foreign-affairs
Miller congratulates 76 graduates of English Access Microscholarship prog
US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl Miller has congratulated 76 latest graduates of the U.S. State Department-funded English Access Microscholarship Programme.
He praised their hard work in completing the programme during the pandemic.
A total of 38 young women and 38 young men from local madrasas and public schools in Rajshahi and Chattogram joined the programme.
“Since its inception, the Access program continues to provide students around the world with a life changing opportunity to achieve their dreams. I believe this is only the beginning of the many accomplishments you will continue to achieve throughout your lives," said the Ambassador in a virtual programme held on Tuesday evening.
Read: Miller congratulates 8 Bangladeshi CCI programme participants
More importantly, Miller said he believes in young people and so their teachers, classmates, and loved ones who have supported the participants throughout this remarkable journey.
"You are the talented and bright leaders who will shape the course of Bangladesh’s future. You are the next generation of changemakers who will help us continue to make progress in solving our world’s most pressing challenges. You are extraordinary beyond measure.” he said.
The English Access Microscholarship Programme is a rigorous, two-year interactive program building a foundation in English language, American culture, critical thinking, and leadership skills for 13-17-year-olds from economically-disadvantaged backgrounds, and helps them become more competitive for higher education and employment opportunities.
Currently, 200 students are virtually participating in Access programs in Dhaka, Sylhet, and Chattogram.
Read: Ambassador Miller praises power of young minds in Bangladesh
Since it began in 2004, 1,336 Bangladeshi students have successfully completed the program.
Tuesday's graduating class joined 95,000 other Access programme alumni in more than 85 countries around the world.
The Access programme is one of U.S. Embassy Dhaka’s many initiatives to strengthen and expand people-to-people ties and educational linkages between the United States and Bangladesh, enhance the quality of education locally, and empower Bangladeshi youth through innovative learning opportunities.
Vaccination: UNHCR lauds Bangladesh for inclusion of Rohingyas
UNHCR has welcomed the commencement of the vaccination of Rohingyas in Cox's Bazar in line with national authorities’ broader public health efforts.
"We are grateful to the Government of Bangladesh for having included Rohingya refugees in the vaccination campaign," said Johannes Van Der Klaauw, UNHCR’s Representative in Bangladesh, on Wednesday.
The UN refugee agency said equitable inclusion of Rohingyas in allocation of vaccines is critical to curbing the spread of the ongoing pandemic.
"The Rohingya refugee and host community volunteers have an essential frontline role in containing the spread of COVID-19 in the camps. The first step in fully protecting communities; however, is through the rollout of vaccination," UNHCR’s Representative in Bangladesh emphasized.
On Tuesday, over 4,000 Rohingyas received their first COVID-19 vaccine, as part of a national vaccination drive to curb the spread of the deadly virus.
Read: Covid kills 237 more in Bangladesh as Delta strain takes hold
Rohingyas eligible for vaccination in the first cohort include some 48,000 individuals over 55 years of age. The drive will continue until August 17.
The vaccination drive for Rohingyas is being led by the Bangladesh authorities with technical support from the UN Refugee Agency, the World Health Organization and other humanitarian partners.
The fight against the pandemic has been led by thousands of refugee and host community volunteers, who have worked since 2020 on informing refugees about health and hygiene, monitoring any signs of illness, and connecting the refugee community with critical health services.
While the threat of COVID-19 remains critical, their efforts have helped to prevent and curb outbreaks and have saved lives, said the UN agency.
The vaccinations follow the devastating monsoon rains that hit Cox’s Bazar District over the past weeks, causing flash floods and landslides which killed eight Rohingya refugees and 15 Bangladeshis in the host communities.
Read: Vaccination drive in Bangladesh: Procurement of 60 mln Sinopharm doses gets nod
Almost 25,000 refugees were displaced due to landslides, flooding, wind and storms.
Thousands of facilities have been damaged including primary health clinics, distribution points and latrines.
Access was hindered due to damage to roads, pathways and bridges.
UNHCR’s Emergency Response Teams, and partners, refugee and host community volunteers were deployed to assess the damage, to provide support to families forced to relocate, to begin immediate repairs of shelters and other site improvements and to ensure access to essential services for all.
