Lionel Messi's Argentina drew Venezuela 1-1 in a South American World Cup qualifying match Thursday that was delayed for 30 minutes due to a wet pitch at Monumental Stadium in the Venezuelan city of Maturin. Argentina, which leads the 10-team round-robin competition, now has 19 points after nine matches. Colombia, with 16 points, remains in second place after losing 1-0 at Bolivia. The two results momentarily put Brazil out of automatic World Cup berths, in seventh place with 10 points. The Brazilians will face Chile in Santiago later on Thursday. Argentina's lead in the competition could be reduced on Friday if Uruguay, with 15 points, wins at Peru. Defender Nicolás Otamendi opened the scoring for Argentina in the 13th minute. He pushed the ball to the empty net after a cross by Messi and a mistake by goalkeeper Rafael Romo. Salomón Rondón equalized in the 65th minute with a header for the only South American team that has yet to play in a World Cup. “The pitch did not help us do what we wanted to do," Messi said. He returned to the national team after missing the two previous rounds of South American qualifying due to ligament damage in his right ankle. Venezuela defender Jon Aramburu said his team wanted a win to show its ambition. Read: Messi quickly starts the process of looking ahead after Inter Miami wins MLS Supporters Shield “The rain affected the match, we couldn't play well,” he said. “We drew against a team that everyone knows of its potential. But this team is here to beat them, to compete.” Venezuela's next match will be at Paraguay on Tuesday, the same day that Argentina will host Bolivia. Colombia, the last unbeaten team in South American qualifying, was shocked at Bolivia in the Municipal Stadium in the city of El Alto, more than 4,000 meters (13,000 feet) above sea level. Bolivia moved into fifth place with 12 points after its first win in 21 years against the Colombians. Miguel Terceros, also known as Miguelito, scored the winning goal for Bolivia in the 58th minute with a powerful shot after dribbling through two defenders. Bolivia had lost Héctor Cuellar to a straight red card in the 21st minute after a gruesome tackle that forced the substitution of striker Roger Martinez, but the team remained competitive until the end of the match in its high-altitude stadium. “We are a young team that wants to change history," Terceros said. “Now we will travel to Argentina thinking about winning.” Bolivia hasn't qualified for a World Cup edition since the 1994 edition in the United States. Colombia's next rivall will be Chile, who will face Brazil later on Thursday. Also on Thursday, Ecuador and Paraguay drew 0-0. Read more: Argentina minus Messi beats Chile to lead South American World Cup qualifying The Ecuadorians are in fourth place with 12 points and ahead of Bolivia on goal difference. Paraguay remains out of an automatic qualifying spot with 10 points. The top six teams in the round-robin competition will secure automatic berths at the 2026 World Cup.

Lionel Messi scored twice in Argentina's 2-0 win at Peru in a World Cup qualifier on Tuesday, playing the entire match for his national team. The 36-year-old appeared fit after he was sidelined for several matches with his club Inter Miami because of muscular pain Also Tuesday, Brazil — the archrival of the defending World Cup champion — took two serious blows at Uruguay. Brazil lost 2-0 to the hosts, its first defeat in 37 World Cup qualifying matches, and saw its star Neymar leave the Centenario Stadium in Montevideo on crutches with a left knee injury. Elsewhere, Venezuela beat Chile 3-0. Yeferson Soteldo opened the scoring shortly before the break, Salomón Rondón added a goal in the 72nd minute, and Darwin Machis scored seven minutes later. Last week, Venezuela earlier had a 1-1 draw against Brazil. Ecuador and Colombia had a scoreless draw, and Paraguay beat Bolivia 1-0 on Antonio Sanabria's goal in the 69th minute. Read: ICC World Cup 2023: Australia beat Sri Lanka in first win Argentina leads South American qualifying with 12 points in four matches. Uruguay, Brazil and Venezuela have seven points and are separated by goal difference. Colombia has six points, and Ecuador, Paraguay and Chile have four each. Peru has one point and Bolivia has zero. The next World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada will include 48 teams, meaning direct entry for the top six teams in South America. The seventh-place team will contest an intercontinental playoff for a berth. Two more rounds of South American World Cup qualifying will be played in November. Brazil and Argentina will face off at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on Nov. 21. ARGENTINA 2, PERU 0 Messi increased his total to 106 goals in 178 international appearances, moving within two of Iran's Ali Daei for second on the career list behind Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo at 127. The defending World Cup champion never faced risks at Lima's National Stadium against a Peruvian team that has yet to score in four qualifying matches. Argentina's confident performance could be traced to Messi finally playing as a starter and appearing fully healthy. The 36-year-old made it 1-0 after a counterattack in the 32nd minute. Enzo Fernández passed to Nico González on the left. A low cross found Messi at the edge of the box, and he shot it to the left angle of goalkeeper Pedro Gallese. Read: Brazilian football legend Ronaldinho arrives in Dhaka Wednesday Messi scored again 10 minutes later after Enzo Fernández found him nearly at the same spot. Messi shot it on Gallese's right corner. He later had a goal disallowed for a low margin offside