State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Wednesday said they will seek opinions from the home and law ministries and will act based on their decisions regarding BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed. "Any person needs to have valid documents to travel from one country to another. I don't know whether he (Salahuddin) has valid documents. If he doesn't have valid documents, he'll have to apply through the Bangladesh mission," he said while talking to a small group of reporters. Read more: Indian Shillong Judge Court upholds acquittal of BNP leader Salahuddin The judge's court in India's Shillong has reportedly upheld a magistrate court's verdict that acquitted BNP leader Salahuddin in a case filed over trespassing into the country in 2015. In the short order, the judge's court also asked the Indian government to take necessary steps to send Salahuddin back to Bangladesh. "I don't know details of the matter yet," said the state minister, adding that they follow the home and law ministries' decisions if any Bangladeshi convict gets imprisoned abroad.    

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Secretary General Esala Weerakoon has appealed to Bangladesh for its “intervention” to save the SAARC process from the existing “difficulties.” The SAARC Secretary General made the appeal to State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam during a meeting  at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday. Also read: With Saarc in doldrums, regional integration must be sought in other forums The State Minister welcomed Esala Weerakoon and talked about different aspects of current activities of SAARC. During their discussion, the Secretary General recalled the role of Bangladesh since the inception of SAARC as a visionary idea of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to form regional cooperation and connection among the South Asian countries. He praised the willingness of Bangladesh to activate and motivate the various modalities of regional cooperation within the SAARC system, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Also read: Saarc FMs' meet on UN assembly sidelines called off over Afghanistan The State Minister assured Bangladesh's commitment to extend every possible support to materialize the goals of SAARC and to achieve a sustainable and integrated development in the region through cooperation. Aloam advised the Secretary General to continue his consultation with member states and urged to revitalize SAARC Cooperation to face the growing challenge that the region is facing.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam has said Bangladesh stands ready to share its good practices in the areas of agriculture and food security with countries in comparable situations. He called on the developed countries to fulfill climate commitments to create a more resilient agriculture and food system. Shahriar was speaking at the Security Council Open Debate titled ‘Conflict and Food Security' on Friday, noting that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina joined the Global Champions Group on Global Crisis Response set up by the Secretary-General.  The State Minister shared the achievements of Bangladesh in transforming the agriculture sector and achieve food self-sufficiency, which promoted rural development, empowerment of marginalized people, and protection of smallholder farmers, according to a message received here from New York on Saturday.  Recalling the promises of the global community to implement the 2030 Agenda, he said it is imperative to work together to ensure that everyone, everywhere has access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food, leaving no one behind. The State Minister underscored the importance of enhancing productivity and ensuring effective food storage and distribution systems.  Read: Vulnerable nations threatened as Ukraine war shrinks food supplies, hikes prices  

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam has said global efforts must be enhanced to save lives and reduce risks and vulnerabilities of migrants during their migratory journey, including those caught up in situations of crisis.  He was delivering national statement at the general debate of the International Migration Review Forum (IMRF) at the UN General Assembly on Thursday.  Shahriar Alam urged transit and destination countries not to forcibly return migrants under any circumstances. Also read:It's a priority for IFAD to invest in Bangladesh, says its regional director 