While the weather has improved over the last few days, the monsoon season will continue for another couple of months followed by the cyclone season.
1.77 mln doses of Sinopharm vaccine on way to Dhaka
Bangladesh will soon receive another consignment of 1.77 million doses of Sinopharm vaccine under COVAX facility.The consignment will be arriving here by Emirates Airlines flight which departed Beijing at 7:20am (Beijing time) on Wednesday.The vaccines will arrive will arrive at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport via Doha, said Hualong Yan, Deputy Chief of Mission at Chinese Embassy in Dhaka.
READ: 1.7mn Sinopharm vaccine doses to arrive soon
On Tuesday, Bangladesh received Sinopharm's 1.7 million doses of vaccine under COVAX facility.Earlier, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said Bangladesh will receive another consignment of 34 lakh doses of Sinopharm vaccine this week while 60 lakh doses of Pfizer vaccine in September next week.
READ: Vaccination drive in Bangladesh: Procurement of 60 mln Sinopharm doses gets nod
Apart from that, he said Bangladesh will also receive 10 lakh doses of AstraZeneca vaccine soon which is likely to come under the COVAX facility.
Canadian Minister to begin virtual visit to Bangladesh this evening
Canadian Minister of International Development Karina Gould will begin her three-day virtual visit to Bangladesh on Tuesday evening.
Minister Gould will have the chance to meet with the government officials and key partners to discuss Bangladesh-Canada cooperation, the Rohingya refugee response.
Read: Narayanganj fire: India, Canada deeply saddened by loss of lives
She will have the chance to see firsthand how Canada’s development projects are being delivered, meet with affected populations, and hold bilateral discussions, said the Canadian High Commission in Dhaka.
With the upcoming 4th anniversary of the Rohingya refugee crisis later this month, the High Commission said, it is an important opportunity to recognize the people and the government of Bangladesh for continuing to generously host 889,000 Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar district.
Canada said it remains committed to supporting both the refugees and affected Bangladeshi communities to deal with the impact of the crisis while the Rohingya refugees remain in need of safe refuge in Bangladesh.
Read: ASEAN countries urged to help expedite Rohingya repatriation efforts
No one wants to be a refugee or to be forced to leave their home, said the High Commission.
"While the situation in their home country of Myanmar is not encouraging, Canada shares the Government of Bangladesh’s objective – and that of the Rohingya refugees themselves – that they are able to return home when it is possible to do so in a safe, dignified, and voluntary manner," reads a message shared by the High Commission.
1.7mn Sinopharm vaccine doses to arrive soon
Sinopharm's 1.7 million doses of vaccine under COVAX facility will arrive in Dhaka on Tuesday, said Hualong Yan, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Chinese Embassy in Dhaka.
He said the vaccine doses are scheduled to arrive at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport around 7pm as the flight carrying those left Beijing at 5:25 am (BST).
Read:54 lakh more vaccine doses to arrive by Aug 15: Minister
About vaccine coproduction, Hualong Yan said, "We'll be coming soon for vaccine coproduction."
Earlier, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said Bangladesh will receive another consignment of 34 lakh doses of Sinopharm vaccine this week while 60 lakh doses of Pfizer vaccine in September next week.
Read: Bangladesh to procure 6 crore Sinopharm vaccine doses: Minister
Apart from that, he said, Bangladesh will also receive 10 lakh doses of AstraZeneca soon which is likely to come under the COVAX facility.
Indian visa centres to reopen Wednesday
In view of the lifting of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, Indian Visa Application Centers in Bangladesh will resume operations from Wednesday.
Applicants do not need to take any appointment or permission to apply for visa at IVAC, said the Indian High Commission in Dhaka.
Read: India extends visa validity of stranded foreigners till Aug 31
All applications except for tourist visa are being accepted, it said.
Bangabandhu’s life to be showcased in NYC's Times Square
The life sketch of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman will be screened at Times Square, New York on August 15 and 16.
Bangabandhu’s digital portrait will also be screened for 720 times at the place, a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment center, and neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue.
