bangladesh
Chinese enterprises in Bangladesh will further promote sustainable development, deepening ties: Ambassador Yao
Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen has said Chinese enterprises in Bangladesh will take more responsibilities of promoting the sustainable development of the latter and deepening the friendship between the two countries.
"We will make the people of the two countries strengthen friendship, enhance well-being, become closer to each other, and cultivate more envoys of friendship, so that the China-Bangladesh friendship will be passed on from generation to generation," he said.
The envoy said China will always stand by Bangladesh to help realise its dream of “Sonar Bangla”.
The ambassador was speaking at a programme titled "China-Bangladesh Partnership—Building Strong Communities Together Report launch” held at the embassy on Sunday night.
Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi spoke as the chief guest highlighting trade and investment cooperation between the two countries and China's support towards Bangladesh's infrastructure development.
The Commerce Minister said businessmen can play pivotal role in the implementation of Free Trade Agreement between Bangladesh and China.
The opportunities are created by the government but it is expected that the business people will build up rapport among themselves harvesting the benefit of such cooperation, he said.
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For Chinese enterprises, Ambassador Yao said, social responsibility is a well-known concept.
Over the years, he said, hundreds of Chinese enterprises operating in Bangladesh have made long-term investments in fulfilling their social responsibilities by taking actions in environmental protection, honest operation, community service, job creation, employee training, public welfare and charity, etc.
Inspired by the Belt and Road Initiative, Chinese enterprises in Bangladesh have firmly established the concept of building a community of shared future for mankind, actively implemented Global Development Initiative, helped Bangladesh tapping its development potential, and shared their own development experience and achievements with their Bangladeshi counterparts, said the Chinese envoy.
"As Chinese ambassador to Bangladesh, I am very proud of the contributions made by Chinese enterprises to the development of China-Bangladesh relations," he said, conveying respect and heartfelt thanks to everyone who has contributed to the economic development of Bangladesh and the friendship between China and Bangladesh.
He presented the ‘China-Bangladesh Ambassador Friendship Award’ to six Bangladeshi friends including Alifa Chin.
The purpose of establishing ‘China-Bangladesh Ambassador Friendship Award’ is to encourage more Bangladeshi youths to study hard and pursue their dreams, to encourage them to contribute to the epic story of China-Bangladesh friendship, and inspire them to devote themselves to the cooperation between the two countries, said the ambassador.
The Chinese Embassy will make arrangements for Alifa Chin and her family to visit China this year.
For the other five winners who work with Chinese enterprises, the relevant companies have made arrangements for their promotion, salary enhancement, and work after the completion of current projects.
This year, under the framework of China aid, China will provide Bangladeshis nearly 200 opportunities to go to the country for training and participating in higher education, said Ambassador Yao.
China will also maintain and steadily increase the number of trainees every year in the future, he said.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative, and also the 7th anniversary of Bangladesh's participation in the Initiative.
The Chinese embassy in Bangladesh is taking the lead in writing a research report regarding the Belt and Road Initiative in Bangladesh, which comprehensively demonstrates the current situation and future development direction of China-Bangladesh friendship, said the envoy.
"We will launch the report in the near future," he said.
"We will strengthen theoretical and practical exchanges with Bangladesh on modernization, and synergize our development strategies," said the Chinese ambassador.
Vessel with goods for Rooppur plant docks at Mongla port
A vessel with consignments for the Rooppur Power Plant (NPP) in Pabna has arrived at Mongla port.
The ship-- ‘MV Liberty Harvest’ carrying goods weighing 1137.449 MT docked at the port’s jetty no 7 on Sunday afternoon, said Biplab Khan, manager of HSR Ocean Traders- the ship's local shipping agent.
Core barrel installed at Unit-1 of Rooppur NPP
The goods are being unloaded from the ship and securely stored in the port's shed area. Once completed, these machinery units will be transported by road to the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, he said.
Earlier, MV Anka Sky arrived at Mongla Port on May 29, transporting goods directly from Russia for the plant. On May 6, another foreign vessel named MV Anka Sun arrived at Mongla Port.
Body of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant contractor's driver found in Pabna
On April 25, the MV Yamal Orlan arrived at Mongla Port with goods for the project. Preceding the MV Yamal Orlan, the MV Dragonball and MV Kamilla had also made deliveries.
