foreign-affairs
International Conference on the Fourth Industrial Revolution to be held in city
Awami League's sub-committee on science and technology is going to organise an international conference on the fourth industrial revolution (IC4IR) in the city for the first time.
The two-day conference titled ‘International Conference on 4IR for Emerging Future’ will be held on November 4 and 5 at the capital's Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB).
The theme of the conference is "Journey to Build Smart Bangladesh and Implementation of Delta Plan", according to a media release ahead of the event.
Engineer Abdus Sabur, member secretary of the sub-committee said this conference will create great opportunities for interaction and knowledge sharing among policy makers, industrialists, academicians, engineers, scientists and researchers from home and abroad which will contribute to building a technology and knowledge based society.
Read: PM Hasina: Time to groom the labour force to face challenges of 4IR
Those who are interested to participate at the conference need to submit research paper on different social and technological issues, including the 4IR, education technology, ICT, fuel and power, geo and blue technology, disaster prevention and recovery management, health and life science and applied science and emerging technologies.
Interested participants are asked to submit a summary of the research topic and curriculum vitae (CV) by September 30. Shortlisted candidates will be notified on October 10 after screening of research content and CV.
The participants have to submit their papers for presentation on October 25.
Besides, Students can submit their own designed posters by September 30 to participate in this event.
Best Paper Award and Best Poster Award will also be presented at the conference.
To participate in this conference, the registration fee for Bangladeshi professionals is Tk 1,000 while $ 100 for foreign professionals.
Read: Steps sought for re-skilling, upskilling of RMG workers to face 4IR challenges
On the other hand, a registration fee of Tk 200 has been set for Bangladeshi students and $ 50 for foreign students.
All information about the conference is available at www.4iref.org. Also interested can contact [email protected] or 01550155153.
We set the stage for next 50 years of ties: US Ambassador after meeting PM Hasina
US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas has said his country “looks forward to growing its defense cooperation” with Bangladesh in addition to deepening ties between the two countries on key fronts.
“I’m excited about the possibilities for collaboration on the economy, development, public health, security, and climate change,” he said after his meeting today (September 13, 2022) with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
They discussed Bangladesh’s successes and the two countries’ strong bilateral partnership over the past 50 years.
Read: 81,000 textbooks, funded by Japan, handed over at Cox’s Bazar Rohingya camp
“We set the stage for our nations’ next 50 years of ties,” said the US Embassy quoting Ambassador Haas.
The Ambassador and the Prime Minister discussed 50 years of partnership between the United States and Bangladesh and ways the countries can deepen this partnership.
“We discussed our cooperation on a range of topics, including economic development, security, climate change, Rohingya refugee assistance, and COVID-19,” Ambassador Haas said.
He acknowledged Bangladesh’s remarkable economic progress, its leadership in climate change, its generosity in sheltering Rohingya refugees, and its tremendous contribution to global peacekeeping operations.
Ambassador Haas reaffirmed the United States’ continued support of Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi host communities.
Read: “Bangladesh suffering from greenhouse gas impact caused by the developed world”
“During our meeting, I told the Prime Minister that I think one of our proudest joint achievements was in how we worked together to respond to the COVID-19 crisis,” said Ambassador Haas.
“I commend Bangladesh’s effort to vaccinate over 70 percent of its entire population” he added.
The United States has donated nearly 88 million COVID-19 vaccine doses, contributed over $140 million in COVID-19 related development and humanitarian assistance, and collaborated closely with Bangladesh to distribute this assistance throughout the country.
G20 Presidency: India to invite Bangladesh as guest country
India, as G20 Presidency, will be inviting Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as guest countries to its meetings and Summit.
The Ministry of External Affairs, India made the announcement on Tuesday.
Read:“Bangladesh suffering from greenhouse gas impact caused by the developed world”
India will assume the Presidency of the G20 for one year from December 1, 2022 to November 30, 2023.
Under its Presidency, India is expected to host over 200 G20 meetings across the country, beginning December 2022.
The G20 Leaders' Summit at the level of Heads of State / Government is scheduled to be held on September 9 and 10 next year in New Delhi.
ISA (International Solar Alliance), CDRI (Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure) and ADB (Asian Development Bank) will also be invited as guest IOs.
In addition to G20 Members, there has been a tradition of the G20 Presidency inviting some guest countries and International Organizations (IOs) to its G20 meetings and Summit.
Regular International Organizations (UN, IMF, World Bank, WHO, WTO, ILO, FSB and OECD) and Chairs of Regional Organizations (AU, AUDA-NEPAD and ASEAN) will be joining, too.
The G20, or Group of Twenty, is an intergovernmental forum of the world’s major developed and developing economies.
It comprises 19 countries - Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, UK, USA and the European Union (EU).
Collectively, the G20 accounts for 85% of global GDP, 75% of international trade and two-thirds of the world population, making it the premier forum for international economic cooperation.
