Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has underscored the urgent need for unity and concerted efforts from the international community to resolve the Rohingya crisis, in the true spirit of responsibility and burden sharing.  He urged the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy on Myanmar, Noeleen Heyzer, to enhance her engagements with Myanmar authorities as well as other stakeholders to improve the conditions in Rakhine so that the Rohingyas can return to their homes without delay.  Momen particularly emphasized on addressing root causes of the crisis which lie in Myanmar.  The foreign minister had a bilateral meeting with the special envoy at the Permanent Mission of Bangladesh to the UN in New York on March 21.  Also Read: UNHCR ‘not involved’ in discussions on Bangladesh-Myanmar pilot project on Rohingya repatriation Referring to the resolutions adopted by the General Assembly and the Security Council on Myanmar, Momen called upon the special envoy to continue taking a multi-pronged approach and remain engaged with all global and regional actors including ASEAN leadership, with a view to fostering lasting peace in Myanmar.  He highlighted the various humanitarian initiatives and skills development programmes undertaken by the government of Bangladesh at the temporary shelter of Rohingyas in Cox’s Bazar and Bhashan Char, including the introduction of Myanmar curriculum-based education in those camps. Momen urged the special envoy to mobilize adequate funding from the international community to provide for the Rohingyas especially in meeting their most urgent needs, such as food and shelter.  Also Read: PM meets UK’s cross-party delegation, discusses Rohingya “If given opportunities, the Rohingya people can be important members of Myanmar society and contribute to their socio-economic prosperity,” he said.   

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has hoped that Argentina would support Bangladesh's initiative to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) with the South American regional economic organisation Mercosur during its current presidency. In response, Argentine Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship Santiago Andres Cafiero suggested that Bangladesh pursue a preferential trade agreement (PTA) instead of FTA. Momen also requested Santiago to consider lowering the existing 35 percent duty imposed by Argentina on readymade garments (RMG) products and withdrawing $0.16 per kg anti-dumping duty on jute bags and sacks from Bangladesh to have greater market access. A 34-member high-level Argentine delegation, led by the Argentine minister, is paying a two-day state-level visit to Dhaka. Read more: Bangladesh attractive destination for business, investment: Momen tells Argentine delegation The non-resident Argentine ambassador to Bangladesh, undersecretary of trade and chief of cabinet to the Argentine foreign minister, are also accompanying the minister. Momen received his Argentine counterpart this morning at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. Later, Santiago led a delegation to the Brac Foundation. The purpose was to learn from the Brac development programmes and success stories focusing on women's empowerment and rural women's financial inclusion. Both sides agreed to collaborate to share knowledge on how to bring about financial inclusion in a responsible manner to pull millions of vulnerable women in rural and urban areas of Argentina out of poverty. Read More: Reopening embassy in Dhaka a stepping stone to build better ties with Bangladesh: Argentina Santiago had a meeting with Momen at state guest house Jamuna this evening. Momen expressed gratitude to the Argentine government for reopening its diplomatic mission in Dhaka. The foreign minister showed interest in wider cooperation between Bangladesh and Argentina in agriculture, agro-processing, cattle and poultry industries, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, the ICT sector, heavy and light machinery and equipment. Santiago and Momen emphasised the importance of enhancing close collaboration to increase bilateral trade and investment. Read More: Argentina’s foreign minister in Dhaka to reopen embassy, deepen ties.

Outgoing Swiss Ambassador to Bangladesh Nathalie Chuard has said her country will continue to be a reliable partner for Bangladesh in the days ahead. She paid a farewell call to Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen Monday (January 16, 2023) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Momen congratulated Nathalie on her successful tenure in Bangladesh and appreciated her efforts to further strengthen and broaden Bangladesh-Switzerland ties. Read more: Switzerland a serious global player, reliable partner of Bangladesh: Ambassador Chuard Highlighting the similarity of the foreign policies of the two countries, the foreign minister recalled Bangabandhu's vision of turning Bangladesh into the "Switzerland of the East." The Swiss ambassador expressed her satisfaction at the multifaceted cooperation between the two countries, particularly in the areas of trade and investment and development cooperation. The foreign minister invited more Swiss investment into Bangladesh, particularly in the advanced manufacturing sector. Read More: Newly appointed Bangladesh envoy Sufiur presents credentials to Swiss president, seeks better relations Also, Momen hoped that as a member of the United Nations Security Council for 2023-24, Switzerland would further contribute to global peace and security. He sought Switzerland's continued support towards the early repatriation of the forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals to their country.

