Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen Sunday hosted a farewell lunch for outgoing Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Vikram Kumar Doraiswami. During the farewell speech, the foreign secretary called him a true friend of Bangladesh. "A career-defining honour to have served my country in this most vital and vibrant relationship," said Doraiswami. Read: PM likely to attend Queen’s state funeral The envoy added that the foreign secretary has been a "gracious and helpful" partner, whose gentle humour and friendship he will miss. Pranay Kumar Verma, now the Indian ambassador to Vietnam, has been appointed as the next high commissioner of the country to Bangladesh. Verma is expected to take up the assignment shortly.

Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen has said they will explore all the possible options including Russia and countries in the Middle East in coordination with the relevant ministries for purchasing fuel. “Since the instruction has come today (Tuesday), we will work in coordination with relevant ministries. Definitely we will explore all the possibilities,” he told reporters on Tuesday, noting that they need to develop the refining capacity further. The Foreign Secretary said Bangladesh maintains very good relations with all countries in the Middle East including Saudi Arabia and Qatar. “We have many options.” He said Bangladesh can also purchase crude oil from Russia like India but Bangladesh needs to develop the capacity to refine Russian crude oil. Read: No need to hike fuel price if BPC’s corruption and mismanagement end: CPD The Foreign Secretary indicated that some experts might come from abroad to see how to develop the required capacity for refining crude oil from Russia. Responding to a question, he said Iran is also a possibility as the Western countries’ negotiation with Iran is underway regarding withdrawal of sanctions. “It’s good to have an increased number of options.” Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday said the government wants to purchase fuel, fertiliser and wheat from Russia. She mentioned that she had given the responsibility to her Principal Secretary to talk to the Russian Ambassador in Dhaka regarding the matter. “The foreign ministry can take initiative in this matter, we will procure fuel oil from them (Russia) with our own funds as the SWIFT is closed and the price of dollars is very much high,” the PM said.

The opening of Rampal power plant is there in the “wish list” as Bangladesh and India are taking preparations for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to New Delhi first week of September. “At an inter-ministerial meeting we will try to understand what we can do. But it’s (Rampal power plant) there in the wish list,” said Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen. He made the remarks when his attention was drawn to a report carried on Sunday by an Indian media outlet speculating opening of the plant by the leaders of the two countries.  Hasina together with her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi are expected to jointly inaugurate the 1320mw Maitree super thermal power Station during her visit to India in the first week of September, said The Hindustan Times on Sunday. Read: Urea fertilizer gets pricier by Tk 6 kg: Ministry It is a joint partnership between India's state-owned National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and Bangladesh Power Development Board. The joint venture company is known as Bangladesh India Friendship Power Company (BIFPC). While PM Hasina is expected to visit India any time between September 5 and 7 and stay for two to three days, the visit has been accorded utmost importance by the Modi government as Dhaka happens to be one of India’s closest allies, read the report. Earlier,  PM Modi extended an invitation to PM Hasina to visit India in 2022 in commemoration of the Golden Jubilee of the establishment of diplomatic relations. At the seventh round of the Bangladesh-India Joint Consultative Commission (JCC) meeting held in New Delhi on June 19, Bangladesh and India agreed to work closely together to further strengthen cooperation in the areas of common rivers and water resources management. Read: A private producer to set up a 3 MW hybrid power plant at Monpura The two countries also agreed to strengthen cooperation in the areas of IT and cyber security, renewable energy, agriculture and food security, sustainable trade, climate change and disaster management. The two countries witnessed momentum in their relations last year with a series of engagements including high-level visits. At the invitation of President Abdul Hamid, the then Indian President Ram Nath Kovind paid a State visit to Bangladesh from December 15 to 17 last year to attend the 50th Victory Day celebrations here as the guest of honour. The Indian premier also had paid a landmark visit to Bangladesh on March 26 and 27 last year and those visits were of “historical significance” given the 50th anniversary of the shared sacrifices of the people of the two countries during Bangladesh’s struggle for Liberation in 1971.

Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen has said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is creating a data-driven intelligent architecture for better and faster service across the globe.  He made the remarks while addressing a town hall meeting on "Innovation & E-Governance" in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday.  The Foreign Secretary highlighted several initiatives taken by the Ministry: securing the access of E-Nothi and D-Nothi for the Ministry and Bangladesh Missions abroad, introducing ibas++ in 20 Bangladesh Missions Abroad in the FY 2021-22, building Digital Archive system for the Ministry, introducing GRP in the Headquarters and all Bangladesh Missions abroad, and hosting "MoFA Telegram Series" for disseminating ideas on innovation, entrepreneurship and administration.  He shared the present and future initiatives of his Ministry.  Read: EU wants full implementation of labor roadmap for trade facility Masud said identical websites were launched on 07 July 2022 across all Bangladesh Missions.  Now the website of the Ministry and all the Bangladesh Missions Abroad have the same outlay customised to the unique needs of the mission.  The Ministry digitalised 34 Consular services and 28 internal services with the help of MyGov team from the a2i.  The Foreign Secretary also mentioned that the Ministry is working on building a Neural Network for ensuring Data Driven Mechanism, setting up an innovation lab, creating a trade portal for promoting domestic products and services, securing stronger remittances, creating a platform for innovation and entrepreneurship, networking for technical expertise, setting up a call centre and introducing Artificial Intelligence for data analysis.  He also spoke on market expansion for Bangladeshi products, communal harmony, human trafficking, public private partnership, and refugee issues.  Masud emphasised on a more active role of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to deal with the new challenges of the changing world (such as Ukraine crisis, energy crisis, Covid pandemic etc.) and stressed on the need for partnerships with other public and private institutions.  The Foreign Secretary expressed hope that there is no reason the Foreign Office of Bangladesh will lag behind any of the Foreign Offices of the world.  Read: Dhaka urges Jakarta to do more for repatriation of Rohingya refugees He said the knowledge, wisdom, patriotism, dedication, determination and enthusiasm of the young officers will shape the future of Bangladesh. Young diplomats of the Ministry especially the officers at the rank of Senior Assistant Secretary and Assistant Secretary participated the meeting with great enthusiasm and expressed their opinions and ideas on various issues. Director General (ICT & ITIT) Dr. Syed Muntasir Mamun moderated the meeting.  Director General (Administration), Director General (General Services) and other high officials of the Ministry attended the meeting.

