bangladesh
PM: Bangladeshi investors can set up fertilizer factories in Uzbekistan
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday said Bangladesh is encouraging it's investors to set up fertilizer factories in Uzbekistan under joint ventures.
She said this when Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister for Investment and Foreign Economic Relations Jamshid Abdurakhimovich Khodjaev paid a courtesy call on her at PM’s official residence Ganobhaban here.
In a media briefing PM's Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim said the premier put emphasis on developing direct connectivity with Uzbekistan.
She said both Bangladesh and Uzbekistan should work together to explore many areas for the mutual benefits of the two countries.
Hasina said Bangladesh is setting up 100 economic zones across the country to utilise the young and vibrant manpower.
She said Bangladesh attaches importance to the relationship with Uzbekistan.
Recalling the visit of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur to Tashkent, Uzbekistan in 1973, she said the trip had laid the foundation of the bilateral relations between the two countries which has got strengthened over the years.
She said Bangladesh is emphasising on the development of ago-processing industries to meet the growing demand of local markets and export those to the international markets.
About the Russia-Ukraine war, the PM said it is causing problems for all the countries and the people are suffering for it.
She said Bangladesh has started taking precautionary measures amid the global crisis.
The Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister put emphasis on strengthening further his country’s long-term friendship and cooperation with Bangladesh.
Read: PM: Useless Ukraine-Russia war benefitting only arms producers
"Bangladesh is a potential partner of Uzbekistan and we want to transform it to a strategic partnership," he was quoted as telling the Bangladesh PM.
He said his country is keen to enhance economic cooperation with Bangladesh.
Jamshid Abdurakhimovich Khodjaev, also the Investment and Foreign Trade Minister, said Uzbekistan is a good hub of CIS (Commonwealth Independent States) countries as there is a lot of potentials for developing business here.
He sought cooperation with Bangladesh in the pharmaceuticals and ICT sectors.
The visiting Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister highly appreciated Bangladesh's economic advancement, growing per capita income and development of agriculture sector.
He said they hope to set up Uzbekistan embassy in Dhaka.
In this regard, the Bangladesh PM assured him of all support and cooperation.
Jamshid Abdurakhimovich Khodjaev conveyed the greetings of Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to Sheikh Hasina.
Hasina also conveyed her regards to Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and invited him to visit Bangladesh at his conveniences.
During the meeting, both sides have agreed to work on for avoidance of double taxation.
Uzbek Deputy Minister for Investment and Foreign Affairs Laziz Kudratov and Uzbek Deputy Minister for Civil Aviation Jasurbek Choriev, Bangladesh PM's Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim and Bangladesh ambassador to Uzbekistan Jahangir Alam were present.
Chinese foreign minister to visit Bangladesh August 6-7: Officials
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is likely to visit Bangladesh first week of next month to discuss ways to further strengthening Dhaka-Beijing bilateral relations, official sources said on Friday.
The visit is scheduled for August 6-7, said the officials familiar with the development.
The Chinese foreign minister is likely to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina apart from his bilateral meeting with his Bangladesh counterpart AK Abdul Momen to discuss bilateral, regional and global issues.
The visit is taking place amid geopolitical tensions and conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming met Momen on Sunday at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and discussed various issues of mutual interest including the proposed visit of the Chinese foreign minister.
Momen told reporters on Friday said he will be happy to receive Wang noting that the visit has been finalised.
Covid-19 in Bangladesh: Another dies, 355 new cases reported in 24hrs
Bangladesh recorded another Covid-19-linked death with 355 new cases in 24 hours till Friday morning.
With the latest figures, the country's total fatalities reached 29,285 while the caseload 2,004,543, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The daily case positivity rate declined to 5.84 per cent from Thursday’s 6.62 as 6,083 samples were tested.
The deceased was a man from Dhaka division.
Read: From Dec, only Covid booster dose will be available in Bangladesh
The mortality rate remained unchanged at 1.46 per cent. The recovery rate rose to 96.82 per cent from Thursday's 96.80 per cent.
In June, the country reported 18 Covid-linked deaths and 20,201 new cases, according to the DGHS.
Bangladesh reported its first zero Covid death on November 20 last year since the pandemic broke out here in March 2020.
The country registered its highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 last year and daily fatalities of 264 on August 10 in the same year.
Flood death count rises to 134 as 3 more die
Three more people died due to floods across the country in the 24 hours to Friday morning.
The number of reported fatalities, from May 17 to July 28, rose to 134, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Of the deceased, 74 were from Sylhet, 43 from Mymensingh, 16 from Rangpur and one from Dhaka divisions.
Read: Flood damages property, crops worth over Tk 86811 crore: Enamur
One hundred and six people drowned in the floodwaters, 16 died in lightning strikes, two from snake bites, one from diarrhoea, and nine others due to other reasons.
Also, around 26,357 people were hit by floods during the same period.
Forty-four upazilas were affected by floods, including 33 in Sylhet, three in Rangpur, seven in Mymensingh and one in Chattogram divisions.