Recently, the United States of America has imposed a ban on 69 ships operated by seven shipping companies. Only ships not included in the ban are now directly arriving at Mongla Port from Russia.
Transport Lock installed for loading, unloading of fuel at Power Unit 1 of Rooppur NPP
On the other hand, the vessels that fall under the restriction list are currently transiting through India before reaching Mongla Port.
$21.61 billion remittances in FY23, second highest ever
Bangladesh received inward remittances of USD $21.61 billion in the fiscal year 2022-23 through official channels, which is the second-highest ever.
The country received a record amount of remittances $24.77 billion in the fiscal year 2020-21, when travel was banned due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Bangladesh Bank (BB) revealed the updated statistics on Sunday (July 2).
Remittances pick up pace ahead of Eid-ul-Azha
Different research organizations including CPD think that a big volume of inward remittances also came through illegal channel like Hundi.
In June 2023, the last month of the outgoing fiscal year, the expatriates sent $2.19 billion in remittances during the time of the biggest festival of Eid-UL-Azha. Buoyed by this the inward remittances collection stood at $21.61 billion in FY23, which was $21.03 billion in FY22.
This is the highest expatriate income in a single month in nearly three years. Earlier, the highest expatriate income was $2.59 billion in July of FY21.
Remittances from Saudi Arabia can increase further: Ambassador Javed Patwary
Those concerned with the sector say that due to various reasons including the dollar crisis, the government took various initiatives to bring more remittances or expatriate income through legal channels.
However, remittances did not increase at the rate expected by the central bank, or proved rather inconsistent.
Remittances bounce back to cross $2 billion again in March
Body of ship worker recovered from engine room in Jhalakathi
The Coast Guard has recovered the body of a ship worker who went missing after the fire incident in OT Sagar Nandini-2 in sugandha river adjacent to Padma-Meghna Petroleum Depot in Jhalakathi.
The deceased was identified as Abdus Salam Hridoy, 27. He was the cruiserman of the ship.
The charred body was recovered from the corner of the ship's second engine room at 3 pm on Sunday. The second floor of the ship, including the master bridge, fell into the river after an explosion inside the engine room at 2 pm on Saturday, leaving four people injured who are currently undergoing treatment at Sheikh Hasina Burn Unit in Dhaka.
The fire service, naval police and Jhalokati district police are providing all-out support to rescue the missing, said Lt Gen (retd) Md Safayet Arbor, who is conducting the operation in the coast guard.Deputy Director of the Department of Environment AHM Rashedul said that no oil was emitted from the ship and there is no threat to the environment.
Deputy Commissioner Farah Gul Nijhum and Superintendent of Police Mohammad Afrozul Haque Tutul have been monitoring the incident and taking necessary measures since then.
Rampal Power Plant shut down for maintenance
Power production at Rampal Thermal Power Plant in Bagerhat district has been suspended since Friday night due to maintenance work.
Syed Ekramullah, Managing Director of Bangladesh India Friendship Power Company (BIFPCL), said the energy production at the power plant halted at 8:45 pm on Friday due to inspection and maintenance work.
“We have suspended the production due to maintenance, inspection work and technical glitch from June 30 night and we’ll try to resume the production on June 4,5 or 6,” he said.
26,620 mts of coal for Rampal Power plant arrives at Mongla
Talking about the coal situation, Ekramullah said there is plenty of coal and a huge quantity of coal will arrive on June 5 by ship.
The 1320 MW coal-fired power plant has been set up at a cost of approximately USD 2 billion and is located in Rampal, in the Bagerhat district under Khulna division of Bangladesh.
Rampal electricity cost nearly doubles due to high coal price, increased dollar rate
The Maitree Super Thermal Power Project was constructed under the Indian government’s concessional financing scheme.
On September 6, 2022, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi jointly unveiled unit-1 of the power plant.
Dollar crisis casts a shadow over operation of Rampal coal-fired power plant
93 tonnes of green chilli imported amid soaring price
Ninety three tonnes of green chilli have arrived in the country from India through different land ports after Eid holidays, said the Ministry of Agriculture.
In the wake of surging price, the Ministry of Agriculture has so far permitted import a total of 36,830 metric tonnes of green chilli, said a press release of the ministry on Sunday.
UNB Satkhira correspondent reports after Eid holidays the trade activities between India and Bangladesh resumed through Bhomra land port on Sunday with the arrival of 60 tonnes of green chilli.