caught by video review in the 57th minute. “Yes, we have a good group and a good environment in our dressing room and things are much easier. We enjoy being together and playing together," Messi said. “After we won the World Cup we got confidence, we are more united and firm. I hope we can keep growing.” Peruvian and Argentinian fans tried to invade the field after the match to hug Messi, who led the World Cup champions to their eighth straight victory since they won last year’s title in Qatar. Last Thursday, Messi played for almost an entire half of Argentina's 1-0 victory over Paraguay. URUGUAY 2, BRAZIL 0 After a slow start to the match in Montevideo, Maximiliano Araujo easily beat Marquinhos on the left flank and crossed the ball to Darwin Núnez, who headed it into the net. Read: FIFA World Cup: Bangladesh to play Maldives in a do or die match on Tuesday The second half started with Brazil still doubtful and Uruguay ready to counterattack. One of those transitions was enough for a close-range finish by Nicolás de la Cruz in the 77th minute. “In the short run we need to be realistic, we need to improve,” Brazil captain Casemiro said. “For Neymar to leave the match it is surely something serious. But I hope it isn’t at the end. He has had those injuries whenever he starts picking up his pace again, it is hard.” With and without Neymar, Brazil had its worst performance under new coach Fernando Diniz, who will remain in the job at least until next year's Copa America. Uruguay, now coached by Argentinian Marcelo Bielsa, had its first win against Brazil in 22 years. “We had to play against a tough and direct rival,” Núñez said. “Today we made history.”

Iran and Saudi Arabia are among six nations invited Thursday (August 24, 2023) to join the BRICS bloc of developing economies. United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Egypt and Ethiopia are also set to join the bloc from 2024. The announcement was made at the BRICS summit in Johannesburg by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, whose country is the current BRICS chair. Also read: China to support Bangladesh in joining BRICS: XI tells Hasina during talks BRICS is currently made up of the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Those five members agreed at this week's summit to expand the bloc. It's the second time that BRICS has decided to expand. The bloc was formed in 2009 by Brazil, Russia, India and China. South Africa was added in 2010. The BRICS bloc represents around 40% of the world's population and contributes more than a quarter of global GDP. Three of the group's other leaders are attending the summit and were present alongside Ramaphosa for the announcement, including Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Also read: BRICS: China, Russia and other emerging economies turn to main summit agenda in South Africa Russian President Vladimir Putin did not travel to the summit after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for him in March for the abduction of children from Ukraine. He has participated in the summit virtually, while Russia was represented at the announcement in Johannesburg by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Goalkeeper of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 winning Argentine team, Emiliano Martinez, paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the latter's office today (July 03, 2023).  During the meeting, the PM appreciated the Argentine footballer for his stellar performance that contributed to Argentina lifting the Football World Cup 2022 trophy.  Martinez presented a signed Argentine jersey to the PM during their meeting. "You are the man who brought glory for Argentina. I wish you all the success," she was quoted as saying. Messi mania grips Argentina in 1st match as World Cup champs PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed reporters after the meeting. Sheikh Hasina said football is the most popular sport in the world and Bangladeshis are passionate about it. She mentioned that her family is also a sports-loving one. "My father and grandfather were footballers," she said. The premier said her government has been constructing upazila-level mini-stadiums across Bangladesh to promote football and other sports. Read more: Indonesia to Host Argentina In a Friendly Football Match on June 2023 Emiliano Martinez, the Golden Gloves winner of FIFA World Cup 2022, was overwhelmed after learning of Bangladesh's huge fanbase. "I'm very happy to be here and happy to know about the passion for football among Bangladeshis," he said. Indian organizer and sports promoter Satadru Dutta and personal manager of Martinez, Santiago Liotta, are among the visiting delegation members. LGRD and Cooperatives Minister Md Tazul Islam, PM's Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman Fazlur Rahman, State Minister for LGRD and Cooperatives Swapan Bhattacharjee, State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam, PM's Principal Secretary M Tofazzel Hossain Miah, Sheikh Helal Uddin MP and Sheikh Tonmoy MP were present at the meeting between PM Hasina and star Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez. Read more: Messi mania grips Argentina in 1st match as World Cup champs

