foreign-affairs
Bangladesh shares its aspirations with Singapore to emerge as facilitator of regional connectivity
Describing Singapore as a "connectivity hub" for distribution of services as well as trade, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Wednesday shared the aspirations of Bangladesh to emerge as a facilitator of regional connectivity for the land locked countries and regions of South Asia.
Highlighting the need for more investment in infrastructure development, including sea ports and air ports, he sought more Singaporean investments to facilitate Bangladesh’s transition as a regional connectivity and manufacturing hub.
Minister of Transportation and Minister in Charge of Trade Relations of Singapore S Iswaran appreciated hardworking Bangladeshi workers and their contribution to their construction and other sectors.
Read more: COP27: Momen thanks Egypt for focusing on "loss and damage" issue
During his bilateral meeting with the Singaporean Minister, State Minister Alam said Singapore could consider intake of more skilled workers from Bangladesh especially in their health and other service sectors.
Both sides discussed how demographic dividends could be reaped with the use of advanced technology and digitization.
Alam also flagged the high agricultural productivity in Bangladesh and the prospects of agro-based industries in the country, with special emphasis on the burgeoning middle-class consumers enjoying increasingly higher purchasing capacity.
Read more: Dhaka, Tokyo relations to be strengthened through PM-level talks: Shahriar Alam
The Singaporean Minister applauded sustained economic growth of Bangladesh under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and stressed the importance of further deepening and widening the economic relations between the two countries.
He shared Singaporean’s keenness on working in the areas of infrastructure development, energy sector, data mining and various high skilled areas such as digital connectivity and services, technology transfer for further enhancement of bilateral relations.
Singapore is keen to explore the many possibilities that exist in its bilateral relations with Bangladesh and looks forward to harnessing the potentials to raise it to the next level.
COP27: Momen thanks Egypt for focusing on "loss and damage" issue
Foreign Minister Dr A K Abdul Momen thanked the Egyptian Presidency of COP27 for having included the critical issue of ‘loss and damage’ as part of the Conference agenda.
He conveyed this during his meeting with the Egyptian Foreign Minister and COP27 President Sameh Shoukry in Sharm El Sheikh on Tuesday.
Foreign Minister Momen hoped that the Conference would be able to come up with a concrete deliverable on financing for loss and damage.
The Egyptian Foreign Minister expressed his interest in visiting Bangladesh in the near future.
The two Ministers agreed to strengthen Parliamentary engagements between the two sides.
read more: COP27: Bangladesh urges developed nations to double provision of adaptation finance by 2025
Foreign Minister Momen also met with the US President’s Special Envoy on Climate Change John Kerry to discuss possible outcomes on loss and damage.
They had a combined meeting later with other representatives from V20 (Vulnerable Twenty Group of Finance Ministers) currently led by Ghana.
The US Special Envoy thanked Bangladesh for joining the Global Methane Pledge and referred to certain financing windows available for taking action on methane reduction.
Minister Momen stressed the need for such support in agriculture, livestock and waste management sectors in Bangladesh.
Rio Olympics Silver medalist Iizuka Shota visits Dhaka
Iizuka Shota, silver medalist of the 4×100 m relay at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics 2016, and his coach Toyoda Yasuhiro concluded their four-day visit in Dhaka on Wednesday.
The visit was part of commemorating the 50th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and Japan.
Iizuka participated in an exchange programme with primary school students of Sunnydale School at Sultana Kamal Women's Complex and demonstrated how to run faster with a proper posture.
Read more: FS Masud gets 2-year extension as senior secretary
Dhaka, Tokyo relations to be strengthened through PM-level talks: Shahriar Alam
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Wednesday expressed his optimism that Bangladesh-Japan relations would further be strengthened through the upcoming prime ministers-level meeting in Tokyo.
“We keep working with this expectation,” he said in a Facebook post, adding that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s official visit to Japan will hopefully benefit the common people of the two countries.
The Prime Minister is scheduled to pay the official visit to Japan from November 29 to December 1 at the invitation of her Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida.
