United News of Bangladesh

Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur Rahman has reaffirmed Bangladesh's firm commitment to consolidating and deepening the longstanding friendly ties between Bangladesh and Argentina with enhanced cooperation in priority areas. Ambassador of Argentina to Bangladesh Marcelo Carlos Cesa met the Foreign Minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday and both sides identified priority areas to enhance cooperation. The particularly discussed ways to expand bilateral trade with a focus on diversification of exports and imports, strengthening technical collaboration in agriculture, advancing sports cooperation, including through effective implementation of the existing MoU on football, and exploring opportunities for cooperation in energy trade and supply chain partnerships and enhanced apparel exports from Bangladesh. The Foreign Minister proposed a multi-sectoral dialogue among relevant stakeholders with a focused agenda to advance bilateral cooperation. He also appreciated the reopening of the Argentine Embassy in Dhaka and Argentina's recent concurrence to the reopening of the Embassy of Bangladesh in Buenos Aires. He underscored Bangladesh's commitment to operationalising its resident mission in Buenos Aires at the earliest opportunity to further institutionalise bilateral engagement, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam on Friday said the government is working to ensure that Bangladeshi citizens can travel to India smoothly and the Indian side has shown a positive response. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working on the issue of Indian visas for Bangladeshis. We have held talks with India. They are positive so that visa services can return to normal,” she told reporters at Fulbaria High School ground in Saltha upazila of Faridpur district in the afternoon. Shama Obaed, also a Member of Parliament from Faridpur-2, attended an iftar and doa mahfil organised by BNP and its associate bodies of Ballabhdi, Sonapur and Jadunandi unions. Addressing party leaders and activists, she urged all to maintain law and order in the post-election period across every union of the upazila. “Law and order must be maintained. The peaceful environment must be upheld. Clashes and conflicts in the name of party politics must stop,” she said. Saudi Arabia issues 1.4m visas for Bangladeshis, 750,000 for work She said  involvement in violence only leads to injuries, cases  and attacks which ultimately bring no benefit. “Instead of engaging in clashes, we must focus on development—how to improve education, repair roads and work for the future of our brothers and sisters in Ballabhdi, Jadunandi, Sonapur and across the upazila. For that, we need everyone’s cooperation,” she said.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed on Thursday said Bangladesh has issues and challenges with all countries, which will be addressed through discussions at bilateral and multilateral forums. “We want to look forward, keeping our backbone strong and straight. That backbone has now become stronger after a long time as the government came through people’s mandate. All now need to look at Bangladesh from a different perspective,” she told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, sharing how the foreign policy of a democratic government should be. Asked about the interim government's reported policy position regarding deployment of Bangladeshi troops to Gaza and renewal of the 30-year-old Ganges water-sharing treaty with India, the State Minister said these issues have not yet been discussed at the political level. "These are not discussed yet. To be honest, this is only the second day of the government. But you will have to wait…those political decisions will definitely,” she said. On relations with India, China and the United States, Shama said Bangladesh has issues and challenges with all countries and would address them through both bilateral and multilateral engagements. "We will maintain relations with all states and governments. Our foremost priority is to safeguard the interests of Bangladesh and its people," she said. The State Minister said they will keep in touch with all countries, talk and advance relations through friendship. She said the current administration is a democratically elected government after many years and will pursue foreign policy with a firm and principled stance, placing the interests of people first. The State Minister said Bangladesh will continue its engagement with all countries and affirmed that the government’s foreign policy would reflect the will and aspirations of the people. She said the government would safeguard the interests of the people of Bangladesh while maintaining cordial relations with all nations. Diplomacy, she said, will be conducted in a manner that effectively protects national interests. She said the officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are very experienced and they will work as a team. She also highlighted the need to conduct foreign policy with a united stance in the national interest, regardless of political party, opinion and religion. On visa restrictions imposed by several countries, Shama said the Ministry is aware of the challenges and is actively working to resolve them through diplomatic channels. "We are examining how these issues can be addressed and how we can move forward in a constructive manner," she said Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur Rahman and the State Minister held a series of meetings with senior officials of the Ministry in the morning.