Read:Bangladesh seeks additional supply of LNG to meet growing demand
India is currently part of the G20 Troika (current, previous and incoming G20 Presidencies) comprising Indonesia, Italy and India. During our Presidency, India, Indonesia and Brazil would form the troika.
This would be the first time when the troika would consist of three developing countries and emerging economies, providing them a greater voice.
81,000 textbooks, funded by Japan, handed over at Cox’s Bazar Rohingya camp
Japan has assured of its efforts towards repatriation of Rohingyas to Myanmar.
“Finding lasting solutions to this crisis will be conducive to our pursuit of a free and open Indo-Pacific,” said Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Ito Naoki.
He said Japan will further cooperate with relevant agencies for better living conditions of Rohingyas and host communities in Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char.
Read: Japanese ambassador attends handover ceremony of ambulances in Cox's Bazar
Bangladesh is now hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas in Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char Island.
On Monday, Naoki attended the handover ceremony of textbooks, held at the learning centre in the Rohingya refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar.
During the ceremony, in total 81,000 textbooks on Myanmar language grammar, mathematics, history, general science and other subjects were handed over from Komori Takashi, Senior Representative of JICA Bangladesh, to Sheldon Yett, representative of UNICEF Bangladesh, in the presence of RRRC Shah Rezwan Hayat.
The learning materials, which Japan funded, will be used for the implementation of Myanmar Curriculum Pilot, which was approved in January 2020, said the Japanese Embassy in Dhaka on Tuesday.
Read: Japan needs young engineers, Bangladeshi ICT professionals can fill that gap
Ambassador Naoki expressed his delight that the learning centres reopened after more than one and half a year due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
“We hope this assistance will contribute to the learning of Rohingya children. I believe it is particularly important for them to learn the language, history and culture of Myanmar so that they may reintegrate to the society after repatriating to their home country,” said the envoy.
“Bangladesh suffering from greenhouse gas impact caused by the developed world”
UN Special Rapporteur on promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change, Ian Fry, is currently on an official visit to Bangladesh.
The special rapporteur’s news conference to share his preliminary findings from the visit will be held virtually on September 15.
This is the first official visit (September 4-15) by the UN expert since he took office on May 1, 2022, said an official.
He is assessing how the adverse impact of climate change affects human rights in vulnerable communities.
Also read: UN acting rights chief for freedom of expression, peaceful assembly in Bangladesh ahead of polls
The special rapporteur is focusing on loss and damages incurred due to climate change and extreme weather.
“The impacts of climate change continue to take a huge economic and social toll on the people of Bangladesh. Studies indicate that globally, costs related to loss and damage from climate change impacts will rise to between $290 billion and $580 billion a year by 2030,” Fry said.
“People of Bangladesh are suffering from the greenhouse gas pollution caused by the developed world. It is time the international community stepped up and took responsibility for these impacts,” the UN expert said.
He is also paying special attention to and exploring how climate change impacts are forcing people to be displaced from their land and what measures are being taken to address these impacts.
The UN expert will identify good practices, strategies and policies implemented by the government of Bangladesh, as the country adapts to climate change and builds resilience to its adverse impacts.
The Special Rapporteur will present a comprehensive report on his visit to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in June 2023.
Ian Fry is the first Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change.
He was appointed by the Human Rights Council at its 49th session in March 2022 and started his mandate on May 1, 2022.
Fry is an international environmental law and policy expert.
Also read: UN for adoption, implementation of national strategy for cutting poverty among Bangladesh's differently-abled
His focus has primarily been on mitigation policies, and loss and damage associated with the Paris Agreement, Kyoto Protocol and related instruments.
He worked for the Tuvalu government for over 21 years and was appointed as their Ambassador for Climate Change and Environment from 2015 to 2019.
Japanese ambassador attends handover ceremony of ambulances in Cox's Bazar
Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Ito Naoki visited Cox's Bazar to attend the handover ceremony of ambulances provided to NGO Friendship by Japan through the Grant Assistance for Grass-roots Human Security Projects (GGHSP).
"The Project for Provision of Emergency Ambulance Services in Ukhiya, Cox's Bazar District" is expected to help improve the medical infrastructure and medical environment by installing three ambulances at the Rohingya camps in Ukhiya, Cox's Bazar.
Kazi Golam Rasul, senior director and head of health of Friendship, Md Mamunur Rashid, deputy commissioner of Cox's Bazar, and Md Shamsud Doza, additional refugee relief and repatriation commissioner, attended the ceremony.
"I hope these ambulances will save the lives and help improve the medical environment of the Rohingya camps," Ambassador Ito said.
The GGHSP began in 1989 and has been contributing to social development at the grassroots level. To date, $16.25 million has been extended to 208 projects in Bangladesh including three projects at the Rohingya camps by Japan.
Also read: Chuadanga: Ambulance received from India remains unused
Bangladesh seeks additional supply of LNG to meet growing demand
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam has requested his Qatari counterpart Soltan bin Saad Al- Muraikhi to consider additional supply of LNG to Bangladesh to meet the increasing demand for industrial growth in the country.