Read more: Myanmar situation doesn't allow full-scale Rohingya repatriation now: Japan
The State Minister said Bangladesh conveyed necessary messages to Japanese Ambassador Ito Naoki which did not need to be shared with the media.
In a separate note on Facebook, he wrote, “If some of you have forgotten: Article 41 paragraph 1 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961 reminds diplomats to respect the laws and regulations of the receiving state and unequivocally restricts them from meddling in that nation's domestic affairs.”
Without prejudice to their privileges and immunities, it is the duty of all persons enjoying such privileges and immunities to respect the laws and regulations of the receiving State, according to Article 41 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
Read more: Japan wants "strategic" partnership with Bangladesh through practical cooperation
They also have a duty not to interfere in the internal affairs of that State and all official business with the receiving State entrusted to the mission by the sending State shall be conducted with or through the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the receiving State or such other ministry as may be agreed.
On Monday, Japanese Ambassador Ito Naoki said he heard about the example of “ballot box stuffing” and some police officers stuffed the ballot box the previous night which is something he had never heard of in any other country.
Read more: FM Momen urges Japan to stand by Bangladesh in its development journey
The government said the Japanese side did not raise such an issue in the last four years in any bilateral meeting or any discussion.
Even it was not mentioned in the statement issued by the Japanese Embassy after the 2018 elections which was focused on violence.
FS Masud gets 2-year extension as senior secretary
The government has extended the tenure of Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen by two more years under a contractual appointment effective from December 6, 2022 or from the date of his joining.
The Public Administration Ministry issued a gazette notification on Wednesday regarding his contractual appointment as Senior Secretary of the government.
Read more: COP27: Bangladesh urges developed nations to double provision of adaptation finance by 2025
Masud joined as Foreign Secretary on 31 December 2019. As a career diplomat, he has long been serving in different capacities at the Headquarters and Bangladesh’s Missions abroad.
Prior to his appointment as the Foreign Secretary, he had been Bangladesh’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations since 2015.
Before that, he served as Bangladesh’s Ambassador to Japan from 2012 to 2015.
Read more: Energy supply to Bangladesh: Turkey will be “more than happy” to be a transit country, says ambassador
He also served as Ambassador to Italy and Permanent Representative to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Food Programme (WFP) and International Fund for Agricultural Development from 2008 to 2012.
Masud served at the Headquarters in different capacities. From 2006 to 2008, he was the Director-General in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dhaka and was responsible for matters related to South Asia, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), Human Rights and the United Nations.
COP27: Bangladesh urges developed nations to double provision of adaptation finance by 2025
Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Shahab Uddin has urged developed countries to at least double their collective provision of adaptation finance by 2025, as agreed upon during COP26 in Glasgow, and to provide support for the implementation of National Adaptation Plan (NAP).
The environment minister made the call while speaking at the two-day high-level segment of COP27 conference in Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh on Tuesday.
“The countries that are most responsible for greenhouse gas emission should share responsibility for protecting the people vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. We want to see the developed countries keep their commitments, providing 100 billion US dollars each year – major portion of which should come from public funds dedicated to climate change adaptation,” he said.
Read: COP27: FM calls for collective action to mainstream climate-induced migration in negotiations
He also said, “At COP27, it’s essential that we make progress in addressing the gap that exists between nationally determined contributions and emission reductions required by science to keep 1.5-degree Celsius target alive, including finalising the mitigation work programme as necessary to reduce global carbon emission by 45% by 2030.”
“Bangladesh is an innocent victim of climate change as it contributes less than 0.48% of global emissions,” he added.
Bangladesh has always been highly susceptible to climate change and climate-induced disasters due to its unique geographical setting, said the minister. “Studies show that about 12-17% of the country, an area larger than many small island countries, will be submerged due to sea level rise by this century.”
On October 31, 2022, Bangladesh submitted its National Adaptation Plan to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), he said, adding: “In our NAP, we have identified 113 actions for 8 vulnerable sectors. USD 230 billion will be required to implement the actions over the next 27 years (2023-2050). We need dedicated, additional financial resources for effective implementation of adaptation actions identified in the National Adaptation Plan.”
