Awami League nominated candidate for Rajshahi-6 (Bagha-Charghat) Shahriar Alam has been elected for the 4th time in the 12th parliamentary elections held on Sunday. JSD's Inu defeated by 19,161 votes Shahriar Alam, also the state minister for Foreign Affairs Ministry, bagged 1,01,599 votes while his nearest rival Rayhan who was an independent candidate secured 74,278 votes. Hasina wins Gopalganj-3 The voting in the 12th parliamentary election began at 8:00 am and concluded at 4pm without any break amid tight security in 299 out of the country’s 300 constituencies. BNP holds protest rally rejecting polls in Kishoreganj

Bangladesh's State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam today (June 25, 2023) said, the narrative of Bangladesh being a “small country” has changed globally with its growing economy, wider engagement with partners, and political stability. “Bangladesh is seen as an example of good practice in multilateral forums,” he said while speaking at DCAB Talk. Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) hosted its flagship event at the Foreign Service Academy. Also read: UN officials praise Bangladeshi peacekeepers during meeting with PM Hasina DCAB President Rezaul Karim Lotus moderated the discussion. DCAB General Secretary Emrul Kayesh also spoke on the occasion. The state minister said that Bangladesh’s importance has increased significantly and its level of cooperation internationally has also been enhanced. He said Bangladesh has achieved continuity and stability, and this continuity will prevail. Responding to a question, Alam said, the government is “not feeling any pressure” ahead of the national election as the Election Commission will proceed as per the constitution. Also read: Discrimination, sexual abuse have no place in Peacekeeping Missions, Dhaka says Referring to events over 10 years ago, the state minister said that there is no word like “fear” in the dictionary of Awami League and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. He also mentioned a diplomatic call for a fresh election before monsoon in the past, saying, “That sounds too ambitious.” The state minister said the government will not accept or welcome any interference in Bangladesh’s internal affairs but will welcome election observers. He said there has been conspiracy against Bangladesh in the past. Also read: Climate change: Foreign Minister highlights adaptation efforts Alam said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will not take any step that goes against the interest of the people and the country. Responding to a question, Alam said that there has been significant progress that leads to the need for withdrawing US sanctions on the elite force, RAB. "We will realise the demand (withdrawal of sanctions)." In his remarks, DCAB President Rezaul Karim said they understand Bangladesh has emerged as an important country in geopolitics with its growing economy. He said Bangladesh’s extraordinary development, democratic stability, and geopolitical significance are undeniably matters of discussion at home and abroad. Read more: UN officials praise Bangladeshi peacekeepers during meeting with PM Hasina

Bangladesh is operating four chartered flights from Sudan, at its own cost, to evacuate the remaining Bangladeshi citizens to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Three of the chartered flights will be operated today (May 10, 2023), while the fourth will be operated tomorrow, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday. He said the government has sent required financial support for providing food to Bangladeshis who are waiting in Sudan. Also read: Govt to provide all possible financial assistance to returnees from Sudan: Minister Once they reach Jeddah, they will fly back to Dhaka as soon as possible. On Tuesday, 136 Bangladeshi nationals arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka. They were supported by IOM with air tickets through its internal emergency assistance funding mechanisms to travel from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to Dhaka, Bangladesh with the coordinated support from Biman Bangladesh Airlines. Upon arrival the returnees were provided with meals and onward transportation allowance from the Wage Earners' Welfare Board (Tk 3,000) and IOM (Tk 2,000). Read More: Sudan conflict: 136 Bangladeshi evacuees arrive in Dhaka

