foreign-affairs
Kristine Blokhus new UNFPA country representative in Bangladesh
Kristine Blokhus has assumed her role as the new United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) country representative in Bangladesh, replacing Dr Asa Torkelsson.
Kristine, who is a national of Norway, brings over 20 years of experience in international development and humanitarian response.
In the past three years, she served as the UNFPA's representative to the State of Palestine, leading the agency's humanitarian response and development programming in sexual and reproductive health, gender-based violence, and youth and adolescent empowerment across the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
Before this, Kristine served as the deputy representative of the UNFPA in Nepal for nearly five years.
She previously worked with the UNFPA and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in different settings spanning South and South-East Asia, Central America and the Caribbean, the Balkans, and UNDP's Regional Bureau for Europe and the CIS.
READ: UNFPA, KOICA join hands to address menstrual hygiene in Cox’s Bazar
Kristine started her UN career as a junior professional officer in Indonesia following the 2005 tsunami, where she focused on humanitarian response and gender-based violence.
Before joining the UN, she worked at the International Planned Parenthood Federation, and in research roles in academia and international development consulting firms in the UK and Norway.
Kristine holds a masters in development studies from the London School of Economics and a double bachelors in political science and French from the University of Warwick.
Padma Bridge a major achievement by and for Bangladeshis: Australian envoy
Australian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Jeremy Bruer has said the Padma Bridge is a major achievement by and for Bangladeshis which should make all of them proud.
In a message on Wednesday ahead of the formal inauguration of the Padma Bridge, the high commissioner said the bridge should give a significant boost to the national economy by reducing travel time and making it easier for people to move around the country, to conduct business and to see their families.
The bridge should also make it easier to connect Bangladeshis more efficiently with and drive economic growth in the dynamic Bay of Bengal region, he said.
On behalf of all Australians, the envoy congratulated the government and people of Bangladesh on the completion of this country’s largest infrastructure project - the Padma Bridge which will connect 21 Southern districts with Dhaka.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to inaugurate the Padma Bridge on June 25.
WPPF provisions to be detrimental to compliant taxpayers: FICCI
The Foreign Investor’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has expressed some concerns about the proposed national budget for the fiscal year 2022-23 along with its probable implication for the business and foreign investments in Bangladesh.
At a media briefing held in a city hotel on Wednesday, a potentially business-friendly budget will unravel the benefits unless some of the provisions such as Workers’ Profit Participation Fund (WPPF) are reversed.
FICCI President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) OF Standard Chartered Bank Naser Ezaz Bijoy presided over the event.
Among others, Rupali Chowdhury, Advisor, FICCI Advisory committee and Managing Director, Berger Paints; Zaved Akhtar, Director, FICCI, Managing Director & CEO, Unilever Bangladesh Ltd.; Shehzad Munim, advisor, FICCI advisory panel and MD, British American Tobacco Bangladesh Co. Ltd; Deepal Abeywickrema, Director, FICCI & Chairman, FICCI Tariff, Taxation and Regulatory Affairs Committee and Managing Director, Nestle Bangladesh Ltd.; Sazzad Rahim Chowdhury, Coordinator- Tariff, Taxation and Regulatory Affairs Committee and CFO, Berger Paints Bangladesh Ltd were present in the event. The programme was hosted by Executive Director of FICCI.T. I. M. Nurul Kabir.
The proposed Finance Bill incorporated a provision by which a company will have to pay tax on its contribution to the Workers’ Profit Participation Fund (WPPF), which will ultimately increase the income tax burden of the companies and similarly increase the effective tax rate, said the chamber body.
It said contribution to WPPF has been proposed as inadmissible expenses based on the idea that it is an apportionment of profit from after-tax profit like a dividend, while the fact is, it is a statutory payment for the benefit of the employees, which is paid from pre-tax profit as per the law.
Read: Budget FY23: Lower allocation for key mega projects worries FICCI
FICCI has also recommended a few changes to the Conditional Reduction of the Corporate Tax Reduction by 2.5%.
As per the Finance Bill 2022, certain types of listed companies that have issued more than 10% of their shares through IPO will be able to enjoy the reduced tax rate.
FICCI proposes that this provision should be amended by clearly mentioning at least 10% shares of a listed company must be held by the public in order to avail of such a reduced rate.
Conditional Reduction of the Corporate Tax Reduction by 2.5% also mentioned that all receipts must be collected through banking channels.