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen, a lawmaker from Sylhet-1, has said if the ongoing development of the country, under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, continues, people will have a better standard of living. He was speaking at a programme at Lakkatura Tea Garden in his constituency Thursday. During the event, the minister distributed 700 blankets among tea garden workers with the help of the local administration. Read more: AL will always stand by the nation no matter what: Quader The foreign minister's spouse Selina Momen, chair of the Momen Foundation, was also present at that time.

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has congratulated the friendly people of the Argentine Republic for winning the FIFA World Cup 2022 Championship. “I believe, hearts of the people of Bangladesh and Argentina are dearly united by football, despite our geographical distance,” Momen said in a letter to Argentine Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship Santiago Andrés Cafiero on Monday. “You would be amazed to see the spontaneous rejoicing of the people of Bangladesh after the victory of the Argentine team in the FIFA World Cup, last (Sunday) night,” he said. On behalf of the people of Bangladesh and on his own behalf, Minister Momen conveyed their heartfelt felicitations and congratulations to his Argentine counterpart and the friendly people of the Argentine Republic. Read more: Messi wins World Cup to push claim to be football's GOAT In this joyful moment, Momen reiterated Bangladesh's commitment to deepen the existing relations and friendship between the two friendly countries. “I look forward to working closely to consolidate our mutual priorities and opening of Missions in each other’s capital in the coming days,” he said. Read more: Argentine fans chanted “Bangladesh-er doa chai!” before last night’s Qatar World Cup final Homes and streets across Argentina and Bangladesh became places of celebration after an epic World Cup final in which the national team beat France on penalties. It was the country’s third World Cup title, and the first since 1986.

Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming had a farewell meeting with Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the capital Wednesday. During the meeting, the foreign minister expressed his deepest condolences and heartfelt sympathies over the death of the former president of China Jiang Zemin. Momen appreciated Jiming's efforts and contributions to strengthening Bangladesh-China ties. Also, he recalled the visits of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to China in 1952 and 1957 and referred to Bangabandhu's impression of the "New China," in his book "Amar Dekha Naya Chin" on his 1952 visit. The foreign minister lauded the support of the Chinese government and the Chinese ambassador in addressing the Covid-19 pandemic in Bangladesh, particularly for the gift of over 5 million doses and for opening the commercial supply line of 77 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to Bangladesh at the most critical time of the pandemic, and good progress of the China-assisted mega projects in Bangladesh. Both sides exchanged views on regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest, including cooperation in different multilateral fora on SDGs, climate change, and South-South cooperation. Read more: Shahriar bids farewell to Li Jiming Reiterating Bangladesh's position on the "One China Policy," the foreign minister said Bangladesh shares the vision for a free, open, peaceful, secure, and inclusive Indo-Pacific, based on international law and with shared prosperity for all. He hoped that China would continue to extend support towards the repatriation of the Rohingyas from Bangladesh to Myanmar at an early date for peace and security in the region.    

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Saturday appreciated the efforts made by the Foreign Office Spouses’ Association (FOSA) which hosted a daylong "International Charity Bazaar" at the Foreign Service Academy. “I am very proud of them. Every year, they are coming up with more innovative ways of doing it,” he said. read more: Several countries, including Afghanistan, suffered due to foreigners’ role: Momen Momen said the FOSA members spent plenty of time in organizing a series of events and assured them of extending support from his Ministry to organize such events in a larger way.