Green chilli still selling at Tk600 per kgSix trucks loaded with 10 tonnes of green chilli each entered the land port, said general secretary of Bhomra C&F Agent Association ASK Maksud Khan.The price of green chilli may decrease in the local market with the import, he hoped.However, a number of trucks carrying green chilli from India are on the way to Bangladesh and these will reach the land port by this (Sunday) evening, he said.Abdur Rahim, general secretary of Satkhira Kitchen Market Traders Association, said green chilli is being sold at Tk 400-450 per kg at wholesale market while it is being sold at Tk 600 at retail market.
60 tonnes of green chilli imported through Bhomra port“Already the price of green chilli has started to come down and it will be sold at Tk 50-60 per kg within two days,” he said.The price of green chilli has significantly risen in the local market recently.
UNB Benapole correspondent reports: Green chilli import from India through Benapole began on Sunday evening.
Chilli price hike heats up Barishal markets
Five trucks carrying 34 mts green chilli entered the land port at 5 pm today.
QU Dongyu of China re-elected FAO Director-General
QU Dongyu has been re-elected for a second term as Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Qu received a total of 168 out of 182 votes from FAO member countries on Sunday.
Nominated by China, Qu was the only candidate to FAO’s top position in today’s election.
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His new term will run from August 1, 2023 to July 31, 2027, according to FAO.
The election took place on the second day of the FAO Conference (July 1-7).
Since being elected FAO Director-General for the first time in 2019, Qu has championed a wide range of reforms and initiatives to overhaul the organization’s business model, improving efficiency and implementing best practices that support programme and administrative effectiveness.
FAO’s transparency, visibility and reputation has continued to increase over the last four years, amid major global challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and other protracted conflicts, economic downturns, and the intensifying climate crisis.
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Qu has strongly advocated for the transformation of agrifood systems to make them more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable, with the ultimate goal of helping FAO members achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and promote the Four Betters: better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life, leaving no one behind.
For that, FAO has focused on boosting science and innovation and launched some important strategic initiatives.
The Hand-in-Hand Initiative, for example, supports the implementation of nationally led, ambitious programmes to accelerate agrifood systems transformations.
It uses advanced geospatial modeling and analytics, as well as a robust partnership building to raise incomes, improve the nutritional status and well-being of poor and vulnerable populations, and strengthen resilience to climate change.
In the emergency and humanitarian response, FAO has been advocating for greater investment in medium and long-term resilience building, livelihood protection and disaster risk reduction support alongside humanitarian actions, especially in fragile contexts.
In this sense, FAO has stepped up its work in prevention and anticipation with the aim to address the root causes of food crises.
Another highlight of Qu’s leadership was the creation of the World Food Forum (WFF) in 2021. Over the past two years, the WFF has identified powerful ideas, scientific and evidence-based knowledge, innovations, policies and solutions, while forging new partnerships and investment opportunities to transform agrifood systems.
The WFF will continue to expand its reach in 2023, and draw a clear connection to the theme of climate action, while the global events in October will again encompass three pillars: the Global Youth Forum, the FAO Hand-in-Hand Forum and the FAO Science and Innovation Forum.
71 shortlisted for Nagad’s BMW
Nagad’s BMW campaign is now the talk of the town with crores of people having joined it with much enthusiasm through merchant payments or mobile recharge.
By means of random selection in phases using “Bangla AI”, 71 people have got themselves into the final list at the end of the three-month campaign. Now, the ultimate winner will be chosen by direct voting of Nagad customers.
The person securing the highest number of Nagad customers’ votes will get the much-awaited BMW car worth BDT 1 crore. The final list contains at least one person from each of the 64 districts in the country, says a press release on Sunday afternoon.
The mega campaign, which started in the last week of March and ended on 30 June, has earned a massive response from people across the country. Over the last three months, Nagad’s transactions, mainly in the form of merchant payments and mobile recharge, have reached a record high, riding on this mega BMW campaign.
As part of the campaign, a show titled “Ke Jitbe BMW?” (Who will win BMW?) was televised on more than one TV channels, with the participation of popular celebrities and social media influencers as guests. In the final episode, Bangladesh Cricket team’s star cricketer Mushfiqur Rahim was present as the special guest.
