foreign-affairs
Int'l community must renew commitment for real structural transformation in LDCs: PM in Doha conference
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today asked the international community to fulfil and renew their commitment for structural transformation in LDCs as the nations do not ask for "charity".
“The Doha Programme of Action is yet another assurance of hope for the world’s most vulnerable countries. The international community must renew its commitment for real structural transformation in LDCs,” she said.
The Prime Minister said this while addressing the Opening Plenary Meeting of the 5th UN LDC Conference.
She said that for graduating LDCs, there should be some incentives for performance, and they should enjoy international support measures for an extended period of time.
Also Read: PM meets Guterres in Doha, discusses Ukraine, Rohingyas
“They need enhanced investments and know-how to build their productive capacities. There can be some innovative and transitional financing mechanisms meant for them,” she said.
She also assured the developed nations that LDCs will also keep their side of the bargain.
“Our nations do not ask for charity; what we seek are our dues under international commitments,” she said.
The Prime Minister said that LDCs need sustained support to double their share of global trade while ODA targets for LDCs from developed countries deserve to be fulfilled.
“International financial institutions have the means to support debt sustainability in LDCs. Climate financing for LDCs should be made flexible and predictable. Technology transfer to LDCs needs to be tangible and meaningful,” she demands.
She said that migrant workers need protection for their rights and well-being. “We cannot fail the 226 million youths in LDCs.”
Tony Blair pays homage to Bangabandhu
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has paid homage to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman by placing a floral wreath his portrait at Bangabandhu Memorial Museum at Dhanmondi 32 in Dhaka.
The Executive Chairman of Tony Blair Institute for Global Change Blair was received at the museum by Deputy Minister for Education Mohibul Hassan Chowdhoury, MP.
Also Read: PM Hasina holds meeting with former British PM Sir Tony Blair
Blair had also a tour of the museum and signed the visitors’ book on Saturday.
YU Young-oh wins first prize at 39th Korean Cup Golf Tournament
Korean Community in Bangladesh President YU Young-oh has won the first prize at the 39th Korean Cup Golf Tournament.
Major Golam Moudud scooped up the runner-up prize at the tournament organised by the Korean Community in Bangladesh.
A record 769 golfers participated in the tournament in five different categories from March 1 and 3 at the Kurmitola Golf Club in Dhaka
Read: Scholastica, Rajuk, Shaheed Smrity win HSBC-Mayor's Cup School Badminton titles
The Korean Cup Golf Tournament which was first held in 1979 had not been held for the past four years. This year the Korean Community in Bangladesh decided to resume this traditional golf tournament after almost five years to celebrate 50 years of Bangladesh-South Korea ties.
The award-giving ceremony of the 39th Korean Cup Golf Tournament was held Friday night.
Chief of Army Staff General SM Shafiuddin Ahmed, also the President of the Kurmitola Golf Club, was present as the chief guest. South Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh Lee Jang-keun was also present.
Ruhul Alam Al Mahbub, chairman of Fair Group and members of the Kurmitola Golf Club and Korean community were also present.
'India a great potential market for Bangladesh's RMG exports'
Bangladesh and India see a huge prospect in enhancing bilateral trade, especially in the ready-made garments (RMG) and textile sectors through collaboration between the governments and business interactions between the traders of both countries, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) said Saturday.
"With a growing middle-class population, India is a great potential market for Bangladesh's RMG exports and we have witnessed significant growth in recent times. Bangladesh is also a promising market for Indian cotton, man-made fibres, dyes, chemicals and other raw materials," BGMEA President Faruque Hassan said.
He had a meeting with a delegation of India's Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (TEXPROCIL) in Dhaka.
The delegation led by TEXPROCIL Chairman Sunil Patwari paid the visit to Faruque Hassan to discuss challenges and opportunities to pave the way to more trade between the two neighbouring countries.
