State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Tuesday said Bangladesh has an independent judicial process and the court will take decisions based on evidence regarding Prof Muhammad Yunus. “They can observe the proceedings. We welcome that surely,” he told reporters regarding those who wrote a letter in favour of the Nobel laureate. The state minister wanted to know whether there is any instance in the world where allegations against a person cannot be investigated. Together for Yunus: World leaders past and present joined by Nobel laureates, popstars and tycoons in letter to PM “What I want to say is that there has been no influence of the government in the past, and there will be no such influence in the future either. Bangladesh’s judiciary is independent and the independent judiciary will take decisions based on evidence," said the state minister. “They must have the guts and courage to accept the verdict,” he added, describing the development as “frustrating.” The state minister for foreign affairs also said that calling for the suspension of court proceedings is “unheard of”. “I do not think those who are joining in this call in favour of Prof Yunus are doing proper justice to their own reputation,” he said. Obama writes letter of support as pressure mounts on Dr Yunus The state minister also said that the government does not want to make any comment on an issue related to court proceedings. More than 160 global leaders, including over 100 Nobel laureates, wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, expressing their deep concern about the safety and wellbeing of Prof Muhammad Yunus, Bangladesh’s first and so far, only Nobel laureate. Addressed directly to the PM, the letter is signed by Nobel laureates, elected officials, business figures, and civil society leaders. The signatories applauded Bangladesh’s remarkable progress since its independence in 1971. However, their collective concern arose from the “perceived threats to democracy and human rights” that have recently emerged within the country. Petition dismissed, Appellate Division orders to continue labour law violation case against Dr Yunus, 3 others "We respectfully ask that you immediately suspend the current judicial proceedings against Prof Yunus, followed by a review of the charges by a panel of impartial judges drawn from within your nation, with some role for internationally recognised legal experts. We are confident that any thorough review of the anti-corruption and labour law cases against him will result in his acquittal,” the letter addressed to PM Hasina reads.

The government would take appropriate steps if any foreign diplomat crosses the line, said Bangladesh's State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Monday (June 5, 2023). "There was such a phase six months ago. If it (crossing line) happens again, we will take steps taking that into cognisance. However, I am not aware of anything as of now," he said. Read more: ‘Undivided India’ map at new parliament: No reason for confusion, Dhaka waiting for official version from Delhi, says Shahriar Alam The State Minister made the remarks when a reporter drew his attention about Japanese Ambassador Iwama Kiminori’s visit to the Election Commission and his meeting with a political party. Read more: Exaggeration, inconsistency in Congressmen’s letter: Shahriar Alam Earlier, former Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Ito Naoki made comments on Bangladesh's last national election, and Bangladesh described Naoki's comments on Bangladesh's election "unexpected."

Bangladesh's State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Wednesday (May 31, 2023) said security cooperation does not refer to any strategic alliance. He, however, said they have probably slowed down some of the major purchase plans due to current economic situation, which will continue until further improvement of the economic situation. "We do not want any war. But if the independence of Bangladesh is hurt, if the sovereignty is hurt, we will need tools to counter it," Shahriar said, adding that the government is focusing on further economic development. He was speaking at an interactive session titled "Bangladesh at the Crossroads" held in a hotel in Dhaka. Read more: Shahriar hopes US taking good note of BNP’s threat over election The Daily Ittefaq organised the event where its Publisher and Executive Director Tareen Hossain delivered welcome remarks. The State Minister said any defence agreement with any country does not mean that Bangladesh will get involved in war against any country. "We have to procure necessary equipment to defend our country. We have Forces Goal 2030," he said. The country's economic well-being is now the biggest priority, Shahriar said. Read more: President Erdogan and PM Hasina vow to take Dhaka-Ankara ties to new height "We are under no security threats," he said, adding that of course there is always the risk of extremism and Bangladesh will prevent it. Shahriar said Bangladesh has some strategic plans as part of Forces Goal 2030 and it will have to wait for some more time to be completed. Member of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs Nahim Razzaq, diplomats from foreign missions stationed in Dhaka and journalists were present. Read more: Nothing to share yet regarding China’s GDI, says Shahriar Alam