To finalise the list of candidates for the BMW car, in keeping with Mushfiqur’s ODI fifties, 44 people from 37 districts were initially picked using “Bangla AI”. Later, the number was raised to 71 as Mushfiqur suggested that at least one person from each district be included in the final list.
Now, any Nagad customer from anywhere in Bangladesh can vote any of the 71 selected people for the BMW car. The person getting the highest number of votes will win the BMW car.
To vote for one's chosen person, a Nagad customer needs to make a log-in into his or her Nagad app, tap “Ke Jitbe BMW” icon, then will find a shortlist of candidates. After that, they will select their favourite person by clicking the “Vote” button below the picture and will check the details and tap the “Vote Now” button to complete their vote. A Nagad user can only vote once a day and can vote again the next day. Voting will remain open from 1 July to 10 July.
Talking about the BMW winner selection process, Sadat Adnan Ahmad, chief marketing officer of Nagad Limited, said, “We have got a great response to our BMW campaign. That is why we ourselves have not gone for selecting the ultimate winner, rather we have now left it to our crores of customers to choose from the 71 shortlisted candidates.”
Under the mega payment campaign, Nagad handed over several Sedan cars, nearly 500 motorbikes and refrigerators, smart televisions, mobiles, smartwatches, headphones, etc. to winners.
They received such exciting gifts from their favourite celebrities, such as Bangladesh National Cricket Team’s ODI captain Tamim Iqbal Khan and television stars – Nusrat Faria, Mishu Sabbir, Ziaul Hoque Polash and Parsa Evana. Besides, Nagad gave prizes to many winners by going to their homes.
Food grain storage capacity to be increased to 3.5 mln mts: Food Minister
Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder said the capacity of food grain warehouse in the country will be increased to 3.5 million metric tons.
“There is storage capacity of 2.18 million metric tons of food grains. Currently, we have over 2 million metric tons in stock. There is no space left to store more food grains,” he said while talking to reporters after the inauguration ceremony of a newly constructed LSD in Naogaon on Sunday.
Eight modern steel silos across the country are nearly complete to address this issue, the minister said.
“This initiative will increase the overall storage capacity by 6.5 lakhs metric tons. Additionally, the government has approved the construction of 200 paddy silos with a capacity of 5,000 metric tons each, with 30 already got approval,” he said.
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“If paddy silos are constructed, even if farmers bring wet paddy, there will be an opportunity to store it. The wet rice will automatically dry, eliminating the need to reject the farmers' produce due to moisture,” he added.
Highlighting a significant achievement for the Ministry of Food, he announced that a draft law encompassing various aspects of food production, marketing, and supply will be placed in Parliament.
“If passed, this act is expected to be a landmark legislation that will bring order in the marketing, storage, and harvesting of food crops,” he said.
The minister said the government has decided to procure 12.5 lakhs metric tons of rice and 4 lakhs metric tons of paddy in the current Boro season.
“The deadline for procurement has been set for August 30th. We have already purchased 7,10,000 metric tons of rice and 1,21,000 metric tons of paddy as of Eid. So far, the paddy and rice procurement campaign has been successful."
60 tonnes of green chilli imported through Bhomra port
After a five-day Eid-vacation, the trade activities between India and Bangladesh resumed through Bhomra land port on Sunday with the arrival of 60 tonnes of green chilli.Six trucks loaded with 10 tonnes of green chilli each entered the land port, said general secretary of Bhomra C&F Agent Association ASK Maksud Khan.The price of green chilli may decrease in the local market with the import, he hoped.
Green chilli still selling at Tk600 per kgHowever, a number of trucks carrying green chilli from India are on the way to Bangladesh and these will reach the land port by this (Sunday) evening, he said.Abdur Rahim, general secretary of Satkhira Kitchen Market Traders Association, said green chilli is being sold at Tk 400-450 per kg at wholesale market while it is being sold at Tk 600 at retail market.
Chilli price hike heats up Barishal markets“Already the price of green chilli has started to come down and it will be sold at Tk 50-60 per kg within two days,” he said.In the wake of the surging price of green chilli in the local market, the Ministry of Agriculture allowed the import of green chilli.The ministry permitted 30 importing firms to import a total of 11,600 metric tonnes of green chillies, said a release June 25.
Chilli price hike heats up Barishal marketsThe price of green chilli has significantly risen in the local market recently.