FICCI proposes that this provision should be amended and the law should allow at least 50% of the proceeds to be collected through banking channels to avail such a reduced tax rate.
From next year the ceiling can be gradually increased by 10%. On the same it says, all investments and expenses in excess of Tk. 12 lac must be paid through the banking channels.
FICCI proposes that section 30 of the ITO, 1984 should be amended to remove the contradiction and NBR should allow at least 10% of the expenses of corporate to be paid through the non-banking channel to avail such a reduced tax rate.
UK allocates over Tk 5 crore to support Bangladesh’s flood victims
The UK has released additional emergency funding of £442,548 (over Tk 5 crore) to support communities affected by the ongoing floods in Sylhet division.
This brings the UK’s contribution to the flood relief effort in recent weeks to £636,548 (over 7 crore).
Also read:US to provide emergency flood relief for people in northern Bangladesh:Envoy
Acting British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Javed Patel on Wednesday said the devastation they have seen from flooding this year in Bangladesh has been heartbreaking.
"The new emergency funding we have released today will be used to support the most vulnerable through cash assistance, shelter management, water and sanitation, and educational materials," he said.
Also read: Govt took immediate steps to tackle flood, PM tells EU ambassador
The UK’s funding has been allocated through Start Fund Bangladesh and will be administered through Caritas Bangladesh, Christian Aid, Voluntary Association for Rural Development, and World Vision Bangladesh.
US to provide emergency flood relief for people in northern Bangladesh:Envoy
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is providing over Tk 2.3 crore ($244,680) of emergency funding to deliver critical relief to families and communities hit hardest by floods.The emergency support is coming in response to record-level rainfall and catastrophic flooding across areas of northern Bangladesh.
Read: Flood claims 22 lives in Sylhet division in 7 days, says divisional health director“Some of these areas have not seen floodwaters like this for over 120 years. The United States continues to stand by the government and the people of Bangladesh during these challenging times and will support our partners on the ground to deliver crucial assistance to people in areas most affected by the deluge,” said U.S. Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Helen LaFave on Wednesday.
Doraiswami hails Padma Bridge as a connector of people, emotions and culture of Bengal
Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Vikram Kumar Doraiswami has said the much-cherished Padma Bridge will help contribute to greater connectivity between the two countries and in the sub-region supporting the BBIN initiative.
“From that perspective, as a country that has long valued the opportunity to increase connectivity across the sub-region, we in India will be delighted,” he told a small group of journalists on Tuesday evening at the High Commission.
He attributed the achievement to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s “continuous and consistently courageous decision.”
France, Germany reiterate importance of promoting HR worldwide
France and Germany have reiterated their attachment to freedom of opinion and expression and to the promotion and protection of all human rights throughout the world.
The French Embassy quoting a Facebook post on their verified page on Tuesday said, “We are concerned by the situation of the NGO Odhikar, which was temporarily denied the renewal of its registration.”
READ: Hasina greets France’s new prime minister
The two countries “salute the important work of this NGO” to which the Franco-German Human Rights Prize was awarded in December 2017 by the French and German Ministers of Foreign Affairs, the post reads.
Chattogram-Port of Koper direct shipping shows prospects
Container shipping service directly connecting Chattagram Port to the Port of Koper in Slovenia may open up prospects for faster and cheaper shipping from Bangladesh to Europe.
The optimism was expressed at a meeting between BGMEA President Faruque Hassan and Wahid Salam, Honorary Consul, Consulate of Slovenia in Bangladesh and Miha Groznik, Honorary Consul, Consulate of Bangladesh in Slovenia.
Mitja Dujc, Commercial Director, Port of Koper and Borut Semrl, Represetative for Hungary, Port of Koper also attended the meeting held at BGMEA in the city on Monday.
They made a presentation on the prospects, features and benefits of Port Koper for directing shipping from Bangladesh to Europe through Slovenia.
READ: Major areas in Ctg port city get waterlogged after overnight rains; 2 electrocuted
They also highlighted possible benefits of shipping to Port of Koper through transshipment via other ports.
BGMEA President Faruque Hassan said the direct route might make Bangladesh’s RMG industry more competitive by reducing time and cost and significantly enhance Bangladesh’s trade with Europe.
“We are looking into every possible avenue to facilitate our exports including ready-made garments. A direct shipping service has already been introduced between the Chattogram port and an Italian port. More new direct shipping services from Bangladesh to Europe will be helpful in enhancing our competitive edge,” he said.