Chairs of BGMEA Standing Committee on Trade Fair Kamal Uddin, Standing Committee on Cash Incentive Humayun Kabir Salim; TEXPROCIL Executive Director Siddhartha Rajagopal and Joint Director Murali Balkrishna were also present at the meeting.
At the meeting, Faruque stressed the need for facilitating more business interactions between the apparel and textile exporters of Bangladesh and India to explore opportunities.
He also called on the governments to remove trade barriers and build adequate infrastructure and transport facilities at land ports to accommodate increased transportation demand.
Faruque thanked the Bangladesh government for allowing apparel exporters to import yarns from India in partial shipment through Benapole, Bhomra, Sonamasjid and Banglabandha land ports.
Earlier, RMG exporters could import yarn through the Benapole land port under the bonded warehouse facility, not in partial shipment.
Quad voices deep concern at "deteriorating situation" in Myanmar
Quad countries have strongly emphasized the importance of maintaining peace, stability, and prosperity and expressed their deep concern at the deteriorating situation in Myanmar.
"In this regard, we emphasize the need for complete cessation of violence, the release of all those arbitrarily detained, resolution of issues through dialogue, unhindered humanitarian access, and transition to an inclusive, federal democratic system in Myanmar," account to a joint statement released by the Secretary of State of the United States and the Foreign Ministers of the governments of Australia, India, and Japan on the occasion of the Quad Foreign Ministers’ meeting held in New Delhi.
Towards this, they reaffirm their consistent support to the ASEAN-led efforts, including the work of the ASEAN Chair and Office of the Special Envoy, and called for the full implementation of ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus.
"We also encourage the international community to work together in a pragmatic and constructive way towards resolving the crisis in Myanmar," the joint statement issued by the US Department of State on Friday night after the Quad Ministerial Meeting.
The Foreign Ministers of Australia, India and Japan and the Secretary of State of the United States of America met in New Delhi, India on March 3 for the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.
They will work closely to align and complement the Quad’s agenda with Japan’s Presidency of the G7, India’s Presidency of the G20, and the United States’ APEC host year in 2023, according to the joint statement.
"We will continue to meet regularly to deliver concrete benefits and serve as a force for good, deepening practical and positive cooperation for the benefit of the Indo-Pacific region," it reads.
The meeting reaffirmed the Quad’s "steadfast commitment" to supporting a free and open Indo-Pacific, which is inclusive and resilient.
Read more: Quad FMs, wary of China’s might, push Indo-Pacific option
"We strongly support the principles of freedom, rule of law, sovereignty and territorial integrity, peaceful settlement of disputes without resorting to threat or use of force and freedom of navigation and overflight, and oppose any unilateral attempt to change the status quo, all of which are essential to the peace, stability and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region and beyond," they said.
They underscored the importance of achieving SDGs in a "comprehensive manner" without prioritizing a narrow set of such goals, and reaffirmed that the UN has a central role in supporting countries in its implementation.
They recognized that peace and security in the maritime domain underpins the development and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific, and reiterated the importance of respect for sovereignty, consistent with international law.
The Quad members are determined to "deepen engagement" with regional partners, including through information-sharing, capacity-building and technical assistance, to strengthen maritime domain awareness; to counter illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing; to enhance their capability to protect and develop offshore resources, consistent with UNCLOS; to ensure freedom of navigation and overflight; and to promote the safety and security of sea lines of communication.
They wwelcome the announcement of the first class of Quad Fellows, who will begin their academic pursuits in the United States in August 2023.
The next Quad Leaders’ Summit being hosted by Australia will be held this year.
Academic seminar on the occasion of Mother Language Day held in Bangkok
An academic seminar was jointly organized by Kasetsart University and Bangladesh Embassy in Bangkok on Friday at Kasetsart University campus on the occasion of International Mother Language Day 2023.
In the opening ceremony, The Ambassador of Bangladesh to Bangkok Mohammed Abdul Hye was present as a special guest where Dr. Ladawan Puangchit, Vice President (Academic Affairs) of Kasetsart University and Director of Kasetsart University International College and Dr. Buncha Chinnasri, Deputy Director of Kasetsart University International College were also present.