Bangladesh is not going to procure any arms from the United States at this moment but instead focusing on its economic development for the welfare of its people, Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen has said. “At this moment there’s no procurement (arms) issue. Our key aim is economic development,” he said, adding that they are still in the third stage of the five-stage process before signing the proposed General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) with the USA. The foreign secretary said the US is interested to sign the GSOMIA for some “safeguards” on any possible advanced defence equipment procurement in the future but it will take time to complete the remaining stages. He made it clear that there is no reason to think that Bangladesh is going for a big procurement from the US. GSOMIA is seen as a "gateway" to do more on the security front including procurement of heavy-duty defence equipment and Bangladesh says it will take the final decision after analyzing national interests. “It’s not something that we need to procure equipment (defence) at this moment.” Read: Bhasan Char needs more resources to fulfill Rohingyas’ expectations: Ambassador Naoki While talking to a small group of journalists this week, the foreign secretary said the US side handed over the latest version of the GSOMIA draft to the Bangladesh side during US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland’s Dhaka visit last month.    Responding to a question, he said the Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement (ACSA) is also under consideration but it is not Bangladesh’s priority right now.   The US says GSOMIA and ACSA are "essential" to enabling a closer defense relationship, expanding opportunities for defense trade, information sharing, and military-to-military cooperation between the two countries. The GSOMIA is a foundational government-to-government bilateral agreement that will permit greater collaboration and sharing of classified military information in the form of intelligence and classified information on US defense equipment.  GSOMIA is a reciprocal, legally binding agreement that ensures governments understand and commit to protect classified military information at an equivalent level of security, according to US documents. Foreign Secretary Masud, However, said Bangladesh wants to diversify sourcing different kinds of equipment and defence related materials as part of the “Forces Goal-2030.” Read: Difficult to adjust ties with Russia: FS Obviously, Bangladesh will think of procuring equipment from the US as per Bangladesh’s requirement in the future, he added. Bangladesh finds good performance of the used equipment (boats) already given by the US to Bangladesh Coastguard and there was discussion between the two sides to get such boats in the future. Masud recently visited the United States and accompanied Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen at the bilateral meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the US State Department on April 4. The foreign secretary also led the Bangladesh delegation at the 8th Bangladesh-US Security Dialogue held in Washington.

Bangladesh continues to maintain very close relations with Russia and it is “difficult” for the country to try to “adjust” the relationship, even if anyone would like it to amid the current situation in Ukraine. Talking to a small group of reporters on Monday, Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen conveyed that Bangladesh has taken its positions on the succesive UN resolutions in line with its “historical relations” with Russia. Foreign Secretary Masud recently visited the United States and accompanied Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen at the bilateral meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the US State Department on April 4. READ: HLPF 2021: Masud Bin Momen catches onto data as the 'new/next oil' The Foreign Secretary also led the Bangladesh delegation at the 8th Bangladesh-US Security Dialogue held in Washington. The Russia-Ukraine war was discussed in the regional and international contexts and Bangladesh conveyed its position to the United States, highlighting Bangladesh’s relations with Russia which are still extensive and close. The Foreign Secretary also said Bangladesh will continue to focus on its economic priorities like the Rooppur project, which Bangladesh wants to complete. He reiterated that Bangladesh wants to have friendly and diversified relations with all countries.

Bangladesh does not see any direct impact on the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant and other projects now, but the country is keeping close tabs on the overall situation. "So far, we think, there will be no direct impact on Rooppur or other projects," Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen told reporters after attending a programme in the city Saturday evening. Read: Around 200 Bangladesh citizens reach Poland, Romania from Ukraine: Shahriar He, however, said, there might be some effects if the financial transactions are routed through New York. The Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant is expected to become operational from next year. Originally, the first unit of the power plant was scheduled to open by 2024 and the second one by 2025. The US and European allies said Friday they were stepping up sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine by adding measures directly targeting President Vladimir Putin and his foreign minister, putting diplomatic appeals to one side as Russia's forces closed on Ukraine's capital, according to AP. Read: Bangladesh again requests Canada to deport Bangabandhu's killer Nur Earlier, the foreign secretary attended the lecture "The Dynamics of Bangladesh-USA Relations: Democracy and Human Rights or Geopolitical Interest?" hosted by the Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs (BILIA). Dr Sujit Kumar Datta, associate professor and chairman of the Department of International Relations at the University of Chittagong, presented the keynote paper. Toufiq Islam Shatil, director general (Americas) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Dr ASM Ali Ashraf, professor at the Department of International Relations, University of Dhaka, attended as discussants. BILIA Director Professor Dr Mizanur Rahman delivered welcome remarks.

Dhaka, Sept 9 (UNB) -  Masud Bin Momen, the current Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations, is likely to become the next Foreign Secretary.