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on Monday said Bangladesh is positioned to be a “regional connectivity hub” and India being the closest neighbour can reap the benefits of the connectivity outlook, as envisioned by the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Momen also mentioned about the actions taken by Hasina and her government for exerting “zero tolerance” towards terrorism, radicalism and insurgency, which ultimately paved the way in establishing “peace and stability” of the North Eastern states of India. During his meeting with the foreign minister, Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay K. Verma said India, under its Presidency of G20, expects active participation of Bangladesh in the G20 meetings to promote the issues of mutual interest in the global discourse. The foreign minister reaffirmed that Bangladesh considers India as the closest and the most important neighbour and termed the relations as “solid and unique one.” Momen underscored the exemplary economic growth of Bangladesh under the dynamic leadership of the PM Hasina and added that Bangladesh’s economic development is complementing the economic development of India in many ways. Read: Phone Conversation: Momen, Lavrov want to take Dhaka-Moscow relations to greater heights With regard to the Indo-Pacific region, Momen stressed the need for international rules and norms based on free and fair connectivity amongst the countries of the region. The Indian high commissioner said working in Bangladesh is a matter of honour and privilege and reiterated his commitment to work on the issues of mutual interest for further strengthening the excellent relations existing between the two countries. He stressed on working together in the multilateral arena in supporting the candidatures floated by either country. He urged all concerned to work towards bringing the border killings to zero, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Both the foreign minister and the high commissioner emphasized increasing the engagements between Bangladesh and Indian North Eastern region to invigorate the connectivity and age-old relationship. Momen emphasized that more than 1.1 million forcibly displaced Rohingyas from Myanmar are being sheltered by Bangladesh. Read: Momen ‘surprised’ to see his name as chief guest at Bay of Bengal Conversation 2022 opening

The High Court on Monday dismissed a writ petition challenging the legality of AK Abdul Momen holding the office of the Foreign Minister. The HC bench of Justice Md Mojibur Rahman Mia and Justice Kazi Md Ejarul Haque Akondo dismissed the petition saying that such writ petition has no merit. Advocate Mostafizur Rahman Ahad and Advocate Ershad Hossain Rashed appeared for the petitioner while Attorney General AM Amin Uddin, Deputy Attorney General Arvind Kumar Roy, Assistant Attorney General Mohammad Abbas Uddin and Samsun Nahar Laiju for the state. Read more: Legal notice served seeking FM Momen’s resignation in 48 hrs On September 5, on behalf of SC advocate Md Ershad Hossain Rashed, lawyer Mostafizur Rahman Ahad filed the petition in the High Court. The foreign minister, cabinet secretary, secretary of parliament secretariat  were made respondents to this writ petition. On August 21, SC lawyer Ershad sent a legal notice to the foreign minister urging him to step down within 48 hours for violating the Constitution over his "controversial comments". Read more: Bangladesh not turning into Sri Lanka : FM At a Janmashtami programme in Chattogram on August 18, Momen reportedly said that he had urged the Indian government to back Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina so that she can stay in power. After much criticism over this statement, the FM provided an explanation the next day, saying that he had requested the Indian government to help the Bangladesh PM maintain the stability of her government.

Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has said that he feels journalists of the country “have weaknesses and lack maturity” when reporting. The minister said this after paying homage to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at his mausoleum in Tungipara this afternoon. Talking about the media “misquoting” him recently, Momen said that the headlines used were “false and imaginary”. Read: Momen misquoted by media: MoFA “Media outlets including print, electronic and online published news with false headlines that the USA ‘a war-mongering country’, which I didn’t say. The headings had no connection with what I actually said. I think our journalists have weaknesses and I’ll be happy if they gain maturity,” Momen said. Momen added that the reports “misquoting him” put Bangladesh in an awkward position and the US may get a wrong impression about the country and this government. “Through misrepresenting the facts, our journalists have tried to create an adverse situation between the US and Bangladesh. Either these journalists didn’t know Bangla properly, or they had done this with specific reasons. They need to research why such low quality journalism prevails in the country,” Momen added. Read Momen in NY: No specific info given by US on Rab sanctions The foreign minister further said that journalism in Bangladesh doesn’t have the standards, moral and ethical values it used to have in the past. “It’s a shame for those journalists who wrote those false stories,” Momen said. Momen said he was misquoted on October 26 by some media outlets after he spoke at the seminar on "Sheikh Hasina at the United Nations", organised by the Progressive Columnist Forum of Bangladesh at Jatiya Press Club in the capital. Read Momen meets Lavrov, pitches for stronger international support for resolving Rohingya crisis Later, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) issued a rejoinder, saying that misleading and baseless news quoting Foreign Minister Momen sent a wrong message to the people and the government of the US.