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Sunday said the government remains better prepared in 2023 to achieve its goals overcoming the challenges both from domestic and international fronts. "If it seems to be more challenging, I would say we remain better prepared for that," he said while talking to a small group of journalists at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The state minister described the year 2022 a very successful year in terms of its engagement with the international partners with opening of new markets. He, however, said it is a failure that the Rohingya repatriation is yet to begin. Also Read: Border killings not expected: Shahriar Alam Shahriar Alam said they saw a kind of “overenthusiasm” (from diplomats) at the end of 2022 but they are handling it diplomatically. He hoped that everyone will remain respectful to their “rules of engagements” as Bangladesh does not oppose those recommendations and advice which are beneficial for Bangladesh. “Everyone appreciates that Bangladesh remains engaged and listens to….,” said the State Minister. Regarding democracy, he said there is no “fit for all” formula for democracy and everyone knows it and Bangladesh is doing much better compared to other countries. Responding to a question, Shahriar said the government remains engaged with the USA to withdraw sanctions on the Rab as an institution at least keeping in mind that Rab played a very strong role in combating terrorism and militancy in the country sacrificing their lives. Also Read: Appropriate steps to be taken if diplomats cross boundary: Shahriar Alam "Painfully, it's a slow process. We will strengthen our efforts," he said. He said there is a need for a law to deal with misinformation and other issues but surely the Digital Security Act is not for harassing journalists. Responding to a question on human rights issues, the State Minister said the UN member states know Bangladesh’s true intention. Asked why the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had to share a non-paper note with foreign missions in Dhaka centering BNP’s December 10 programme, he said there was nothing wrong in it. “It’s a proactive engagement as they (diplomats) might have asked the questions on the issue the following day.” The government says they shared the information with the foreign missions stationed in Dhaka to leave no room for "misinformation" and "confusion."

Iran’s Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr. Mehdi Safari on Thursday met with Bangladesh’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam and discussed bilateral cooperation as well as cooperation under IORA. The Iranian Deputy Minister mentioned that Foreign Office Consultation and meeting of Joint Economic Commission should be held at mutually convenient time to further strengthen relations in the field of trade, investment, economy, energy, chemical fertilizer and food security. Shahriar Alam briefed him about trade potential between Bangladesh and Iran and urged for more visits of trade delegations. Read more: Rally held in Dhaka in solidarity with protesters in Iran They also discussed details about mutual cooperation under IORA. Shahriar Alam thanked the Iranian Deputy Minister for his participation and his delegation at IORA. The meeting was held at the InterContinental Dhaka on the sidelines of IORA Ministerial Meeting. Read more: Bangladesh an emerging big economic force: Iranian Ambassador

