A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed to launch the “Sheikh Mujib-Bangladesh Room” at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations in Rome.
Md. Shameem  Ahsan, Ambassador of Bangladesh to Italy and Permanent Representative to FAO, and Qu Dongyu, Director General of FAO, signed the MoU on Monday against the background of ongoing celebrations of the birth centenary of  Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (Mujib Year).
The signing paves the way for eventual launching a facilitation room carrying the name of Bangabandhu and the donor country (Bangladesh) at the FAO headquarters which will be used by the Member States for meetings and other official activities.
Organized in a hybrid format, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md. Shahriar Alam joined virtually from Bangladesh and witnessed the ceremony.

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Citing the close partnership between Bangladesh and FAO for more than four decades, the State Minister expressed sincere thanks to the Director General of FAO for his valuable support for signing the MoU to mark “Mujib Year”.
Terming the moment an occasion of pride and emotion since it coincides with the ongoing celebration of the 50th year of independence while the country is going to celebrate its glorious Victory Day this month, Alam felt that the signing ushered in a new chapter in Bangladesh-FAO partnership. 
Shameem Ahsan, Permanent Representative to FAO, noted that Bangladesh and FAO enjoy close partnership for almost 48 years.
He expressed deep satisfaction for the recent election of Bangladesh to several executive bodies of Rome-based FAO and the World Food Programme. Bangladesh Ambassador informed that Bangladesh, for the first time, was going to host the 36th Asia Pacific FAO Regional Conference (APRC) in Dhaka from 08-11 March 2022, which is expected to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The Director General of FAO lauded Bangladesh Prime Minister for the development journey of the country and for recent confirmation by the UN for its graduation from the LDC status under her dynamic leadership.

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The Permanent Representatives of China and Thailand and the representative of Indonesia as Chairperson of the Asia Regional Group joined the event in person at the Sheikh Zayed Center of FAO while representatives from India, Malaysia and Philippines attended virtually. 
Senior Officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs including Ambassador Shabbir Ahmad Chowdhury, Secretary (West), Economic Relations Division (ERD) and Ministry of Agriculture, among others, joined the event from Bangladesh while the officials of the Mission attended in-person.