British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Sarah Cooke presented the insignia of an honorary Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) to Dr Shehlina Ahmed, a former British High Commission Dhaka employee. Her contribution is widely recognised across the health sector in the country. FM to join EU Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum in Brussels February 2 British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Sarah Cooke said, “I am pleased to present the award to Dr Shehlina Ahmed on behalf of late Queen Elizabeth II. I had the pleasure to work with Dr Ahmed in my previous role and witnessed her excellent work.” The High Commissioner said Dr Shehlina has played an exemplary role to help transform Bangladesh’s health sector and strengthen the ties between the two great countries. “I congratulate her on receiving this prestigious honorary award.” Bangladesh, Russia discuss ways to strengthen trade, investment ties Dr Shehlina was announced as a recipient of the award in 2022 for services to health sector development in Bangladesh. The insignia was presented at a ceremony held at the Residence of the British High Commissioner in Dhaka on Wednesday. Dr Shehlina received the honorary MBE for her excellent work from 2009 to 2021 to lead the UK Government’s work in Bangladesh to support improvements in the health sector. Russian Ambassador dismisses claims made by BNP’s Gayeshwar Throughout her 13-year career with the then UK Department for International Development (DFID) and British High Commission, Dhaka, Dr Shehlina displayed exceptional commitment to delivering effective UK aid to improve the lives of poor and excluded people in Bangladesh.

British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Robert Chatterton Dickson has said education is a fundamental human right and critical for the development of a country. Dickson inaugurated two learning centres on Wednesday in Narsingdi under the Educate the Most Disadvantaged Children (EMDC) programme funded by the British High Commission in Dhaka and implemented by UNICEF. UNICEF Representative to Bangladesh Sheldon Yett also visited the learning centres, said the British High Commission on Thursday. Read: Dickson greets 16 Chevening awardees from Bangladesh Sheldon Yett has said despite increased enrolment of both girls and boys, millions of children in Bangladesh remain out of school. The partnership with the UK government is a boost to UNICEF’s efforts to bring quality education to children who would otherwise be missing out, Yett said. The UK government is pleased to be able to provide these flexible learning opportunities for out-of-school children to minimise the learning gap and help build back after the COVID-19 pandemic, Dickson said. "At the end of their course these children will be integrated into mainstream government schools to continue their education,” said the British envoy. The objective of the programme is to provide increased opportunities for education to some of the most disadvantaged children, especially girls, and to enhance their foundational learning. The project directly helps to overcome education challenges in Bangladesh by supporting out-of-school children living in hard-to-reach areas such as urban slums, coastal areas, hill tracts and wetlands. Read:Huge work ahead of COP27; commitments need to turn into action: Robert Dickson A total of 1,300 learning centres will provide catch-up education to children who dropped out (or are at risk of dropping out) due to the COVID pandemic; and multi-grade multi-level education for children who were never previously enrolled in school. The UK government has pledged 38.5 million pounds for the Educate the Most Disadvantaged Children (EMDC) programme in Bangladesh which will be implemented over eight years. The programme aims to provide education to 360,000 marginalised children, including over 210,000 girls across Bangladesh.

British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Robert Chatterton Dickson has said Chevening represents the very best of the UK, welcoming exceptional people from across the world to study, grow, and thrive at some of the world’s best universities. “I congratulate the 16 Chevening awardees from Bangladesh for the 2022-2023 cycle and wish them the very best,” he said. The British high commissioner congratulated this year’s cohort of Chevening awardees from Bangladesh at a reception at his residence. Read: Huge work ahead of COP27; commitments need to turn into action: Robert Dickson This year, 16 outstanding Bangladeshis have received Chevening Scholarships and will soon be leaving for the UK to start one-year master’s degrees at some of the world’s most prestigious universities, said the high commission on Wednesday. “Being part of the Chevening network offers participants extra opportunities and instils a particular sense of pride. I am consistently impressed by the passion and commitment of the scholars and alumni I meet,” said Dickson. Bangladesh has over 350 successful Chevening alumni. Chevening scholars in Bangladesh hold prominent positions in government, the private sector and academia. Applications for the next cohort (2023/24) of Chevening Scholarships to study in the UK are open until 1 November 2022, with applications to be submitted via www.chevening.org/apply

