The Ministry of Foreign Affairs today (July 02, 2023) summoned Jakob Etaat, Chargé d’Affaires (CDA) at the Swedish Embassy in Dhaka, to protest burning of a copy of the Holy Quran outside a mosque in Stockholm. Salwan Momika, said to be an Iraqi living in Sweden, set fire to a copy of Islam’s holy book outside Stockholm’s central mosque on Wednesday, according to BBC. Earlier on Thursday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the “deplorable act” in a statement published on the ministry’s official Facebook page. Also read: Dhaka strongly condemns burning of Quran outside Mosque in Sweden “Bangladesh expressed grave concern over such heinous acts of insulting the sacred values and religious symbols of the Muslims in the name of ‘freedom of expression,’” the statement read. “Bangladesh yet again urged all concerned to put an end to such unwarranted provocations for the sake of harmony and peaceful coexistence,” the statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs added. Also read: Sweden arrest 5 suspected of terror, ties to Quran burning The Quran burning was condemned by many Muslim-majority countries. Meanwhile, the Swedish government said it strongly rejects the Islamophobic act committed by individuals in Sweden. This act in no way reflects the opinions of the Swedish government, according to the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Also read: Bangladesh strongly condemns burning of Holy Quran in Denmark

Ann Linde, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden, has stressed the importance of connecting gender equality to sustainable development and economic growth. “We cannot disregard half of the world’s population. We say that the Swedish Government is the world’s first feminist government, and as Foreign Minister I lead a feminist foreign policy," she said while addressing a discussion.  The Swedish Embassy in Dhaka, the International Labour Organization (ILO), and the Global Deal, in the context of the Team Europe Initiative ‘Decent Work’, jointly organized the panel discussion on Monday titled “Social Dialogue as an Enabling Mechanism for Gender Equality on the Labour Market – Experiences from the RMG-sector in Bangladesh”.  The Swedish Minister said a natural part of this policy is to work for gender equality, including in the labour market. In today’s globalized economy, globalization must work for all.  "Strengthening gender equality on the labour market is not only the right thing to do, it is also the economically smart thing to do in any society." The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden also stated that both Sweden and Bangladesh had been partners from the start of the launching of the Global Deal Initiative, adding that she looked forward to continuing to work together on these important questions.  Md. Shahriar Alam, State Minister for Foreign Affairs, also spoke. The panel discussion was moderated by Tuomo Poutiainen, Country Director, ILO Country Office for Bangladesh.  READ: Teen takes over Swedish Embassy in Bangladesh for a day The panel gathered a broad range of relevant stakeholders sharing their experiences and consisted of Veronica Nilsson, Global Deal, Head of Unit in the Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs (ELS), OECD; Begum Shamsunanhar Bhuiyan MP, National Trade Union Representative, Member of the Parliament and Member to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Ministry of Labour and Employment; China Rahman, General Secretary at Federation of Garment Workers’, Women’s Affair Secretary at IndustriALL Bangladesh Council (IBC); Dr. Rubana Huq, former President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA); Ziaur Rahman, Regional Country Manager at H&M and Shirin Akhter MP, President of the National Workers Alliance, Member of Parliament and Founder President of Karmojibi Nari (KN).  During the seminar, the EU delegation gave a presentation of some of the early findings of their study “Mapping Trade Unions in Bangladesh: Current Dynamics and Challenges”.  The seminar, which was arranged as part of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence Campaign, aimed at discussing how women’s active participation in the labour market can be strengthened including through exploring how Social Dialogue can contribute as a mechanism to this end.

Runa, a youth activist and community volunteer promoting girls’ rights, took over the Swedish Embassy in Bangladesh for a day on Monday to advocate for girls’ rights, equal opportunities and equal chances for girls. The takeover is a part of the global #GirlsTakeover, a signature activity of Plan International. Every year, the international development organisation rolls on this activity all over the world, including Bangladesh, marking the International Day of Girls on 11 October under its Girls Get Equal campaign calling for increased investment in girls’ power, activism and leadership. This year, Plan International Bangladesh is going to mobilize about 70 takeovers leading roles in politics, governance, diplomacy, business etc all over the country throughout the month of October to promote equality, freedom, and representation for girls and young women. Read: Mayor for a day, memories forever Runa, the Ambassador of the day, who is also a sponsored child of Plan International Bangladesh, expressed her excitement, saying, “In my community, girls often don’t realize that they also have the potential to take high positions, lead and make the change." As she takes over the position today, Runa said, "I feel the confidence in me that I can also develop myself as a leader and with my leadership I can influence girls like me for improved opportunity for girls, especially digital literacy.” Runa is also a member of a youth group where she works with adolescents and youth to promote education for children, and rights of girls and advocates against child marriage.

Newly-appointed Swedish Ambassador to Bangladesh Alexandra Berg von Linde on Wednesday said friendship between countries and people matter, perhaps now more than ever in light of the unprecedented global challenges that they face.