SOLshare, Shakti Foundation to interconnect solar P2P microgrid to national Grid
SOLshare, the initiator of the world’s first peer-to-peer energy exchange network for rural communities, in collaboration with Shakti Foundation, is set to break another glass ceiling in energy innovation.
Funded by the UK Government, SOLshare and Shakti Foundation will be interconnecting one of their P2P solar microgrids - a network of interconnected solar home systems, in a rural village in Bangladesh through a single point called the Point of Common Coupling (PCC), to feed the excess solar energy into the national grid.
Dr Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, Advisor to the Prime Minister for Power, Energy & Mineral Resources Affairs inaugurated the PCC on Tuesday at SOLshare’s offices in the city.
He was joined by acting British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Javed Patel as special guest.
Dr Chowdhury congratulated SOLshare and Shakti Foundation for the timely innovation in the power system saying “Hopefully, today’s event will lead to the scale up of this idea so that the benefits of solar peer-to-peer microgrids would reach more customers.”
He assured government support for this enterprise, according to British High Commission in Dhaka.
Also read: Akij sets up rooftop solar plant with Huawei's technology
Javed Patel said they are delighted to support this ground-breaking pilot programme that builds on Bangladesh’s global success in solar home systems and national grid expansion.
"It has the potential to bring benefits to many remote rural communities as well as increase the contribution of renewable energy in the national energy mix,” he said.
The PCC (Point of Common Coupling) integrates Bangladesh’s two major electrification efforts- grid extension and Solar Home System dissemination.
The Rural Electrification Board (REB) grid is connected to one side of the PCC, while the local microgrid from the SHS is connected to the other side.
The microgrid is self-sustaining and this grid infrastructure will be used for energy balancing with the national grid, while reducing load shedding, and increasing service stability.
Users of the Solar Home Systems (SHS) are able to sell electricity to the national grid to earn an additional income while paving the path to sustainability for our existing 6 million+ SHS.
This is the first step towards the formation of a smarter grid with the integration of existing distributed storage assets ultimately providing the means for the formation of a virtual power plant (VPP).
“We believe this will be a game-changer in climate change mitigation measures and will help realize the country’s aspiration of generating 40% power from clean energy sources by 2041”, said Imran Ahmed, Deputy Executive Director of Shakti foundation.
“Having reached full electrification is a major achievement for Bangladesh. Today this is starting with solar home systems, tomorrow it will continue with local electric three-wheeler (B-Tesla) batteries”, commented Dr. Sebastian Groh, co-founder and managing director of SOLshare.
Padma Bridge demonstrates what Bangladesh can do on its own: Naoki
Appreciating Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s “far-sighted vision and political astuteness” Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Ito Naoki has said the completion of Padma Bridge demonstrates what Bangladesh can do for its economic development and stability.
“Padma Bridge has been done on its own initiative and on its own funding. This is the bridge of national dream and pride. This bridge will truly fulfill the growth potential of Bangladesh,” he told a small group of journalists at his residence on Tuesday.
The Japanese envoy said the year 2022 will be remembered by the world with so many examples of quality infrastructure including Padma Bridge inauguration on June 25 and partial inauguration of metro rail later this year.
He said Japan will continue to cooperate with Bangladesh for its development and will stand by this country in its development journey until the day Bangladesh fulfills vision 2041 and realizes the vision of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to build Sonar Bangla.
Responding to a question, ambassador Naoki said their focus remains on a number of mega projects in Dhaka, Chattogram and Cox’s Bazar in line with the Bay of Bengal Industrial Growth Belt (BIG-B) initiative for the construction of an industrial corridor.
But, he added, for the sake of this industrial corridor’s (Dhaka, Ctg, Cox’s Bazar) better use, there should be better nationwide connectivity to see inclusive development.
Naoki said the overall connectivity will be enhanced by the Padma Bridge and it will really vitalize the economy in Southern part of Bangladesh making rural economy vibrant.
With this significant development, he said, the Padma Bridge will have an enormous economic impact. “Though Dhaka and Chattogram remain the main stage of the economy, rural economic development is important.”
The envoy said he is quite sure that there will be opportunities for the Japanese private sector to look into business and investment opportunities even outside the BIG-B areas once this Padma Bridge becomes operational with enhanced connectivity in place.
Recalling Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to Japan in 1996, Naoki said she made a request with the Japanese side for cooperation on two bridges – Padma Bridge and Rupsha Bridge.
READ: Russia: Padma Bridge a true game changer