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Wednesday said Bangladesh will continue to promote sustainable growth, solidarity, peace and justice. He underscored Bangladesh’s strong conviction that the SDG 16 on peace and inclusive societies is to be fully implemented globally to rip the benefit for all. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 on peace, justice and inclusion breaks new ground in development thinking. Read more: Landslides remain most substantial damaging, recurrent hazards in Cox’s Bazar: UNDP “Bangladesh remains keen to work with the international community and the multilateral system to this end,” Alam said, highlighting the guiding principles of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and peace-centric foreign policy. The State Minister called upon everyone to work together to unlock newer opportunities for a better and prosperous future for all including the generations ahead; leaving no one behind. He was speaking as the chief guest at a programme on “UN Global Compact Network Bangladesh Sustainability Day 2022” held in a Dhaka hotel. Farooq Sobhan, Representative of the UN Global Compact Network Bangladesh GCNB), among others, spoke at the event marking the “Sustainability Day 2022”.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Tuesday said the government would take appropriate steps if any foreign diplomat stationed in Dhaka crosses the boundary. He described Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Ito Naoki's recent comments on Bangladesh's election as "unexpected" and said Bangladesh will convey its message to Japan regarding the matter. On Monday, Ambassador Naoki said he heard about the example of “ballot box stuffing” and some police officers stuffed the ballot box the previous night which is something he had never heard of in any other country. The State Minister said the Japanese side did not raise such an issue in the last four years in any bilateral meeting or any discussion. Even it was not mentioned in the statement issued by the Japanese Embassy after the 2018 elections, Alam said. Recalling the 2018 election, Ambassador Naoki said the Japanese Embassy in Dhaka had issued a statement of concern which was very unusual for his country though it was focused more on violence. The State Minister hoped that commonsense will prevail in the days to come and they (diplomats) will act accordingly. "When we see it's crossing the boundary, we are saying very clearly and loudly that we will take appropriate steps," he said. The State Minister said he has nothing else to say beyond this, especially about the very friendly country Japan. He said the government is committed to hold a free and fair election and the Election Commission is working to that end. Japanese Ambassador Ito Naoki on Monday said they expect that the next national election in Bangladesh will be held in a “free and fair” manner with the participation of all major political parties. “We expect the next election will be a better one. Free and fair elections need to be done here. That’s my strong hope,” he said while responding to a question at an event titled “Meet the Ambassador” held in a Dhaka hotel. Read more: Bangladesh and US have fantastic relationship: Shahriar Alam At the same time, the envoy said, this is something that the political parties should decide but the expectation is that the election will be a participatory one and the major political parties will participate in it. On Monday, Deputy Education Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury questioned the role of certain foreign envoys stationed in Dhaka. Mohibul, son of veteran Awami League leader late ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury, also said the media reports certain comments by certain foreign missions' heads in Bangladesh violating the Vienna Convention. "Do they say or do anything about Myanmar’s genocide and expulsion of Rohingya?" he tweeted in oblique reference to certain remarks made by the Japanese ambassador in Dhaka on Monday. He, however, did not name anyone. "Will Japan stop investing there (Myanmar)? Double standards?" the Deputy Education Minister mentioned. "No mutual respect - no mutual trust," he also said.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam on Monday said he has proof how much money the BNP-Jamaat clique has spent on lobbying by a US firm in the last five years.He made the claim while speaking on thanksgiving motion on President Abdul Hamid’s speech in Parliament.Shahriar said the first document he has had is about hiring a lobbyist, Akin Company Associates, in the United States in 2015.“An agreement was signed with the address of BNP's Nayapaltan office. The agreement was valid for three years and US$ 50,000 was given to it per month meaning that they paid six lakh US dollars first and two million US dollars in total in three years,” he said. Also read: Families of disappearance victims being ‘forced to sign false statements’: BNPThe state minister said he has 10 such documents and showed all those in parliament. Each political party submits its accounts on expenditure and income to the Election Commission, he said.“BNP has to ask itself whether this money has been sent with the approval of the Bangladesh Bank! If not, we want an investigation into it to ascertain whether orphans’ money has been syphoned off abroad to pay to the lobbyist farm,” he said.Shahriar said the future of Bangladesh will be determined by its 16 crore people and no country in the world, no matter how powerful they are, can fix Bangladesh’s future. Also read: US Embassy dismisses BNP leader Hafizuddin's claim over sanctions on CEC“If we’ve problems, we’ll discuss that in Parliament, or we’ll take to the streets. We’ll solve the problems there. We’ll go to the Election Commission. We’ll go to the President,” he insisted.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md. Shahriar Alam has said Bangladesh, empowered by the peaceful resolution of its maritime disputes, is looking to benefit from the resources of the Bay of Bengal in an environmentally-friendly manner. He made the remark while speaking as the chief guest at a conference titled “Inspired by Bangabandhu’s Vision of Regional and Global Peace: Envisaging Regional Peace and Cooperation in the Bay of Bengal''. The conference was organized jointly by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) and the Centre for Bay of Bengal Studies (CBoBS) of Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) on Tuesday at the IUB auditorium in the city. The hybrid event, with actual and web-based participation, was a curtain-raiser for the World Peace Conference being convened by the government of Bangladesh in Dhaka December 4-6, 2021 to highlight and carry forward Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s vision of world peace. Read: Income tax return submission deadline extended to December 31 The State Minister said from the production of clean energy to the development of new and sustainable industries in fields as diverse as bio-tech and aquaculture, Bangladesh needs to invest in knowledge, develop marine sector skills, and encourage innovation and business. In his video message, Prime Minister’s Foreign Affairs Advisor Dr Gowher Rizvi said Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s dream to build ‘Sonar Bangla’ was predicated on ensuring a regional and global environment of peace. “Towards this end, he articulated in his foreign policy the cardinal principle of friendship to all, malice towards none,” he said. IUB Vice-Chancellor Tanweer Hasan said IUB has embraced the government’s agenda of inclusion of all in education irrespective of gender, socio-economic and religious background. Read: Dubai-based DP World to invest $1 bln in Bangladesh “We are a campus that promotes diversity. And that is how we believe we are helping realize the dreams of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who fought for peace, harmony and equal rights for all people.”

The vaccination campaign for foreign diplomats began in Bangladesh on Wednesday, with over 30 getting vaccinated on the opening day.