Bangladesh Ambassador to Thailand Mohammed Abdul Hye mentioned in his remarks that the main source of the vocabulary of both Bangla and Thai languages is Sanskrit. The same source of written form-the Brahmi script is used in both the languages.
Therefore, there is ample scope for further comparative research on Bangla and Thai languages, he added.
The Ambassador emphasized on organizing such academic seminars on a regular basis and assured that the Bangladesh Embassy would come forward for such an endeavor with Kasetsart University in the future.
At the outset, the Deputy Director of Kasetsart University International College Dr. Buncha explained the background of this joint venture of Kasetsart University and Bangladesh Embassy in Bangkok.
Moreover, Dr. Puangchit, in her welcome speech, mentioned the ongoing activities between Kasetsart University and the Bangladesh Embassy in Bangkok including specially earmarked scholarships for Bangladeshi graduates in Masters and Post-doctoral programmes.
During the seminar, Dr. Kowit Pimpuang, Associate Professor of Thai Language Department of Kasetsart University, Dr. Sombat Mangmeesukhsiri, Managing Director of the Sanskrit Studies Centre of Silapakorn University and International Mother Language Institute Director General and Dhaka University Communication Disorders department professor Dr. Hakim Arif participated as panelists.
At the end, Maleka Parveen, Minister (Political) and Deputy Head of Mission of the Bangladesh Embassy, expressed her sincere thanks to all the panelists for their enlightening discussions.
Former British PM Tony Blair in Dhaka
Sir Tony Blair, Executive Chairman of Tony Blair Institute for Global Change and former Prime Minister of the UK (1997-2007) arrived in Dhaka Friday evening.
He is on a two-day visit, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Ambassador Shabbir Ahmad Chowdhury, Secretary (West) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs received him at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport upon his arrival.
Mexico to open its embassy in Bangladesh
Dhaka, Mar 3 (UNB) - Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard has announced that his country will open an Embassy in Dhaka in the second half of the yeae - 2023.
While in New Delhi, Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard met with Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on Friday and announced the opening of a Mexican embassy in Bangladesh for the second half of this year.
With a population of over 170 million, Bangladesh is a major player in the Central Asian region, according to the Mexican government.
Read more: Dhaka urges G20 countries to make concerted efforts to overcome global challenges
Mexico is interested in boosting business and cooperation with Bangladesh, particularly in the pharmaceutical, agribusiness, and technology sectors.
Bangladesh already has an embassy in Mexico.
Dhaka urges G20 countries to make concerted efforts to overcome global challenges
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Friday said the G20 platform can provide means of implementation, including finance, technology and capacity-building to the countries of the Global South in realizing the SDGs.
He was speaking as a panelist on the possible role of the G20 in the evolving geopolitical context at a panel discussion of the 8th edition of Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi.
State Minister Alam called upon the G20 countries to make concerted efforts in overcoming the current global challenges like climate change, post-pandemic recovery, disruption of supply chain, food insecurity as well as energy and economic crisis.
The State Minister also drew the attention of the global community, including the G20 nations, to Bangladesh’s remarkable development journey under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
He urged the other nations to be part of this wonderful journey.
Read more: Dhaka urges G20 countries to take corrective actions to reverse trend of global warming
Alam also asked the G20 nations to actively engage in ensuring immediate repatriation of forcibly displaced Rohingyas from Bangladesh to Myanmar.
The State Minister was joined by Foreign Ministers of Canada and Foreign Ministry of Mexico and High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy in the panel discussion.
Dhaka greets New Delhi on successful completion of G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting
Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on Friday met his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar in New Delhi and discussed issues of mutual interest.
They exchanged greetings and discussed issues of bilateral interests, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"So nice to meet FM Dr. Abdul Momen of Bangladesh on G20FMM and Raisina Dialogue 2023 sidelines. Neighbourhood First, always," Jaishankar tweeted after his meeting with Momen.