Bangladesh and Botswana have agreed to identify potential areas of cooperation in agriculture, livestock and fisheries and exchange technical knowledge and expertise in the agriculture sector. Both sides agreed to continue discussions in agriculture and fisheries at the government, farmers and expert levels. Bangladesh's State Minister Md Shahriar Alam, who is on a two-day official bilateral visit to Botswana, met with Botswana's Minister of Agriculture Fidelis M Malao in Gaborone Friday (February 10, 2023). Shahriar was accompanied by the Bangladesh High Commissioner in Pretoria, foreign ministry officials and embassy officials. Read More: US sees huge potential to grow its relations with Bangladesh: Counselor Chollet The Botswana delegation was represented by high officials of the Ministry of Agriculture, including representatives of the fisheries and aquaculture sector. Fidelis said Botswana is connected to many countries of the region by land routes. The Botswana government is putting special focus on developing the country's fisheries and aquaculture sectors, he added. Shahriar said his visit to Botswana marked the first foreign ministry delegation visit to Botswana and expressed satisfaction over the conclusion of the visa waiver agreement for holders of diplomatic and official passports and memorandum of understanding (MoU) on bilateral political consultations between the countries. Read More: Business Eswatini for signing MoU with FBCCI He briefed the Botswana side about Bangladesh's achievements in the agriculture sector during the last decade, including the production of food staples, vegetables, fisheries, poultry and livestock, despite having a comparatively low amount of land. He called on the Botswana side for considering providing contract farming opportunities to Bangladeshi entrepreneurs in the unused agricultural land.  Bangladesh already initiated contract farming in other countries in Africa on a low scale, Shahriar added. "Cooperation may be forged among B2B and B2G levels on contract farming."

Bangladesh's State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam has expressed optimism that the “pilot project” of Rohingya repatriation would be executed at an early date. He thanked China for its “active role” in a trilateral initiative among Bangladesh, Myanmar and China to provide a platform for dialogue to promote the early return of the forcibly displaced Rohingyas to Myanmar. Newly appointed Ambassador of China to Bangladesh Yao Wen met the State Minister for Foreign Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday (January 22, 2023) afternoon and discussed the issues of mutual interest. Responding to a question on Rohingya repatriation, Ambassador Wen said they have a common objective with Bangladesh regarding repatriation of Rohingyas to their homeland. Also Read: Will continue to work toward resolution of Rohingya issue: Japan He recognised Bangladesh's "sacrifice" in hosting the huge number of Rohingyas and assured of playing its role for their repatriation. “We discussed the issue. You pay a lot. You suffered a lot. You sacrificed a lot. We have the common objective (repatriation),”said Ambassador Wen. Bangladesh is hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas in Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char and not a single Rohingya has been repatriated over the last six years. The State Minister also highlighted the importance of establishing direct air connectivity and requested the Chinese Ambassador to consider Bangladesh as a suitable place for industry relocation from China, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Also Read: Over 3,500 desperate Rohingya attempted deadly sea crossings in 2022 The Chinese Ambassador showed interest to conclude a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on PPP for the growth of bilateral trade and commerce. State Minister Alam hoped that the bilateral relations between the two countries would reach new heights during the tenure of the new Ambassador. Both sides cordially exchanged views on bilateral and multilateral cooperation of mutual interests, including trade and investment, infrastructure development, connectivity and Covid situation. Congratulating the new Ambassador on the Chinese New Year’s Day, the State Minister thanked China for being the largest bilateral trade partner of Bangladesh. Read More: China will remain engaged in Bangladesh’s next stage of development journey: Momen  During the meeting, he also thanked the Chinese government for its support in dealing with Covid-19 pandemic and the repatriation of Bangladeshi students from China and their subsequent return to China to continue their higher studies. He wished Ambassador Yao successful tenure in Bangladesh and assured him of full cooperation in discharge of his duties.