Read: COP27: Bangladesh among first recipients of Global Shield financial support
The country has established a national climate finance mechanism, “Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund” from its own resources and allocated USD 490 million that supports more than 850 projects for making the country climate resilient, he said.
“Apart from this, the climate-relevant allocation in our Annual Development Plan has increased by two and a half times over the last eight years – from USD 1.4 billion to more than USD 3.1 billion – for climate adaptation and resilience-building through construction of embankments, cyclone shelters, development of stress tolerant crop varieties and coastal afforestation and reforestation,” the environment minister said.
Energy supply to Bangladesh: Turkey will be “more than happy” to be a transit country, says ambassador
Turkish Ambassador to Bangladesh Mustafa Osman Turan on Wednesday said Turkey would be “more than happy” to play the role of a transit country for energy supply to Bangladesh.
He said the Russian Federation has conveyed that it would like to see Turkey as an energy hub for exporting oil and gas to Europe.
“If that is possible for Bangladesh and some formula can be found, and if we need to play a role in this as a transit country, of course we will be more than happy to do so,” said Ambassador Turan who was speaking at a “Meet the Ambassador” programme in a Dhaka hotel.
Read: Election Bangladesh’s own issue, not foreigners’ concern: Turkish Ambassador
He said Turkey is not a country with energy resources. “So, we are not a source country for energy supply but we are a transit country.”
Asked about his impression of Bangladesh’s relations with India and China, he said Bangladesh is benefitting from cooperation with both countries.
Read: Bangladesh seeks Brazilian investment in energy, infrastructure, ICT sectors
“Bangladesh’s foreign policy is doing very well under the circumstances. It’s very prudent not to take any side. Bangladesh’s foreign policy is navigating successfully so far,” he said.
Responding to a question on defence cooperation between Bangladesh and Turkey, he said it is a “substantial cooperation”, but he did not disclose details.
Referring to former foreign secretary Md. Touhid Hossain’s views on joint or co-production of defence equipment, the envoy said defence cooperation should not be only buying and selling, rather it should be more about joint collaboration.
Read: Bangladesh wants to buy sugar, wheat, soybean oil from Brazil
“This is what we exactly like to do. We have shown our interest in technology transfer and joint ventures,” he said.
Zillur Rahman, Executive Director of the Centre for Governance Studies moderated the programme.
Centre for Governance Studies (CGS) hosted the event in collaboration with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Bangladesh.
Read: Russian FM Lavrov’s Visit: Dhaka to focus on energy cooperation, Rohingya issue
Bangladesh-India border haat in Kurigram’s Baliamari to reopen in Dec
After a long pause, the Baliamari Border Haat – along the Bangladesh-India border – under Rajibpur upazila of Kurigram district will reopen in the first week of December, said authorities.
The decision was taken at the deputy commissioner-level joint meeting with the presence of representatives of the two countries at Baliamari Border Haat premises on Monday.
Read: BGB-BGP flag meeting ends with Myanmar officially regretting border incidents
Kurigram Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Rezaul Karim and the deputy commissioner and district magistrate of Southwest Garo Hills Ampati district, India’s Meghalaya state led the meeting on behalf of their respective sides.
Election Bangladesh’s own issue, not foreigners’ concern: Turkish Ambassador
Turkish Ambassador to Bangladesh Mustafa Osman Turan on Wednesday said holding a free and fair election in Bangladesh is not an issue for foreigners but it depends entirely on Bangladesh and its people.
“It’s only for Bangladesh to decide whether the election will be free and fair, not for the foreigners,” he said while speaking at a “Meet the Ambassador” programme in a Dhaka hotel.
Referring to election related comments made by the Awami League and BNP representatives at the event, the Turkish ambassador said political parties need to sit down and talk to each other to address their differences, and that the government alone cannot solve all the issues.
“I understand your positions. I think instead of sharing your views with me, you should sit down and talk to each other. That’s what I am suggesting,” he said in a smiling mood that spread among the audience, too.
