulated Bangladesh on holding what it described as a free and fair parliamentary election in 2026. Kayser Kamal said the election was accepted as free and fair both at home and abroad. He described Bangladesh-UK relations as deep and traditionally friendly, saying they have been built on long-standing bilateral and diplomatic ties. The Deputy Speaker also highlighted the contribution of Bangladeshis living in the UK to strengthening relations between the two countries. He said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has introduced the Family Card and Farmers’ Cards, among other initiatives, to improve people’s living standards and strengthen the social safety net. Referring to institutional reforms, Kayser Kamal said the Prime Minister is working to strengthen Bangladesh’s institutions in line with the institutions in Britain. He said Tarique Rahman considered the British Parliament a model for Bangladesh’s Parliament. During the meeting, the British delegation expressed interest in opening branches of British educational institutions in Bangladesh.  

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir on Tuesday called for stronger coordination among UN agencies and closer alignment of UN programmes with Bangladesh’s Five-Year Strategic Framework for Reform and Development (2026-2031). “Bangladesh highly values its longstanding partnership with the United Nations and remains committed to further reinforcing its cooperation in support of shared priorities and national development,” he said during a meeting with Carol Flore-Smereczniak, UN Resident Coordinator ad interim, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.The State Minister expressed appreciation to Flore-Smereczniak for her leadership of the UN Country Team in advancing Bangladesh’s development priorities.

Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia Anis Matta on Tuesday welcomed Bangladesh’s specific five proposals to strengthen the relations and expressed Indonesia’s interest in upgrading the existing bilateral relations to a long-term strategic partnership. He held a bilateral meeting with State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir at his office and discussed issues of mutual interest. Vice Minister Anis Matta is on an official visit to Bangladesh from October 5-9 at the invitation of State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Reaffirming the longstanding and growing cooperation between Bangladesh and Indonesia, both sides discussed the entire spectrum of bilateral relations including trade and investment, energy cooperation, health cooperation, disaster management, education and training, consular cooperation, as well as  issues of mutual interest at the regional and multilateral level. Welcoming Vice Minister Matta to Bangladesh, State Minister Humaiun Kobir put forward five specific proposals in order to deepen the existing excellent relations between Bangladesh and Indonesia. These included restoration of visa-on arrival for Bangladeshi nationals in Indonesia, request to import more pharmaceutical products from Bangladesh to meet the growing demand in Indonesia, procurement of jute bags from Bangladesh through G2G arrangement to support the eco-friendly packaging of coffee, beans and other products of Indonesia, opening of Indonesian market for Bangladeshi potatoes and initiating an institutional cooperation in the field of disaster management.  In this regard, he handed over a draft Memorandum of Understanding on Disaster Management to the Vice Minister of Indonesia. Highlighting Indonesia’s position as the world’s largest halal food consumer market, State Minister Kobir stressed the need to further strengthen cooperation between the two countries in this regard.