Sylhet, Sunamganj, Netrokona and Moulvibazar were the worst-hit districts, with 13, 11, seven and five upazilas affected by floods, respectively.
2 held with crystal meth, yaba worth Tk5.91 crore in Cox's Bazar
Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) Friday claimed to have arrested two men from Cox's Bazar's Teknaf on charges of smuggling yaba pills and crystal meth worth around Tk5.91 crore from Myanmar to here.
BGB Battalion-2 conducted a drive on the banks of the River Naf River near Hnila BOP of the upazila and detained Riaz Uddin, 20, and Saddam Hossain, 19.
Read: Cox's Bazar man held with crystal meth, yaba pills worth Tk5.57 crore
Around 1.063 kg of crystal meth and 20,000 yaba pills, a boat, and illegal fishing nets were recovered from the possession of the duo, Lieutenant Colonel Sheikh Khalid Mohammad Iftekhar, commanding officer of BGB Battalion-2, told UNB.
The detainees were later handed over to Teknaf Model Police Station, he added.
65 new dengue patients hospitalised in 24 hrs
Another 65 dengue patients were hospitalised across the country in 24 hours till Friday morning, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Among them, 48 patients were hospitalised in Dhaka while the 17 in other places, it said.
As many as 336 dengue patients including 254 in the capital are now receiving treatment at hospitals across the country.
Also read: 64 more dengue patients hospitalised in 24 hrs
On Tuesday, this year’s death toll from the mosquito-borne viral disease rose to eight with another death reported from Cox’s Bazar. Among the deaths, five were reported from Cox’s Bazar while three from Dhaka.
On June 21, the DGHS reported the first death of the season from the viral disease.
Also read: 61 more dengue patients hospitalised in 24 hrs
This year, the DGHS has recorded 2,495 dengue cases and 2,151 recoveries so far.
Bangladesh, UAE discuss roadmap for future cooperation
Bangladesh and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have discussed a roadmap for future cooperation agenda, including high-level visits to mark the Golden Jubilee of Bangladesh-UAE diplomatic relations in 2024.During the latest bilateral meeting held in Cox’s Bazar on Thursday, the two delegations took stock and reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral, regional, and multilateral cooperation.The issues that came up for discussion covered enhanced commerce and trade, increased investment from the UAE side in the exclusive economic zones, human resource development, people to people contact, visa facilitation, waiver for diplomats and officials between the countries, collaboration on food security, energy and power, civil aviation, blue economy and climate change.
Also read: EU contributes to strengthening social security in Bangladesh with EUR 2 million
Both sides expressed their resolve to further consolidating the existing bond of friendship and to take them to new heights.The 2nd Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) between Bangladesh and the UAE was held in hotel Royal Tulip in Inani, Cox’s Bazar.Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen led the Bangladesh delegation while the UAE delegation was led by Dr Abdul Nasser Jamal Al Shaali, Assistant Minister for Economic and Trade Affairs of UAE.The two delegations also took notes of and exchanged views on developments in the regional and global arena.Foreign secretary apprised the UAE Assistant Minister of Bangladesh’s remarkable progress in socio-economic sectors, robust economic growth as well as agricultural advancement in achieving food security.
Also read: Pranay Verma appointed next Indian envoy to BangladeshThe UAE assistant minister highly appreciated Bangladesh’s significant economic growth and congratulated the country’s leadership on the completion of the Padma Bridge at domestic finance.The UAE delegation leader expressed solidarity with Bangladesh side for a durable and rapid solution to the protracted Rohingya crisis.The first Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) Meeting between the countries was held in Abu Dhabi, UAE in February 2019.The meeting coincided the 12th Bi-Annual meeting of the Committee of the Senior Officials (CSO) of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) of which Bangladesh and the UAE are members
Ambassador Farooq Sobhan joins Cosmos Foundation as Honorary Advisor Emeritus
Ambassador Farooq Sobhan, currently distinguished fellow & board member of the BangladeshEnterprise Institute (BEI) has joined the Cosmos Foundation as its Honorary Advisor Emeritus.
Ambassador Sobhan, former President and CEO of the BEI, was Executive Chairman, Board of Investment (BoI) and Special Envoy to the Prime Minister 1997-1999 and Foreign Secretary 1995-1997.
He has also served as Ambassador/High Commissioner to India, China, Malaysia and the United Nations.
Referring to his joining the Cosmos Foundation Advisory Board, Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, the Foundation’s President said Farooq Sobhan does the Foundation great honour. "He is a person of prodigious experience, and I have no doubt will add enormous value to our contributions!”
Ambassador Sobhan served as Chairman of the Group of 77 at the UN 1982-1983, and was Chairman, UN Commission on TNCs 1991-1992.
He is a member of the Board of Governors of the South Asia Centre for Policy Studies(SACEPS), based in New Delhi and was Co-Chairman of the Coalition for South Asian Co- operation (CASAC) from 1994-2001.
Ambassador Sobhan was a visiting professor at the Elliott School for International Affairs at George Washington University in 2003, where he taught a post graduate course on South Asia.
He is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the independent Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), established in Dhaka in September 2007.
