President Mohammed Shahabuddin on Thursday urged the international community including the European Union to come forward to solve the Rohingya issue. The President made this call when the newly appointed ambassadors of Norway and the European Union in Dhaka presented their credentials to the President. President's press secretary Joynal Abedin briefed reporters after the meeting. On arrival at Bangabhaban in the morning, a smart contingent of the Presidential guard regiment gave a guard of honor to the ambassadors. Newly appointed ambassadors of Sweden and Algeria present credentials to President First, the newly appointed Ambassador of Norway Hakon Arald Gulbrandsen presented his credential to the President while then new ambassador of the European Union Michael Miller presented his credential. Welcoming the new ambassador of Norway, President Shahabuddin said Norway has been providing development cooperation in various sectors including rural development, education, disaster management and good governance in Bangladesh for the last five decades. The President called upon Norway to assist the reform programme of the interim government of Bangladesh. Highlighting the bright prospects of Bangladesh's blue economy, the President urged Norwegian investors to invest in various sectors including deep-sea fishing, sea-food processing technology, and oil and gas. Later, during the meeting with the Ambassador of the European Union, the President said that the European Union is one of the most important development partners of Bangladesh. He said that the European Union has been providing comprehensive support for inclusive and sustainable development and poverty alleviation in Bangladesh for more than five decades. "As Bangladesh has been upgraded from the least developed to the developing country, the President called on the European Union to take steps to continue the duty-free quota facility for exports beyond 2029," he said. Foreign Affairs adviser gives 'sensitive' issue of president's citizenship status a wide berth Mentioning that Bangladesh is one of the countries affected by the adverse effects of climate change, the President said that Bangladesh and the European Union can work together to solve the problems linked to climate change. The President sought the co-operation of the ambassador to send skilled human resources from Bangladesh to various countries of the European Union. Appreciating the humanitarian assistance of the European Union for the Rohingyas , the President expressed hope that the United Nations, the European Union and other development partners will take effective initiatives for the safe and dignified repatriation of the Rohingyas. During the meeting, the new ambassadors of Norway and the European Union sought the full cooperation of the President in performing his duties in Bangladesh. The Ambassador of Norway said that his country is interested in supporting the development of the blue economy of Bangladesh. On the other hand, the ambassador of the European Union said that the EU has been supporting the socio-economic development of Bangladesh since the beginning. The ambassador said that this trend will continue in the future. Secretaries concerned to the president office were also present during the meeting.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday said G20 has a greater responsibility to come forward with stronger commitment to mobilise global support to address the issue of displacement or climate refugees.

Bangladesh has urged the development partners, as well as multilateral donors and the private sector to come forward to support national efforts for post-COVID recovery and climate action, especially of the most vulnerable countries.   "Global preparedness and actions were woefully inadequate to tackle health and climate emergencies," said Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN Ambassador Rabab Fatima at a high level forum in New York on Wednesday.   She termed both the COVID 19 and climate change as invincible threats to lives, livelihoods, and development, particularly for countries with pre-existing vulnerabilities.   “As a climate vulnerable country with recurring disasters, Bangladesh has learnt over the years the critical importance of disaster preparedness, community engagement and institutional capacity building which helped us in our response to COVID 19 pandemic,” she said.   Ambassador Fatima made the remarks at a virtual high level political forum side event on “Adaptation and Resilience in a post-COVID world: Transformative, Inclusive and Locally-led Climate Policy and Action” in New York on Wednesday.   The event, co-hosted by the Netherlands, Ireland, Kenya, Bhutan and Bangladesh in collaboration with International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), was attended by Vice Minister of the Netherlands Roald Lapperre, Permanent Observer and Head of Delegation of IFRC Richard Blewitt, Dr. Saleemul Huq, Director of International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) and a member of the advisory panel of Climate Vulnerable Forum, representatives of different Missions in New York, UN Agencies and CSOs.   She also recalled how Bangladesh and several other countries had faced double jeopardy of the COVID 19 and natural calamities such as cyclone Amphan simultaneously.   Ambassador Fatima held out the efforts of Bangladesh to strengthen adaptation and resilience building against climate change including the implementation of the Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100, strong early warning system, immaculate disaster preparedness practices, innovation in agriculture such as drought and salinity-resistant crops for ensuring food security etc.   She referred to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s  ‘whole of society’ approach in adaptation and resilience building where women, youth and the local communities are central to all government initiatives for combating climate, health and other emergencies.   The Vice Minister of the Netherlands opined that the Covid recovery plans must be comprehensive and should complement climate actions to create stronger resilience against any future shock or calamities.   Dr. Saleemul Haq highlighted the importance of more vigorous efforts to address the existing gaps in the global endeavours for adaptation and resilience building and opined that the needs and challenges of the local communities must be taken into consideration by the policy-makers.   Several panelists alluded to Bangladesh’s remarkable success in crisis management and resilience building.