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Saturday said it is one of the most challenging tasks for the law enforcement agencies to deal with the safety and security issues of the Rohingyas and the host community in Cox’s Bazar and their role should not be undermined. He said the “complexity” in dealing with the safety and security of the Rohingyas is one of the most challenging tasks for any trained forces whether that is Bangladesh police or Armed Police Battalion (APBn). “So, undermining their ability and sacrifices is actually undermining the challenges that our law enforcement agencies are facing,” Shahriar Alam said, noting that they have recently noticed that Human Rights Watch was rather critical. He referred to various criminal activities in the Rohingya camps and assured of taking appropriate steps to maintain law and order situation there. “Bangladesh, under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s leadership, will continue to set an example of humanity as long as the forcibly displaced Rohingyas remain in our territory. But we shall also not compromise on our national security if certain sections of the Rohingyas are found to be engaging in criminal activities like terrorism, human trafficking, drug running and gender based violence,” said the State Minister. Speaking as the chief guest at a senior level dialogue on “Bangladesh and the Indo-Pacific Collaboration: Priority Issues and Concerns” at a Dhaka hotel, he said the government has taken a combination of bilateral, regional and multilateral efforts to find a solution to the Rohingya crisis. The state minister said the sustained diplomatic efforts by the government helped keep the Rohingya issue alive. Bangladesh Center for Indo Pacific Affairs and Department of International Relations, Jahangirnagar University hosted the dialogue moderated by Bangladesh Center for Indo-Pacific Affairs Executive Director Professor Shahab Enam Khan. Secretary, Maritime Affairs Unit (MAU) Rear Admiral (Retd) Md Khurshed Alam, Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hussain and UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh Gwyn Lewis, among others, spoke. Also read: Over 3,500 desperate Rohingya attempted deadly sea crossings in 2022 The State Minister said he will be expecting their friends, especially those who are actively participating in the humanitarian assistance providing to the Rohingyas under the Joint Response Plan (JRP) umbrella, will be able to defend their the risk that the law enforcers are taking. “We have experienced multiple fatalities on behalf of law enforcement agencies, including very senior officials, even in recent times,” he said. “We have been repeatedly reminding the international community that the source of the problem is in Myanmar and the solution lies in Myanmar,” he said, adding that the internal political stability in Myanmar would indeed remain crucial. And unfortunately, at this present moment, very little has been done even though they welcome the adoption of the first ever UN Security Council resolution on Myanmar, Shahriar said, mentioning that “We have also kept our door open for any formal or informal dialogue.” Bangladesh is hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas in Cox’s bazar and Bhasan Char and not a single of them has been repatriated over the last six years amid lack of genuine efforts from the Myanmar side.  

Highlighting Japan's cooperation in the socio-economic development of Bangladesh, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Monday hoped that bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Japan would reach new heights. During the meeting with newly appointed Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Iwama Kiminori held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the State Minister thanked the government of Japan for providing technical and financial support for the implementation of the Metrorail project. Ambassador Iwama sought the cooperation of the State Minister for Foreign Affairs in fulfilling his duties. Welcoming the new Ambassador of Japan, the State Minister said that Japan is Bangladesh's single largest bilateral development partner and an important country for trade and investment. Also Read: New Japanese envoy exchanges views on bilateral interests with foreign secretary During the meeting, both sides cordially exchanged views on various issues of mutual interest, including Japanese development assistance, human resources development, Rohingya repatriation, cooperation in different multilateral fora etc.  The State Minister appreciated Japan’s continued support for repatriation of Rohingyas and expressed hope that Japan would continue to extend its support towards the early repatriation of the Rohingyas for the sake of peace and stability in the region. State Minister Alam wished Ambassador Iwama successful tenure in Bangladesh and assured him of full cooperation in discharging his duties.  