Read:Who had planned Bangabandhu family's murder and why? questions Hasina
China to play most important role in Afghanistan
Former foreign secretary Shahidul Haque has said although India, Iran and Pakistan are in the race for influence in Afghanistan, China has the most important role to play to fill the void left by the withdrawal of NATO and US forces.
He also said the National Afghan government has shown its interest to become a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and it will be interesting to see how it turns out as both India and Pakistan are SCO members.
Read:China reports 125 more Covid cases
"To bring peace and security in Afghanistan, the governance of Afghanistan should be done by the people of this country without any interference of outsiders," said Haque, now a professorial fellow of SIPG at NSU, while addressing a webinar.
The webinar titled "Current Afghan Situation and Bangladesh" was organized by the South Asian Institute of Policy and Governance (SIPG) of North South University (NSU) to understand the current situation from academic and geopolitical lenses as the emerging unrest and power shifting in Afghanistan will have consequences in the entire South Asia region.
Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen spoke at the webinar as the chief guest.
"We are holding several meetings with Taliban to understand which one of the existing Islamic models they want to implement but they are adamant to implement their model to run Afghanistan and that’s a major issue of the present conflict," said Dr M Mustafa Mastoor, special representative and senior advisor, High Council for National Reconciliation of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
Joining live from Kabul, he also said the recent diplomatic efforts of Bangladesh on Afghanistan issues are not as strong as they were before and hopes it will improve in the future.
Masud Momen said Bangladesh welcomes the Afghan people's own right to build a democratic, pluralistic, and inclusive society through recent peace talks.
Bangladesh insists on becoming a development partner and assists Afghanistan in all bilateral cooperation for mutual benefits, he said.
"And as soon as the situation becomes conducive, Bangladesh will reopen the embassy in Kabul," said the foreign secretary.
Keynote speaker of the webinar Brig Gen M Sakhawat Hussain (retd), senior fellow of SIPG at NSU, discussed the geopolitics and consequences of the current Afghan Crisis in the South Asian region and Bangladesh.
Read: China punishes 30 officials for pandemic failing
He stated that a continuation of the Afghan internal conflicts will have a spillover effect in the region as seen in the past which may jeopardize the external and internal security of this region.
He also opined that Bangladesh, having historical ties with Afghanistan should consider improving ties with Central Asia including Afghanistan.
Dr Lailufar Yasmin, professor of International Relations at the University of Dhaka, pointed towards placing importance on both hard and soft power objectives.
"We need to analyze the long-term impacts of the fact that the Taliban is trying to win the hearts of the mass public by lowering the oil price and the amount of Mahr (money paid by the groom at the time of Islamic marriage)," she said.
Faruque Ahmed, former executive director of Brac International who worked in the humanitarian and development sector in Afghanistan, stated that security is a big challenge there along with weak governance and the high cost of doing business.
He also opined that security should be ensured first for peacebuilding and development in Afghanistan.
Professor Atiqul Islam, vice-chancellor of North South University chaired the session.
In his concluding remarks, he said that although the re-emergence of the Taliban may represent an initial strategic gain for Pakistan, the country is also at high risk of much chaos, civil war, and the influx of refugees from Afghanistan if another civil war starts there.
Read:China pledges 2 billion vaccines globally through year’s end
He also said India has good reasons to be nervous as China will be keeping a sharp eye on Afghanistan as well. "China has already met with the Taliban leaders as they don't want their interference in Xinxiang and BRI projects."
The event ended with the playing of an Afghan folk song as a tribute to the fellow Afghans wishing peace and prosperity in their lives.
Diplomats, academics from various universities including NSU and Dhaka University, journalists, and students from the USA, Norway, New Zealand, Bangkok, Italy, UK, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh were present among the participants.
Dhaka seeks UN role in Afghanistan to avert people’s sufferings
Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen on Monday said the United Nations should step up efforts at this critical juncture in Afghanistan as Bangladesh does not want to see people in Afghanistan suffer anymore.
"While we welcome peace talks involving important players, I think, the United Nations as a neutral broker should step up (efforts) at this critical juncture," he said adding that Bangladesh wants to see a fellow South Asian State, a fellow member of SAARC and its people remain free from any sufferings.
Bangladesh thinks the strengthening of democratic institutions, including endogenous ones and unimpeded socio-economic development in Afghanistan – with the active participation of the international community – remain important.