Shahriar made the request at the second Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) meeting between Bangladesh and Qatar held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar on Monday.
During the meeting, the Bangladesh side reiterated the invitation to the Emir of Qatar from the President of Bangladesh.
The Qatari side informed that the Emir of Qatar may undertake a visit to Bangladesh next year, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA).
During the meeting, the two State Ministers signed an agreement on visa waiver for diplomatic, official and special passport holders between Bangladesh and Qatar.
Both sides agreed to sign agreements on avoidance of double taxation, cultural cooperation, collaboration in legal field, MoU on education, and cooperation on Waqf and Islamic Affairs during the upcoming high level visit.
During the meeting, two delegations took stock and reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral, regional, and multilateral issues between the two countries.
The issues that came up for discussions included enhanced cooperation in skilled manpower and human resource development, increased business to business contact, visa waiver for diplomats and officials between the two countries, collaboration on food security, education and health, energy and power, civil aviation etc.
The State Minister of Bangladesh requested the Qatari side to consider investment in high-tech parks, special economic zones, in construction and energy sectors etc.
UN acting rights chief for freedom of expression, peaceful assembly in Bangladesh ahead of polls
UN acting High Commissioner for Human Rights Nada Al- Nashif has said it will be vital for the government of Bangladesh to ensure freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, and for security forces to refrain from using "excessive force" against protests in the "polarising environment" ahead of the next elections.
Nashif said this while delivering a statement on global update at the 51st session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday.
During the first ever visit by a High Commissioner to Bangladesh last month, as well as to the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, the former High Commissioner discussed a full range of concerns with the authorities and offered OHCHR’s support to review restrictive laws governing on-line expression.
Also read: EVMs to be used in maximum 150 constituencies in next national polls: EC
At that time, she encouraged the establishment of an "independent, specialised mechanism" to investigate allegations of human rights violations, including enforced disappearances, by law enforcement agencies, particularly by the Rapid Action Battalion.
"Human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists and victims’ families should not face reprisals or sanctions for their advocacy work," said Nashif.
Also read: UK ready to send independent observers to Bangladesh national polls: Envoy
Japan Foundation print exhibition to be held at Liberation War Museum
On the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Bangladesh, the Japan Foundation in collaboration with the Embassy of Japan in Bangladesh will organize a traveling exhibition titled “Photographic Images and Matter: Japanese Prints of the 1970s’’ at the Liberation War Museum.
The event will be inaugurated on Friday (September 16), and will remain open to visitors till September 29, except Sundays.
State Minister for Cultural Affairs K.M Khalid will inaugurate the exhibition as the chief guest and eminent artist Professor Syed Abul Barq Alvi will be present as special guest, along with Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Ito Naoki, according to the Japanese Embassy in Dhaka.
Bangladesh wants discussion to avert border tension with Myanmar: Foreign Secretary
Bangladesh wants to avert tension along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border through "dialogue and discussions", using the existing mechanism between the two border forces amid Myanmar's internal conflicts.
Talking to a small group of journalists at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen said they will have discussions through existing mechanism between Border Guard Bangladesh and its Myanmar counterpart to resolve any issue quickly if there is any provocation.
"Basically, it's an action against their insurgents inside Myanmar. Maybe unintentionally a number of incidents took place. They acknowledged the matter," he said on Sunday evening.
Read: Warned Myanmar against firing shots towards Bangladesh, says Home Minister
The Foreign Secretary said the BGB remains vigilant though firing happened almost 10 kilometers away from the Bangladesh border.
"But sounds are being heard here, on the Bangladesh side. For this reason, locals might become restless. Our surveillance is there. We are observing the situation," said the Foreign Secretary.
He said efforts are there so that no tension prevails along the border. "We remain highly alert. BGB will not allow anyone inside Bangladesh."
Earlier, Bangladesh reiterated deep concerns over mortar shells landing inside Bangladesh territory, indiscriminate aerial firing from Myanmar in the bordering areas, and air space violations.
On September 3, 2022 two mortar shells fell inside Bangladesh between BP 40 and 41.
The Myanmar Ambassador in Bangladesh Aung Kyaw Moe was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to meet the Director General of Myanmar Wing.
Read: Myanmar envoy summoned: Dhaka shares “deep concerns” with Naypyidaw over border violation
During the meeting, the Ambassador was also told that such activities are of grave threat to the safety and security of the peace-loving people, violation of border agreement between Bangladesh and Myanmar and contrary to the good neighborly relationship.
The Ambassador was also urged to ensure that no trespassing of the internally displaced Myanmar Residents takes place from Rakhine.
It was also stressed that a safe, secure and conducive environment in the place of their origin in Rakhine is essential for sustainable and voluntary repatriation of the displaced Rohingyas from Bangladesh.
The Myanmar Ambassador was also asked to come to the Ministry on 21 August and 28 August 2022 and protest notes were handed over to him conveying Bangladesh’s grave concerns.
The Bangladesh Embassy in Yangon also raised the issue with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Myanmar with much importance.