The 18thAnnual General Meeting (AGM) of WildTeam, a conservation organization, was held at its head office at Cosmos Centre, Malibagh, Dhaka, on Thursday.  The AGM elected a five-member executive committee comprising Mr Enam Ul Haque as the Chairman of the board, Mr Md. Shamsur Rahman as the Vice-chairman, Professor Dr Md. Anwarul Islam as the General Secretary, Professor Dr Gawsia Wahidunnessa Chowdhury as the Treasurer, and Mr Enayetullah Khan as a member. Among others, Professor M Harunur Rashid, Professor Dr Nitish Chandra Debnath, Professor Dr Mizan R Khan, Professor Dr Mohammad Abdul Aziz, Professor Dr Ismot Ara and Ms Alifa Bintha Haque who are also the members, congratulated the executive committee. Also read:  Ban on entering Sundarbans: 2 lakh families pushed into financial hardship The AGM unanimously nominated Ms Nahar Khan, Director, UNB, and Vice President, Cosmos Group, as a member of the WildTeam. She was welcomed to the board by all. WildTeam is carrying out its activities to improve the conservation status of key animal species and habitats in Bangladesh and developing partnerships, tools, and platforms to build the capacity of organizations and individuals to carry out effective conservation in the country. WildTeam was able to engage communities in the Sundarbans with support from Bangladesh Forest Department, USAID, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Zoological Society of London, IUCN-KfW, and others to conserve tigers there. WildTeam team is now working in almost all the 76 villages of the Sundarbans with its volunteers: 340 Village Tiger Response Team (VTRT) members, 55 BaghBandhus (friends of tigers), and 50 TigerScouts. Also read: Sundarbans Day: Biodiversity under threat as salinity increases At present WildTeam is implementing IUCN-KfW’s Integrated Tiger Habitat Conservation Programme Phase II, in collaboration with the Wildlife Trust of India and Jahangirnagar University, in the Sundarbans.

Cosmos Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Cosmos Group, will host a dialogue titled “Bangladesh-Switzerland Relations: Prognosis for the Future” that will be premiered on social media on Wednesday evening (7pm).   Ambassador of Switzerland to Bangladesh Nathalie Chuard will deliver the keynote speech at the virtual dialogue highlighting the beginning of the relationship, how did the two countries get from there to 50-year long journey and what the future could hold for the bilateral relations. Also read:Noted artists celebrate Spring at ‘The Passion of Drawing’ by Gallery Cosmos The dialogue is part of Cosmos Foundation’s ongoing Ambassador's Lecture Series. Cosmos Foundation Executive Director Nahar Khan will deliver the opening remarks at the dialogue. The session will be chaired by Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, a renowned scholar-diplomat and former Advisor on Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh Caretaker Government. Former Managing Director & CEO of Mutual Trust Bank Limited Anis A. Khan, Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Dr Fahmida Khatun and Honorary Advisor Emeritus, Cosmos Foundation Ambassador (Retd) Tariq A Karim will comprise the panel of discussants. Also read: Cosmos-Atelier 71 hosts Artist Residency Programme Cosmos-Atelier 71 hosts Artist Residency Programme The year 2022 is seen as very special for both Bangladesh and Switzerland as they celebrate 50 years of their bilateral ties. Switzerland considers this (50 years ties) as an important milestone and it marks their “solid and long-standing” partnership and it is a key moment of their journey together.

The 10th edition of 'Liberation DocFest', a documentary festival on liberation and human rights, organized by the Liberation War Museum (LWM), began on Friday. The inaugural ceremony of the festival was held at the LWM auditorium, where Information and Broadcasting Minister Hasan Mahmud was present as the chief guest. The five-day festival, previously known as the International Festival of Docufilms on Liberation and Human Rights, has generated much interest among film lovers at home and abroad. The 10th edition of Liberation DocFest features two different sections: the National Competition Section and the International Competition Section. Over 2,100 films from 196 countries were submitted to the organizers, out of which 140 documentaries from 40 countries are scheduled to be screened at the festival.