State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid has underlined the need for finding new sources and better use of modern technologies to face the challenges in the energy sector. He said that tariff and land availability have been the main obstacles to promotion of solar power in the country. He made the remarks while British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Robert Chatterton Dickson called on him at his office at the ministry on Wednesday. During the meeting they discussed bilateral issues of mutual interest. Read: E-waste management should be safe and environmentally friendly: Nasrul Hamid The state minister said it is essential to boost energy conservation activities. "The government has been working sincerely to promote clean energy. The process of importing hydropower electricity from Nepal is at the final stage”, he told the British envoy. He also discussed the nationally determined contribution (NDC), climate change, local and sub-regional power sharing, power import, nuclear energy, renewable energy, solar home system, smart grid, primary energy, net metering system, electric vehicle, lithium battery, onshore and offshore wind power systems. Senior climate and environment advisor Anna Balance and climate change policy manager Marjan Nur were present on the occasion.

British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Robert Chatterton Dickson on Wednesday recognised Bangladesh's leadership role in the realm of climate change mitigation and adaptation, and applauded the tremendous achievements of Bangladesh that it will present at COP26. Addressing a webinar, the High Commissioner highlighted four individual aspects of tackling climate change - coal, cash, cars, and trees. Regarding coal, he stated that Bangladesh’s contribution to emission reduction has been exemplary.  Read: Climate crisis no longer a looming crisis: Mia Seppo Dickson was impressed by the government’s Mujib climate prosperity plan and believes Bangladesh can achieve a net-zero carbon emission target by 2050.  In light of the COP26, the Centre for Governance Studies arranged the webinar titled “Addressing the Goals of COP-26 in South Asian Context: Pitfall and Explications” focusing on both the COP26 and current climate issues in Bangladesh and South Asia.  Dr Atiq Rahman, Executive Director, Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies, Ar Mubasshar Hussain, President, Institute of Architects Bangladesh, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Chief Executive, Bangladesh Environment Lawyers Association (BELA), Professor Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir, Chair, IUCN National Committee in Bangladesh, Architect Iqbal Habib, Member Secretary, Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA), and Dr Manjur A.Chowdhury, Chairman, Centre for Governance Studies (CGS) spoke at the webinar moderated by Zillur Rahman, Executive Director of CGS. The British High Commission has been working with the government to form a long-term strategy towards net-zero emission. 

British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Robert Chatterton Dickson on Monday said the ties between Bangladesh and the United Kingdom (UK) are wide and deep. He said they will continue to work with Bangladesh in the spirit of steadfast friendship embodied by "His Royal Highness.” "I am grateful to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and to the people of Bangladesh for your kind messages of support and condolence at this time," Dickson said.  On Friday, Buckingham Palace announced the death of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. "Our thoughts and condolences are with The Queen and the Royal Family during this sad time." The funeral will take place at St George’s Chapel, Windsor on April 17 at 1500 UK time. The service will begin with a national minute’s silence across the UK at 1500 UK time and will be a Ceremonial Royal Funeral, the form of funeral that was held for Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother in 2002. Also read: UK proposes launching of Bangladesh-UK Trade, Investment Dialogue The UK has now entered a period of national mourning that will last until 0800 on April 18. Flags will be flown at half-mast across UK Government buildings during this time, said the British High Commission. Given the current public health situation, physical "Books of Condolence" will not be available for the public to sign at the British High Commission in Dhaka. Members of the public wishing to express their condolences are welcome to send a message to the Royal Family via the online Book of Condolence on this website: www.royal.uk/books-condolence, said the High Commissioner. “As the Prime Minister has said, we are a nation united in both grief and gratitude. Grief at Prince Philip’s passing, and gratitude for his lifetime of dedicated service to our country," Dickson said. Also read: Kamran always promoted BD-UK people-to-people ties: Dickson He said, "Whether as a naval hero, as the creator of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, or as Her Majesty’s loyal consort; his legacy is felt by millions at home, across the Commonwealth, and around the world."  

British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Robert Chatterton Dickson on Wednesday said Bangladesh and the United Kingdom can develop a stronger, long-term trade relationship overcoming various challenges in the days ahead.

The United Kingdom has said they look forward to strengthening bonds of kinship and culture during the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh's independence.

British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Robert Chatterton Dickson on Wednesday said this year is a big year for Bangladesh, and also for the United Kingdom (UK) as a partner, saying that they would hold a series of events to celebrate the “remarkable success” of Bangladesh.

Local Government, Rural Development & Cooperatives Minister Md Tazul Islam said that the municipal councils must focus on increasing income or face dissolution as the Government plans to change the law in this regard.