United News of Bangladesh

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam has stressed the need for strengthening bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Lithuania. Emphasising enhanced trade and economic relations, she has urged Lithuania to import ready-made garments, textiles, pharmaceutical products, bio-degradable jute and jute products, leather and leather products, agro-products, furniture, plastic goods, and ships from Bangladesh. The state minister has highlighted investment opportunities in Bangladesh across sectors such as apparel, leather, light engineering, agro-processing, petroleum, renewable energy, the IT sector, and waste management, and invited Lithuania to invest in Bangladesh. The issues were discussed when the Non-Resident Ambassador of Lithuania to Bangladesh, Diana Mickeviciene, called on her at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday.

The government is working to repatriate the body of a Bangladeshi woman killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut, Lebanon, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam said on Saturday. “The government and the administration stand by the grieving family,” she said told reporters after an exchange of views with the Hindu community in Nagarkanda-Salthar area. She told Bangladesh’s mission in Lebanon has been instructed to ensure the repatriation of the body. Migration must be governed upholding dignity, rights: Shama Obaed “Air traffic is currently disrupted due to tensions in the Middle East. Despite this, efforts are underway to repatriate the body as soon as possible,” she added. The state minister said eight Bangladeshis have been killed since the beginning of the conflict, adding that steps are being taken to ensure the safety of Bangladeshi nationals in the war-torn region. Some citizens have already been repatriated. Dipali Akter, daughter of Sheikh Mofazzal alias Moka Sheikh of Char Harirampur Union in Charbhadrasan upazila, was seriously injured in an Israeli airstrike on April 8 and later died while undergoing treatment at a local hospital. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday also condemned the killing of Dipali. Dipali had gone to Lebanon in 2024 to work as a domestic worker and had been living with family there.