A cargo barge carrying 540 metric tonnes of methanol departed from the Bogibeel terminal on the Brahmaputra River in Assam’s Dibrugarh for Dhaka on Monday, marking the first cargo shipment from Upper Assam to a foreign port since India gained independence in 1947. The voyage comes nearly seven decades after Dibrugarh’s historic river ghat ceased operations. Indian Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal formally flagged off the vessel at a ceremony attended by several ministers, MPs and MLAs. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma joined the programme virtually. The methanol, manufactured by state-owned Assam Petro-Chemicals Ltd. (APCL) at Namrup, is being transported to Pangaon Port in Dhaka, reports Indian media. The vessel will initially travel around 768 kilometres along National Waterway-2 on the Brahmaputra to the India-Bangladesh border before proceeding through the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route (IBPR). The overall journey from Bogibeel in Dibrugarh to Narayanganj in Dhaka will cover approximately 1,300 kilometres. The voyage is being viewed as a test of the Brahmaputra’s potential as a commercially viable freight corridor connecting India’s Northeast with international markets. “Our grandparents grew up hearing the steamer whistle at Dibrugarh Ghat. For 70 years, that whistle fell silent and the ships stopped coming,” Sonowal said. “Today, a ship leaves Dibrugarh for the world once again. The river never failed us. What it lacked for decades was the will to revive it.” Sonowal added. “Assam’s own product, made in Namrup, is now traveling to an international market on Assam’s own river. The Northeast is no longer a frontier. It is India’s gateway to the East,” he said. Sonowal described the shipment as the start of a new chapter. “This is the first voyage, not the last,” he said. Dibrugarh was historically one of eastern India’s major river ports. Government steamers had begun reaching the town from Calcutta, now Kolkata, by 1856. The Dibru-Sadiya Railway started operating from the Dibrugarh steamer ghat in 1882, while by 1913 steamers were making daily journeys up the Brahmaputra to the town, transporting tea, timber and passengers. The Partition of 1947 disrupted the river route, forcing Assam’s goods to travel through East Pakistan to reach Calcutta. A 1950 earthquake also altered the riverbed around Dibrugarh. Regular bookings from Dibrugarh Ghat ended in 1954, and the ghat was formally closed on October 15, 1956, as tea transportation increasingly shifted to railways. Cross-border river trade was further halted following the 1965 India-Pakistan war. India and Bangladesh signed a river trade protocol in 1972. In 1988, the 891-kilometre stretch of the Brahmaputra between Sadiya and Dhubri was declared National Waterway-2. However, regular cargo operations on the waterway began only in December 2017, when cement was transported from Pandu to Dhubri. River transport along the route has expanded in recent years. Tata Steel barges reached Pandu via Bangladesh in February 2022, while the river cruise vessel MV Ganga Vilas travelled from Varanasi to Dibrugarh through Bangladesh in 2023. The Bogibeel passenger and cargo terminal, for which the foundation stone was laid in July 2023, became operational in February 2024. The ‘Jalvahak’ cargo incentive programme was introduced in December 2024. The voyage involved the Inland Waterways Authority of India, Assam Petro-Chemicals, Cochin Bunkers Pvt. Ltd. and Bangladeshi partners.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir on Tuesday underscored that the protracted Rohingya crisis has evolved beyond a humanitarian concern, with wider security and irregular migration implications and called for stronger international efforts towards the early and dignified return of the Rohingyas to Myanmar. He made the remarks when a visiting delegation led by Chair of the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Bangladesh Apsana Begum MP paid a courtesy call on the State Minister at the Ministry. The delegation also comprised of Shockat Adam MP and Lord Qurban Hussain, Member of the House of Lords. The State Minister welcomed the delegation and appreciated the APPG’s continued interest in strengthening Bangladesh-UK relations. The State Minister highlighted the UK government’s support toward Bangladesh’s democratic consolidation and reform initiatives. Acknowledging the role of APPG as a bridge between the UK Parliament, Bangladesh and the British-Bangladeshi community, the State Minister sought the APPG’s support in facilitating greater engagement with the UK Parliament in conveying Bangladesh’s progress and ground realities. Apprising that the delegation will be visiting the Rohingya camps on Wednesday, the APPG delegation affirmed their support to address the plight of the Rohingya community. The delegation reassured to keep their voice high in different international mechanisms including in the UK Parliament for continuing humanitarian assistance and for their sustainable repatriation to their homeland, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The discussions focused on strengthening parliamentary cooperation and exchanges between Bangladesh and the United Kingdom, alongside issues of mutual interest including democratic consolidation, trade and investment, migration, skill mobilization and human rights. The two sides also exchanged views on regional and global issues and expressed their interest in continuing cooperation through relevant bilateral and multilateral channels.

Sweden is advocating more open, rules-based trade at a time when many countries are turning inward amid geopolitical and economic uncertainties, Swedish Ambassador to Bangladesh Nicolas Weeks has said. “At a time when many are turning inward, Sweden is doing the opposite. Open, rules-based trade has built Swedish prosperity – and it has done the same for Bangladesh. The answer to today’s uncertainty is more trade, not less,” he said. The ambassador made the remarks while addressing a session themed “Rewiring Global Trade” on the second day of the three-day Bay of Bengal Conversation 2026 on Sunday, the Swedish Embassy in Dhaka said on Monday. The high-level discussion focused on how geopolitical shifts, economic nationalism, technological change and supply-chain vulnerabilities are reshaping global commerce. As a small, export-dependent economy, Sweden has long been one of the world's strongest advocates of free trade, Weeks said. He said Bangladesh's own story shows what openness can achieve: export-led growth has lifted millions out of poverty and is carrying the country towards LDC graduation. Representing a European perspective, the Swedish envoy underlined that the European Union, Bangladesh's largest export market, remains committed to open markets and reliable partnerships, and that EU-Bangladesh trade will matter even more in the years after graduation. Openness and sustainability go hand in hand, he said. “As global markets increasingly demand traceability and lower emissions, Swedish companies bring innovation and clean technology that help Bangladesh stay competitive. Through trade, both our countries grow stronger,” Weeks added.