Approximately 200 Bangladesh citizens have so far entered Poland and Romania from Ukraine, said State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Saturday night. “We’re in touch with approximately 700 Bangladesh citizens,” he told UNB. The government’s efforts are going on to help Bangladesh nationals get into Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and Moldova, all bordering Ukraine, said officials. Also read: Flight carrying over 200 Indians from Ukraine lands in Mumbai A team from the Embassy of Bangladesh in Warsaw is working near the Poland-Ukraine border to assist Bangladeshi citizens wishing to enter Poland. The two countries share an over 500 km long border. Earlier, Bangladesh asked its nationals stranded in Ukraine to contact the country's diplomatic missions in the neighbouring European countries while Poland and Romania came forward to provide temporary shelters for Bangladeshis.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Thursday said there is no possibility to expand the US sanctions beyond the existing individuals in Bangladesh, noting that it will not have any impact on other areas.    “There’s no impact of it (sanctions) in other areas. I can tell you very confidently. Even, there’s no possibility of US sanctions’ expansion,” he said referring to their greater engagement with the US over the last one month and trashed the rumors around.  While responding to questions from reporters at his office, the State Minister also referred to rumors spread by some quarters, including BNP-Jamaat, on imposing further sanctions by the United Nations and the European Union (EU) and cited the examples of how the UN spokesperson and EU Ambassador in Dhaka responded to media queries.    Also read: No US plan to impose sanctions on Bangladesh: Congressman Meeks  “We’ve done many things and we’re still working on many issues. We remain engaged since the US imposed sanctions on individuals,” he said, adding that one thing is very clear that the conspiracy hatched against the country by the conspirators did not work. The State Minister said the government wants to cooperate with RAB and will further strengthen it; and termed the US sanctions “unfortunate” and “disproportionate” action. He said it is their responsibility to protect RAB and its officers as they are the partners of many success stories on the security front. “We’re trying to know more why the sanctions were imposed.” Also read: No impact on European business interest in Bangladesh, says EU envoy about sanctions The State Minister said they have discussed with legal experts to explore the available avenues to withdraw the sanctions. “We’re looking into legal issues.” Shahriar said they had a very effective meeting with the EU where they discussed how the relationship between Bangladesh and the EU will look like after 2026.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Tuesday said the Awami League government did never engage any lobbyist in its last three tenures but engaged a company purely on media front in 2015 to help the world know Bangladesh based on facts and counter propaganda against the country and its people. “We want to make it clear the Awami League government in its last three tenures didn’t engage any lobbyists. What we did is purely media-related print-media targeted,” said the State Minister. He talked to a small group of reporters as some of the journalists approached him to know more about his statement he made in Parliament on Monday. Also read: BNP spent a lot on lobbying by US firm: Shahriar The State Minister said Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) spent at least US$ 3.75 million on lobbyists and shared relevant documents with the media which are also available in public domain. Shahriar mentioned fact-based stories on women empowerment, climate change, poverty alleviation and Rohingya crisis that appeared in the international mainstream media in the last four-five years. The State Minister said Bangladesh also countered with facts when there is any negative perception in the global media and when someone writes something negative about Bangladesh and its people deliberately. “We engaged the PR company as in most cases rejoinders aren’t published with due importance which is a common practice at home and abroad,” he said, adding that it is not a lobbyist firm. Shahriar said the government will do only those things which are “judiciously correct” and acceptable to the people of the country. The State Minister said some media outlets, being operated from foreign lands, are acting as spokespersons of BNP-Jamaat, and they are pointing fingers against Bangladesh. He said they have so far eight agreements in hand and at least three agreements show BNP’s central office address. One of the agreements was signed with Blue Strategies, LLC in Washington for a period - September 2018 to May 2020, Shahriar said. Also read: Bay of Bengal resources to be tapped in environment-friendly way: Shahriar Alam He said they will forward these documents related to eight agreements to the Bangladesh Bank governor to check how BNP sent that huge amount of money abroad. Shahriar also said they can share those documents with the Election Commission through relevant Bangladesh Missions abroad and also from here if they want as every year political parties show their incomes and expenditures. Responding to a question, the State Minister said BNP and Jamaat are two sides of the same coin and mentioned that they found Jamaat’s names in the contents of four documents. “I’m sure there are more beyond these agreements,” he said, suggesting journalists to do investigative journalism. The State Minister said there is nothing wrong in engaging a lobbyist but it is not good to hide the fact and act against the interest of Bangladesh and its people. Asked whether he sees it as a defeat of the government's diplomacy against lobbyists, he said, “We don’t see it as a defeat against lobbyists using dirty money against our diplomacy.” Responding to a question on RAB, he said the government remains engaged with the US and there will be an exchange of high-level visits soon. “I don’t want to elaborate. We hope there’ll be a solution to the problem.” He hoped that they would bring a positive outcome through engaging with the US directly without engaging any lobbyists. “We do believe it. We don’t have an immediate plan to appoint a lobbyist firm.” Shahriar said they do not believe in pursuing political agenda using that route where cash is involved.