Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen will have a meeting with his British counterpart Dominic Raab in London in between his visit to Switzerland and the Netherlands, and discuss ways to further strengthen the relations between the two Commonwealth countries -- Bangladesh and the United Kingdom. Dr Momen said Bangladesh High Commissioner in London Saida Muna Tasneem informed him that there has been no meeting with the British Foreign Minister for a long time and Dominic Raab has already given an appointment to sit in a meeting in London. “I’ll also have a separate meeting with Alok Sharma (President of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in London,” the Foreign Minister told UNB. “Things are being finalized,” he said, mentioning that he will visit London in between his visit to Switzerland and the Netherlands. Dr Momen will also attend programmes like a meeting with businesspeople during his busy stay in London, a senior official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told UNB. He will leave here on Sunday morning beginning his tri-nation visit, said the official.  The UK will host the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow on October 31 to November 12. Apart from the bilateral issues, vaccine cooperation and removing Bangladesh from the red list (for entering England amid the pandemic) are likely to be discussed, said a diplomatic source. Read: See your own face in mirror before advising Bangladesh: Dhaka to London Bangladesh finds no justified reason to see it on the red list as the Covid-19 situation is not that much bad compared to other countries which are not on the red list, said an official. If anyone from a red listed country enters the UK, he or she must book a quarantine hotel and coronavirus (Covid-19) tests which is quite expensive.

Bangladesh High Commissioner to Malaysia Md Golam Sarwar on Saturday said they have taken a number of initiatives with digital platforms like “Chakrir Khoj” to help migrant workers get rid of any middlemen or agents making the entire process transparent and getting jobs without any hassle. “There’ll be no scope of fraudulence or getting cheated (by agents). We’ll remain careful always so that no one gets cheated,” he said while exchanging views with the members of Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) virtually. Deputy High Commissioner Mohammad Khorshed A Khastagir and officials from various wings of the High Commission also spoke at the programme. The Bangladesh High Commission in Kuala Lumpur recently launched the job portal “Chakrir Khoj” at a virtual event. Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmad, MP attended it as the chief guest while State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam, MP was the special guest.

Bangladesh High Commissioner to Canada High Dr Khalilur Rahman has said the Pakistani war criminals should be brought under due trial without which the process of doing justice to the victims of the 1971 Genocide in Bangladesh would not be done. While addressing a Genocide Day discussion in Ottawa, he said it is their duty to inform the international community about the genocide that took place in Bangladesh. “Efforts are on to get the Genocide Day recognised internationally.” Also read: Trial of Pakistan's 1971 Genocide: It's for Bangladesh to decide The High Commissioner said he is trying to establish a genocide corner at the Human Rights Museum in Winnipeg with the objective of mobilising public opinion in support of getting Genocide Day recognised internationally. The Bangladesh High Commission in Ottawa observed National Genocide Day of Bangladesh on Thursday. The programme includes the observance of silence, reading out of the messages followed by a special discussion. The Bangladesh High Commissioner, Deputy High Commissioner and all the officers and officials of the High Commission were present at the event. A one-minute silence was observed to pay homage to all the martyrs and then the messages of the President and Prime Minister were read out by the officers of the High Commission for the audiences. At the open discussion held on the importance and the significance of the day, the speakers said 50 years back, on 25 March 1971, Pakistan Army launched “Operation Searchlight” resulting in the worst genocide in human history over a period of nine months till the Pakistan Forces were defeated by the Bangladesh Freedom Fighters under the leadership of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Also read: War crimes trial to continue even if Jamaat seeks mercy: Quader They emphasised that this day should be internationally recognised, and all should work together in this regard. High Commissioner Rahman first paid homage to the Father of the Nation for leading the nation to achieve Independence. He also paid respect to all victims of Genocide in 1971, the martyrs and tortured women and the valiant freedom fighters for whose sacrifice the country achieved Independence. The High Commissioner said the observance of the Genocide Day should have been started earlier than 2017as it is an immensely important day in Bangladesh’s history. He expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for her decision to observe the day as Genocide Day from 2017. The High Commissioner said it was the decision of the Prime Minister to establish the International War Crimes Tribunal after winning the elections in 2008. He mentioned that the International War Criminal Tribunal already tried and convicted Bangladeshi collaborators and associates of the Pakistani war criminals. Also read: No war criminals at Victory Day programmes: Minister

Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar concluded his day-long visit here on Thursday night reaffirming the robust Bangladesh-India partnership.