Also read: ASEAN countries urged to help expedite Rohingya repatriation efforts
"The daunting task ahead is to build an efficient public service delivery system suitable for the Afghan people given the geography and ethnic divide and millennium old, decentralized structure," said the Foreign Secretary.
Netflix Movie: BGMEA protests derogatory remarks on Bangladesh RMG sector
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Faruque Hassan has written to US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl R. Miller drawing attention to a movie recently released on Netflix that contains "derogatory comments" about ‘Made in Bangladesh’.
"We also request your steps to stop streaming the movie “Last Mercenary” on Netflix until the dialogue or the scene is removed from the movie," mentioned Hassan in his letter.
Read:No alternative to mass vaccination of apparel workers: BGMEA
As Netflix is a US company and run from the USA; BGMEA, on behalf of all apparel manufacturers and workers of Bangladesh, requested the Ambassador to convey their vehement protest to Netflix for releasing the movie without censoring the derogatory remarks about ‘Made in Bangladesh’.
The significant progress Bangladesh RMG industry made over last few years in the areas of workplace safety, improved workers’ health, sustainable manufacturing and green revolution also largely owes to the support of the Embassy of the US in Dhaka, he mentioned.
While Bangladesh RMG industry has achieved so much progress; when this contributed to rank Bangladesh the second in ‘Ethical Manufacturing’, only after Taiwan, in a survey recently conducted by Hong Kong based supply chain compliance solutions provider QIMA, said the BGMEA chief.
"At a moment when Bangladesh’s RMG industry after addressing the safety concerns is leading green garment manufacturing in the world by examples; derogatory comments about ‘Made in Bangladesh’ in a newly released French movie “Last Mercenary” directed by David Charon has appalled us and shocked us all by surprise," he said.
The comments in the movie say “Yes, Bulletproof Tuxedo, Made in France. I’d be dead if it were Bangladesh”.
These comments are tantamount to belittling the hard work, dedication, quality and on time manufacturing commitment of the 4 million garment workers of Bangladesh who are delivering ‘Made in Bangladesh’ apparel to about 160 countries of the world, including the US, said the BGMEA chief.
"We think these disrespectful remarks not only undermined the joint efforts made by Bangladesh RMG industry along with their development partners like the US which ensured progress and development that are being recognized internationally and receiving worldwide appreciations; but also dishonored the emotion of thousands of US consumers whose wardrobes are full with ‘Made in Bangladesh’ attires and many of which are their favorites," he said.
Read: BGMEA issues guidelines on prevention of dengue, chikungunya
The apparel manufacturers and workers of Bangladesh put all their dedications and commitments to supply apparel for the top global as well as US brands; and they take lot of pride in what they make, Hassan said.
"This hard work and pride should be respected by all," said the BGMEA chief.
He said the remarks have been also irrelevantly and irrationally juxtaposed in the movie as Bangladesh does not produce any ‘bullet-proof apparel’.
"So, since its release on Netflix on July 30, 2021, the movie “Last Mercenary” has been hurting every lover and maker of the Made in Bangladesh," said the BGMEA chief.
The BGMEA President also wrote a separate letter to Netflix CEO Theodore Anthony Sarandos Jr. with the same request.
He drew attention to French movie “Last Mercenary” directed by David Charon and released on Netflix on 30th July 2021; which BGMEA thinks contains "disrespectful and derogatory" comments about ‘Made in Bangladesh’ garments.
"We think these disrespectful remarks not only undermined the joint efforts made by Bangladesh RMG industry along with its international development partners which ensured progress and development that are being recognized internationally and receiving worldwide appreciations; but also dishonored the emotion of millions of consumers worldwide whose wardrobes are full with ‘Made in Bangladesh’ attires and many of which are their favorites," he said.
Read:BGMEA urges buyers to allow more shipping liners, off-docks
The BGMEA President demanded that the dialogue from the scene of the movie that degrade garments ‘Made in Bangladesh’ to be expunged.
"We are also requesting you being a responsible and reputable company to stop streaming “Last Mercenary” on Netflix until the dialogue or the scene is removed from the movie," the letter reads.