Also read: It’s my strong hope to see free, fair election in Bangladesh: Ambassador Naoki
Earlier, Nurjahan Begum Mukta, a former AL lawmaker, wanted to know whether he will force any party to join in the election if it does not come to the election in his own country.
The envoy said there must be willingness to make an election that works for the benefit of the country. “I know there are issues which can be addressed.”
The ambassador said they are hoping that the government of Bangladesh will live up to the expectation of all people.
“I think the next 5-10 years will be much brighter for Bangladesh if it can hold the next national election in line with the people’s expectation,” he said.
The envoy said he sees both the government and the election commission are trying to do their best to create a possibility of participation for the opposition parties in the election.
Because, he said, it will be a missed opportunity for Bangladesh to have a free and fair election without participation of the opposition parties.
The Turkish envoy said what is happening in Bangladesh is something that the people of Bangladesh will have to deal with.
He said Bangladesh-Turkey relationship is long-term in nature and it is based on solid collaboration and partnership.
Also read: EC holding votes in local government bodies across Bangladesh
The ambassador said relations between Bangladesh and Turkey are based on trust and they look forward to broadening partnership with Bangladesh. “We are always with the people of Bangladesh in their good and bad times.”
Responding to a question, Ambassador Turan said they see Bangladesh as a “trustworthy manufacturing hub”, and it is going to be their prominent partner in the region.
The envoy said Turkey plans to diversify their trade and investment in Bangladesh.
Asked about Turkish plans to develop strategic relations with Bangladesh, he said the plans should be mutually agreed upon.
Zillur Rahman, Executive Director of the Centre for Governance Studies, moderated the programme.
Centre for Governance Studies (CGS) hosted the event in collaboration with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Bangladesh.
Appropriate steps to be taken if diplomats cross boundary: Shahriar Alam
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Tuesday said the government would take appropriate steps if any foreign diplomat stationed in Dhaka crosses the boundary.
He described Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Ito Naoki's recent comments on Bangladesh's election as "unexpected" and said Bangladesh will convey its message to Japan regarding the matter.
On Monday, Ambassador Naoki said he heard about the example of “ballot box stuffing” and some police officers stuffed the ballot box the previous night which is something he had never heard of in any other country.
The State Minister said the Japanese side did not raise such an issue in the last four years in any bilateral meeting or any discussion.
Even it was not mentioned in the statement issued by the Japanese Embassy after the 2018 elections, Alam said.
Recalling the 2018 election, Ambassador Naoki said the Japanese Embassy in Dhaka had issued a statement of concern which was very unusual for his country though it was focused more on violence.
The State Minister hoped that commonsense will prevail in the days to come and they (diplomats) will act accordingly.
"When we see it's crossing the boundary, we are saying very clearly and loudly that we will take appropriate steps," he said.
The State Minister said he has nothing else to say beyond this, especially about the very friendly country Japan.
He said the government is committed to hold a free and fair election and the Election Commission is working to that end.
Japanese Ambassador Ito Naoki on Monday said they expect that the next national election in Bangladesh will be held in a “free and fair” manner with the participation of all major political parties.
“We expect the next election will be a better one. Free and fair elections need to be done here. That’s my strong hope,” he said while responding to a question at an event titled “Meet the Ambassador” held in a Dhaka hotel.
Read more: Bangladesh and US have fantastic relationship: Shahriar Alam
At the same time, the envoy said, this is something that the political parties should decide but the expectation is that the election will be a participatory one and the major political parties will participate in it.
On Monday, Deputy Education Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury questioned the role of certain foreign envoys stationed in Dhaka.
Mohibul, son of veteran Awami League leader late ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury, also said the media reports certain comments by certain foreign missions' heads in Bangladesh violating the Vienna Convention.
"Do they say or do anything about Myanmar’s genocide and expulsion of Rohingya?" he tweeted in oblique reference to certain remarks made by the Japanese ambassador in Dhaka on Monday. He, however, did not name anyone.
"Will Japan stop investing there (Myanmar)? Double standards?" the Deputy Education Minister mentioned.
"No mutual respect - no mutual trust," he also said.