Read: Roundtable: Bangladesh must act fast to offset fallout of Ukraine conflict
Ambassador Sobhan played a pivotal role in the establishment of the SME Foundation and served on its Board during the period 2008-9.
He was also a Member of the International Advisory Committee of the Asia Society in the U.S. and the Roundtable in the U.K.
Ambassador Sobhan also served from 2008-2011 as a Member of the International Commission on Migration and Development.
He chaired the Task Force established by the Asia Foundation in 2004 on “The US Role in South Asia”.
He was invited to speak at the White House Summit meeting on CVE held in February 2015.
Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, Honorary Fellow of the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) at the National University of Singapore (NUS), a reputed diplomat turned scholar who had also served as Foreign Advisor in a Caretaker Government, is the President of the Cosmos Foundation.
Besides, Dr Danilo Turk, former President of the Republic of Slovenia, Ambassador Krishnan Srinivasan, former Indian Foreign
Secretary, Ambassador Tariq Karim, currently Director of the Centre for Bay of Bengal Studies at the IUB, Haider A. Khan, a Distinguished Professor of Economics at the Josef Korbel School of International
Studies at the University of Denver, Professor George Edward Moose, a career member of the U.S. Foreign Service, where he attained the rank of Career Ambassador and has been adjunct Professor of Practice at The Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University, Ambassador Li Debiao, a Distinguished retired Chinese Diplomat and Md.
Nojibur Rahman, former Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh are members of the Advisory Board of the Cosmos Foundation.
Cosmos Foundation is a philanthropic arm of the Cosmos Group, registered as a trust dedicated to providing strategic insights and policy solutions to help Bangladesh chart its course towards a better future, apart from discovering, cultivating and disseminating for a global audience, the art of Bangladesh.
Cosmos Foundation is organizing Bangladesh’s first-ever festival of disabled artists in collaboration with UNESCO.
The Foundation provides direction to the Group’s flagship curatorial space, Gallery Cosmos, and its pioneering printmaking studio, Atelier71, which work in tandem.
11 tourists killed, 6 injured after train hits microbus in Ctg
A speeding express train rammed into a microbus at a level crossing at Mirsharai upazila on Friday, killing at least 11 people who were returning from a visit to a popular waterfall in the hills of the area, police and fire service said.
The dead were all travelling by the microbus. Eleven of them died at the scene, while six others were injured, police and fire service said.
Nine of the deceased were identified as ‘R&J’ coaching centre teachers Wahidul Alam Jisan, Sajeeb, Rakib and Redwan; and SSC candidates of KS Najumia High School Hisham, Ayat, Maruf, Tasfir and Hasan.
The six injured are - microbus helper Taukid Ibn Shawon, 20, and students Md Mahim, 18, Tanveer Hasan Hriday, 18, Md Emon, 19, Tasmir Pavel, 16, and Md Saikat, 18. They are undergoing treatment at Chittagong Medical College and Hospital.
They were travelling back home at Aminbazar of Hathazari after a tour of the Khoiyachora Waterfall in the hills of Mirsharai, according to accounts of rescue workers.
Also read: 3 of family killed in Pabna road crash
The tragedy occurred around 1.30pm at the unmanned rail crossing near Bara Takia station of the upazila in Chottgram district, police officials said.
Witnesses told UNB that the Chattogram-bound Mahanagar Provati express from Dhaka ploughed through the microbus, dragging it around a kilometre down the railway track, where the train also stopped.
All the casualties were from the microbus. Eleven of them died on the spot, said Khorshed Alam, in charge of Sitakundu police outpost.
“There were 17 passengers on the microbus and two of them were rescued safely by members of two units of fire service deployed in the area”, said Shahjahan Sikder, deputy assistant director (media cell) of Fire Service and Civil Defence Directorate. Police said six passengers were injured and sent to hospital.
“They were all tourists who went to visit Khoiyachora waterfall in Mirsharai from Aman Bazar area in Hathazari upazila,” he said.
“The microbus got on the rail track breaking through a bamboo barrier at the level crossing before it was hit by the train. Rail operation on the route remained suspended after the accident,” said Ansar Ali, transportation officer of Bangladesh Railway (east).
Pranay Verma appointed next Indian envoy to Bangladesh
Pranay Kumar Verma, presently Ambassador of India to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, has been appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh.
The Ministry of External Affairs made the announcement on Friday.
Verma is expected to take up the assignment shortly.
Verma joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1994 and has held diplomatic assignments in Hong Kong, San Francisco, Beijing, Kathmandu and Washington DC.
Before arriving in Hanoi, Verma served as the Joint Secretary of the East Asia Division at the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi since June 2017.
Read: Indian HC condoles Muhith's death
Earlier, he also served as the Joint Secretary for external relations at the Department of Atomic Energy looking after India’s nuclear diplomacy.
Verma has a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering.
Before joining the Indian Foreign Service, he started his professional career at India’s steel manufacturing company, Tata Steel.
He also holds a Master’s degree in the Chinese language from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, California, U.S.
He assumed the office of Ambassador of India to Vietnam on 25 July 2019.