Speakers at a virtual dialogue, hosted by Cosmos Foundation, have laid emphasis on having a broader collaboration between Bangladesh and South Korea focusing on a number of new areas from technology transfer to virtual marketplace, fashion, startups and innovation as Korea eyes more success stories with Bangladesh going beyond RMG. “We need to move beyond RMG and diversify collaboration between the two countries,” said South Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh Lee Jang-keun while delivering his keynote address at the dialogue that premiered on Thursday. Cosmos Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Cosmos Group, hosted the dialogue titled “Bangladesh South Korea Relations: Prognosis for the Future” as part of its ongoing Ambassadors' Lecture Series.

Head of Delegation of the European Union to Bangladesh Ambassador Rensje Teerink has said they have promised 10 million Covid-19 vaccine doses for Bangladesh, mentioning that it is not justified to say the EU is not generous enough in terms of vaccine sharing. “We can say the EU has been the driving force behind the global response to Covid-19. Let’s not underestimate how we, in fact, want to reach out to developing countries,” she said, apparently reacting to Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen’s recent comment. Read: Rohingya issue not to disappear from agenda despite new global challenges: EU The EU envoy, however, said they are aware that it (10 million doses) is not enough and hoped that they can provide more. Ambassador Teerink was delivering her keynote address at a virtual dialogue titled “Bangladesh-European Union Relations: Prognosis for the Future” premiered on Thursday. Cosmos Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Cosmos Group, hosted the dialogue as part of its ongoing Ambassador’s Lecture Series. The opening remarks were delivered by Cosmos Foundation Chairman Enayetullah Khan. The session was chaired by Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, renowned scholar-diplomat and former Advisor on Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh Caretaker Government. Distinguished Fellow at Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, former BGMEA President and Mohammadi Group Chairperson Dr Rubana Huq, founder Chairman of Policy Research Institute (CRI) Dr Zaidi Sattar and Prof at International Relations Department of Dhaka University Imtiaz Ahmed and Honorary Advisor Emeritus, Cosmos Foundation Ambassador (Retd) Tariq A Karim comprised the panel of discussants.  

Head of Delegation of the European Union to Bangladesh Ambassador Rensje Teerink has said she wants to see Bangladesh more and more as an “important actor” not only in the Bay of Bengal but also as part of Indo Pacific Strategy due to its strategic position and looking at how they can work together as “like-minded partners” in broad areas. “I think there's lot we can cover,” she said, highlighting the geopolitical aspect of cooperation mentioning that the EU is open to all countries which are wishing to cooperate with. While delivering the keynote speech at a virtual dialogue titled “Bangladesh-European Union Relations: Prognosis for the Future” the Ambassador said they want to continue working with their like-minded partners in this “turbulent world.” Read: Bangladesh, Germany hold first-ever Strategic Dialogue And, the Ambassador thinks, here Bangladesh will have an important role to play, and if there is "one thing" that she is going to take back to Brussels is to keep Bangladesh on the agenda. Ambassador Teerink said she is aware that it is yet the case to do strategic partnership with Bangladesh but they at least need to keep it on the agenda. Cosmos Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Cosmos Group, hosted the dialogue as part of its ongoing Ambassador’s Lecture Series.

Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Naoki Ito has identified five challenges ahead that Bangladesh and Japan need to address together to elevate the solid partnership to a higher level with multifaceted greater cooperation as the two countries are set to celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations in a big way next year. The five challenges, he said, are: to develop Bangladesh-Japan strategic partnership, make Bangladesh more attractive for business, expand people-to-people exchange, enhance cooperation with Bangladesh as a partner to realize Free and Open Indo-Pacific and strengthen efforts to increase Bangladesh’s stature in the region and beyond. “We need to move forward. I think our relations will naturally deepen in each of those agendas but we shouldn’t take it for granted,” Ambassador Ito said while delivering the keynote speech at a virtual dialogue that premiered on Sunday evening. Cosmos Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Cosmos Group, hosted the dialogue titled “Bangladesh-Japan Relations: Prognosis for the Future” as a part of its ongoing Ambassador’s Lecture Series. The opening remarks were delivered by the Cosmos Foundation Chairman Enayetullah Khan. The session was chaired by Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, renowned scholar-diplomat and former Advisor on Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh Caretaker Government. Md Abul Kalam Azad, Special Envoy, Climate Vulnerable Forum; Hayakawa Yuho, Chief Representative, JICA Bangladesh Office; Dr Salehuddin Ahmed, former Governor, Bangladesh Bank; Prof Masaaki Ohashi, Professor, University of the Sacred Heart, Tokyo; Manzurul Huq, columnist, writer and academic; Prof Takahara Akio, Dean, Graduate School of Public Policy, the University of Tokyo and Ambassador (Retd) Tariq A Karim, Honorary Advisor Emeritus, Cosmos Foundation comprised the panel of discussants. Ambassador Ito said the two countries should make “conscious and constant efforts” to continue to enjoy the current state of relationship and develop it even further. “We shouldn’t be complacent about ourselves.” He said the year 2022 will provide an excellent opportunity to elevate the partnership even to a higher level and wished that the two countries could call the partnership as “truly strategic partners”. Ambassador Ito who already spent 20 months in Bangladesh said the development of quality infrastructures and the strengthening of connectivity under the Bay of Bengal Industrial Growth (BIG-B Initiative) will be beneficial not only to the development of Bangladesh but also to regional peace and stability. “Our leaders are really conscious that this BIG-B is important - not only for the development of Bangladesh but also for the stability of the entire Bay of Bengal region, beyond Bangladesh itself,” he said. Enayetullah Khan said even as Japan’s geo-strategic role and position grows in great strides, Japan has remained faithful in its commitments to Bangladesh that significantly contributed to Bangladesh’s current emergence as a development success story. “To me, it seems Bangladesh-Japan friendship is a function of not just mutual benefits, but mainly of pure fellow-feeling. From whichever perspective you view Bangladesh-Japan friendship, it’ll stand out in all weathers and seasons as does in 36 views of Mount Fuji in the famous paintings of HOKUSAI,” he said.

Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Naoki Ito has said Japan will seize the opportunity to find a “long-term and lasting solution” to the Rohingya crisis with the Myanmar side, noting that the issue is very relevant to the future stability of the entire region. “What we can say right now is Japan will seize the opportunity to raise this very, very important issue with the Myanmar side and its military now whenever appropriate,” he said. The Japanese envoy said his country will do its best to create an enabling environment for the early repatriation of Rohingyas and will continue to raise the issue with the Myanmar side whenever appropriate. He was responding to a question at a virtual dialogue titled “Bangladesh-Japan Relations: Prognosis for the Future” where he delivered the keynote speech. Cosmos Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Cosmos Group, hosted the dialogue as a part of its ongoing Ambassador’s Lecture Series. The opening remarks were delivered by the Cosmos Foundation Chairman Enayetullah Khan. The session was chaired by Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, renowned scholar-diplomat and former Advisor on Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh Caretaker Government. Md Abul Kalam Azad, Special Envoy, Climate Vulnerable Forum; Hayakawa Yuho, Chief Representative, JICA Bangladesh Office; Dr Salehuddin Ahmed, former Governor, Bangladesh Bank; Prof Masaaki Ohashi, Professor, University of the Sacred Heart, Tokyo; Manzurul Huq, Columnist, writer and academic; Prof Takahara Akio, Dean, Graduate School of Public Policy, the University of Tokyo and Ambassador (retd) Tariq A Karim, Honorary Advisor Emeritus, Cosmos Foundation comprised the panel of discussants. Also read: Ambassador Ito sees 5 challenges ahead to elevate Dhaka-Tokyo ties Ambassador Ito said humanitarian assistance and humanitarian crises are very much part of their vision when they talk about stability and peace of the region. He said it is very difficult to predict what is going to happen in Myanmar right now in light of the current situation in that country since the February 1 military coup with a complete standoff.

Pakistan High Commissioner to Bangladesh Imran Ahmed Siddiqui on Monday said he is working on an album on Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman putting together his photos taken during Bangabandhu’s visit to Pakistan in 1974.

Art and and culture can strengthen people-to-people relations between Vietnam and Bangladesh, said Vietnamese Ambassador to Bangladesh Pham Viet Chien on Saturday.