Deputy Chief Minister of Indian State Meghalaya Prestone Tynsong has appreciated Bangladesh’s leadership for achieving progress in various sectors and laid emphasis on further increasing bilateral trade for the betterment of the two people.

Bangladesh High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (UK) Saida Muna Tasneem has urged Bangladeshi expatriates, especially the young generation, living in the UK to complete their birth registration with the High Commission to avail six essential services.

Bangladesh has called upon the Commonwealth leaders to become the collective and common voice of the most vulnerable countries and help address current challenges.   The most vulnerable countries include LDCs, LLDCs, SIDS and countries with special needs during the post-Covid global socio-economic recovery initiatives, and called for assurances that LDCs meeting the graduation thresholds would continue to receive all flexibilities   Bangladesh High Commissioner Saida Muna Tasneem made the call while addressing the virtual Commonwealth Leaders meeting on the COVID-19 crisis earlier this week.   She said Bangladesh is delivering public health services and humanitarian emergency aide to people's door steps, utilizing  ‘GovTech’ and ‘DevTech’ under Digital Bangladesh vision.   Presidents, Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers of 30 Commonwealth member countries including Nigeria, Kenya, Belize, Bahamas, Uganda, Tanzania, Guyana, and the Gambia attended the meeting, said the High Commission on Saturday.   High Commissioner Tasneem briefed the Commonwealth leaders about Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's post-Covid innovative digitalization initiatives in public services including 333-digital helpline for emergency health support, Muktopaath (an internationally award-winning open e-Learning program) for training doctors, Food for Nation App to ensure emergency supply chains, EkShop App (e-commerce platform) for connecting farmers with consumers, ‘2-minute’ online bank account from home, digital wallets for payments of wages, Bangladesh Post Office Digital Financial transaction “Nagad” and various other digital services during Covid-19 emergency.   Echoing Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s six priorities of global action to combat Covid-19 at the World Economic Forum’s Covid Response Dialogue, High Commissioner Tasneem called upon the Commonwealth leaders to become the collective and common voice of the most vulnerable countries.   In the meeting, Commonwealth leaders appreciated Bangladesh Prime Minister’s $11.50 billion financial and social safety-net support packages for the most vulnerable segments of the society including the RMG and daily workers and her ‘GovTech’ and ‘DevTech’ initiatives.   The Commonwealth Secretary-General acknowledged Bangladesh’s early warning system and disaster preparedness including quick evacuation of 2.5 million people from the coastal area during Cyclone Amphan.

Bangladesh High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Saida Muna Tasneem has said Bangabandhu's secular and inclusive values were profoundly rooted in his non-violent and peaceful political philosophy that found global recognition 47 years ago in the Julio-Curie Peace Prize, one of the highest global recognitions for contribution to peace.   She made the remark while addressing a panel discussion on Saturday on the occasion of the 47th anniversary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s receiving the Julie-Curie Peace Prize.   The High Commissioner said commemoration of Bangabandhu’s receiving the Julio-Curie Peace Prize is a strong reminder that Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was not only the greatest Bengali of all time, but also one of the greatest global statesmen and champions of peace and civil rights in the ranks of Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King JR, Jawaharlal Nehru and many more.   The High Commissioner also reflected that Bangabandhu, who had always pursued a peace-centric, non-violent Gandhian political philosophy, spent one-fourth of his life-time imprisonment and went into several hunger strikes for peaceful protests against injustice, oppression, repression and discrimination of the Bengali people.    Due to Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, the Bangladesh High Commission London organised the in-house panel discussion to observe the anniversary, said the High Commission.    The 47th anniversary of Bangabandhu’s Julio-Curie Peace Prize bears special significance in the year 2020 which is also the Bangabandhu’s 100 birth anniversary.

Bangladesh High Commissioner to India Muhammad Imran presented his credentials to the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, at a ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Tuesday.