A seven-member delegation from Bangladesh has left for Fujairah, United Arab Emirates to attend the 36th world congress of the International Theatre Institute (ITI) to be held from 20 to 25 February, 2023. The members of the delegation are Ramendu Majumdar, Honorary President (worldwide) of ITI, Prof Abdus Selim, newly elected President of Bangladesh ITI, Prof Shafi Ahmed, Vice-President, Debaprasad Debnath, Secretary General, Babul Biswas, Publication Secretary, Junaid Eusuf, Organising Secretary and Rahul Ananda, the actor-singer. This is for the first time ITI congress is being held in an Arab country under the patronisation of the Fujairah government. There will be several artistic events, seminars and organisational activities. Ramendu Majumdar will introduce his book ‘The World of Theatre: My ITI years’ in the Speakers’ session while Rahul Ananda will give a solo performance as a young practitioner.

A delegation of six German parliament members will pay an official visit to Bangladesh from February 22 to 26 to “foster the strong ties” between the two nations further, said the German Embassy in Dhaka on Sunday. Renate Kunast, the Chairperson of the German-South Asian Parliamentary Group and a former German Minister, will lead the delegation. Read more: Envoys impressed with facilities for Rohingyas at Bhasan Char: MoFA During the visit, the delegation will meet with representatives of the legislative and executive organs of Bangladesh as well as a variety of members of civil society and business circles. They will discuss with their Bangladeshi counterparts various issues of mutual concern, including the deepening of the 50-year-long bilateral relations, politics, climate change, human rights, trade, migration, development cooperation and women empowerment. The delegation consists of Renate Künast, MP; Dr André Hahn, MP; Paul Lehrieder, MP; Ria Schröder, MP; Andreas Larem, MP and Dr Malte Kaufmann, MP.

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Tuesday welcomed the proposed visit of a high-level delegation led by Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard Casaubon on March 7-9, 2023 and expressed hope that his maiden visit would infuse vigor and vitality in the bilateral relations. Momen also welcomed the announcement of the Mexican government to open their Embassy in Dhaka by 2023 which will further consolidate ties between the two countries and will boost trade and commerce, investment, exchange of visits between the businessmen, high officials and people-to-people contacts. Federico Salas Lofte, non-resident Ambassador of Mexico, Alejandro Simancas Marin, non-resident Ambassador of Cuba, Sinisa Pavic, non-resident Ambassador of Serbia  and Menzie Sipho DLAMINI, non-resident High Commissioner of the Kingdom of Eswatini jointly met Foreign Minister Momen at the Foreign Service Academy on Tuesday following presentation of  their Letter of Credence to the President of Bangladesh at Bangabhaban.  At the outset, the Foreign Minister welcomed the non-resident Ambassadors to Bangladesh. Also Read: Mexico wants to share automobile manufacturing experience with Bangladesh, transfer technology At the joint calls on, Momen hoped that the bilateral relations among Bangladesh and the countries of accreditation would usher a new avenue during their tour of duty.  Non-resident Ambassadors cordially exchanged views on bilateral and multilateral cooperation of mutual interests, including trade and investment, infrastructure development, connectivity, COVID situation and Russia-Ukraine crisis that disrupted the supply chain of wheat, fuel and edible oil and discussed ways and means to address the issue to offset the crisis. Foreign Minister Momen fondly recalled about the great Cuban Leader Fidel Castro who once compared Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman with the Himalayas. To mark the 50th Anniversary of the establishment of relations between Bangladesh and Cuba, the Cuban Ambassador handed over a congratulatory message to Momen from his Cuban counterpart. Regarding Rohingya issue, Foreign Minister Momen underlined that Bangladesh is currently hosting 1.1 million forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals who were forced to flee their ancestral land in the face of rape, violence and persecution. Also Read: Malaysian Home Minister’s visit in Feb: Bangladesh wants manpower recruitment at a reduced cost Bangladesh cannot afford to share its sovereign land any longer with its limited resource and land, he said. The Foreign Minister urged the support of the respective governments to play an active role for the early repatriation of these Rohingya people to their homeland in Myanmar with safety, security and dignity. Uncertainty and delay in their repatriation may attract them towards radicalism, trafficking, drugs smuggling and other cross border crimes which may threaten the security and stability of Bangladesh and Myanmar and beyond, he added.