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam has said Bangladesh is committed to continuing its partnership with Nepal and will work to take it to a new height in the coming years. "We happily look back at the last fifty years of relationship," he said, adding that the two countries can work together to face the challenges of graduation from the group of the least developed countries (LDCs). The state minister was addressing a reception hosted by Charge d'Affaires at the Nepalese Embassy in Dhaka Kumar Rai at a city hotel Friday, marking the 50 years of diplomatic ties. Read: Dhaka renews call to Washington to lift Rab sanctions Bangladesh and Nepal established diplomatic relations on April 8, 1972. Shahriar said Nepal is one of the first few countries to recognise Bangladesh as a sovereign country and Bangladesh recognised 11 eminent personalities of Nepal including the incumbent foreign minister of Nepal as "Friends of Bangladesh" for their contribution to the country's cause in 1971. He noted that Bangladesh has been maintaining friendly relations with its neighbours guided by the philosophy of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The state minister expressed satisfaction with the recent growth of trade between Bangladesh and Nepal and called for concluding a preferential trade agreement to reap the untapped potential.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam has said the government is now close to a decision on how it will proceed on the legal front apart from exploring ways through diplomatic channels to get the sanctions imposed by the US on individuals withdrawn. While talking to a small group of reporters at his office, he said they have talked to three law firms and will take the best advice from those firms. “We’ll hopefully come to a decision this week.” Responding to a question, the state minister said they have enough capacity to tackle the matter - either on legal front or diplomatic front – and said the government of Bangladesh does not want to involve a third country in this process. Read:Don’t believe wholesale sanctions on Bangladesh warranted: Congressman Meeks He said Bangladesh and the United States will see more engagements through a number of bilateral platforms including “Partnership Dialogue” in the coming months. Earlier, Bangladesh conveyed its “discontent” over the designated sanctions imposed by the US Departments of Treasury and of State on some of the present and former officials of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). Bangladesh says the decision was taken "unilaterally" by the US Administration without any prior consultation with the government of Bangladesh. Bangladesh also underscored the need for pursuing the pathway of dialogue, engagement and collaboration.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam has met Meenakashi Lekhi, Indian Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture in New Delhi and discussed ways to take the relations to next level. During the meeting on Monday, both the state ministers expressed satisfaction over the "ever growing" bilateral relations between the two neighbouring countries. Both sides agreed to put in all efforts to take it to a new height, said the foreign ministry here on Monday.

COP26 President-Designate Alok Sharma arrived here on Wednesday morning on a two-day visit to to strengthen support for UK COP26 climate priorities ahead of hosting the crucial UN climate change summit in Glasgow this November. State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam received Sharma at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 09.20am upon his arrival. He will hold a meeting with Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen at 12:30pm at Foreign Service Academy. Sharma is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her official residence Ganobhaban at 11:30am. He will also attend "UK- Bangladesh Climate Partnership Roundtable" at 2pm at Foreign Service Academy before holding a joint briefing at 3pm. During his engagements in Dhaka, Sharma will discuss shared priorities with Bangladesh which remains a "crucial" partner on the road to COP26. Also read: COP26 President-Designate Sharma due Wednesday to discuss climate issues He will discuss the needs of countries most vulnerable to climate change, to ensure they are equipped to deal with its current and damaging effects ahead of COP26. Preventing deforestation while ensuring development and trade is sustainable will also be high on the agenda, as COP26 looks to highlight the protection of nature and biodiversity as a key tool in limiting global temperature rise to 1.5C. With less than six months to go before COP26, he will meet leaders from government, business and civil society to press his personal priority for a move to global clean power, critical to limiting global temperature rise to 1.5C. Read:BUILD Chairperson meets new FBCCI president Bangladesh is among the fast growing economies with significant renewable energy potential, said the UK government. The visit will highlight their growing leadership and how the UK Presidency will work with countries to support workers and communities to make the transition to good green jobs. It builds on the recent Climate and Environment Ministerial meeting where, under the UK’s leadership, G7 nations agreed to end all new direct government support for international coal power, and to increase support for clean energy alternatives like solar and wind. G7 nations also agreed to work to increase the quantity of finance for climate action in order to meet the $100bn per annum target to support developing countries. Ahead of his visit, Sharma said last week, the G7 made history with a major step towards consigning coal to history and moving to a decarbonised power system but tackling the climate crisis must be a global effort, which leaves no one behind. Read:Bloomberg writer pours his heart out while praising Bangladesh’s progress "COP26 is our best chance of safeguarding our planet for our children, building a brighter future with greener jobs and cleaner air, and keeping the 1.5C target alive," he said.    

The Senior Officials’ Committee (SOC) meeting of Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) on Friday discussed the regional situation shaped by the Covid-19 pandemic.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam has suggested that the UK may take the initiative of creating a COVID-19 fund which can be used to bail out the UK brands/retailers so that they can continue with their imports from Bangladesh.