Recently, Indonesian football has been in the headlines for various negative reasons. Now it seems they got an opportunity to get out of those negative vibes. World champions Argentina will visit Indonesia to play friendly matches. Argentina will tour Asia in June and will play two friendly matches on this tour. It was already known that the world champions will face Australia in China next month. According to Reuters, Lionel Scaloni’s team will also travel to Indonesia. Argentina vs Indonesia Friendly Match Schedule Argentina will play a friendly match with Australia on June 15 in Beijing, China. After that, Lionel Messi’s team will catch the plane to Indonesia. The date of the friendly match between Argentina and Indonesia has not been finalized yet. However, the Argentina Football Association announced June 19 as a possible date. Can This Friendly Match Help to Improve Indonesia’s Soccer Setbacks? Currently, Argentina is hosting the FIFA U20 World Cup, which was supposed to take place in Indonesia. Argentina was chosen as the new host after mass protests in Indonesia. This World Cup will end on June 11, which started on May 20. Read more: BAN vs AFG Series 2023: Fixtures, Schedules, Teams, Head-to-Head Records The main issue in Indonesia was about hosting Israel. Israel is one of the participants in the U20 World Cup. During the draw of the tournament, it was seen that several Indonesian states were not willing to host Israel’s matches. As soon as this problem came to the front, the international organization of football, FIFA, canceled Indonesia from the status of the World Cup host. Apart from this issue, there were 135 deaths from unintentional causes of domestic football in Indonesia. This loss of life occurred in the riots and stampede after the match between Arema FC and Persebaya Surabaya Club in Liga One. The mishap occurred in October 2022, in the Malang region of the country’s East Java. Eight months after the accident that shook the football world, Argentina is going to play a friendly match in the country. So, this match is expected to improve Indonesia’s condition regarding football. Football is a very popular sport in Indonesia. But the country has not been able to make an impression on the global football arena. They participated in the 1938 World Cup while under Dutch rule, and that was their last foot on the world stage. More recently, however, Indonesian football fans have had a great occasion to celebrate. Last week, they won gold at the Southeast Asian Games for the first time since 1991. Read more: Asia Cup Cricket 2023: Analysis of Group A The arrival of Argentina is generating immense excitement throughout the country, and it is a source of great joy. Erick Thohir, the chief of the Indonesian Football Association, views this visit as a chance to bring about a positive change. Argentina and Indonesia last met at the World Youth Championship. In 1979, the legendary Diego Maradona played for Argentina in Japan. Indonesia lost that match 5-0. Final Words It is not sure yet if Messi will participate in the friendly match between Argentina in Indonesia in June 2023. But it is believed that Argentina will visit with its full strength. Indonesia is ranked 149 in the FIFA rankings. Time will tell if Argentina will tour Asia with the World Cup-winning team. However, Asian Argentine fans have been waiting for the arrival of the world champions. Read more: Asia Cup Cricket 2023: Analysis of Group B.

Donald Trump may be the first former US president to face criminal charges, but many current and past leaders around the world have been tried or even jailed. Several of those leaders described the charges leveled against them as “politically motivated”. Yet, the charges have not always been a barrier to holding political office, reports CNN.Here are some notable recent examples: Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu No one has served as Prime Minister of Israel longer than Benjamin Netanyahu, who was sworn in for his sixth term late last year. He is also being tried for corruption on counts of fraud, bribery, and breach of trust. The Israeli PM, however, called the trial a “witch hunt.” While the case continues, Netanyahu has pushed a contentious plan to weaken Israel's judiciary, the report also said. One of the measures limits the methods by which a sitting prime minister may be judged unfit for office, prompting many Israeli opposition lawmakers to accuse Netanyahu of manipulating the judicial makeover to protect himself. He denies the charges. Read More: Trump's day in court as criminal defendant: What to know Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Brazil's Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was imprisoned in April 2018, and was released in November 2019.He was jailed for corruption and money laundering after a construction business reportedly paid him and his wife $1.1 million in renovations and costs for a beachfront condominium. Prosecutors claimed that in exchange, the business received lucrative contracts from Petrobras, the state-controlled oil giant. Lula has referred to the allegations as a "farce," stating that they are politically driven. Upon his release from jail in 2019, a Brazilian court overturned his corruption convictions, allowing Lula to run for president in 2022, when he beat Jair Bolsonaro. In January, he was sworn in for the third time as president. Bolsonaro is now facing potential legal problems, including allegations that he incited violent attacks in the Brazilian capital of Brasilia in January. Read More: Trump charged with 34 felony counts in hush money scheme Argentina’s Cristina Fernández de Kirchner Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Argentina's current vice president, was sentenced to six years in jail last December after being found guilty of corruption during her two stints as president, from 2007 to 2011 and 2011 to 2015, the report also said. She was accused of conspiring with other government officials to grant contracts worth millions of dollars for road construction that were unfinished, expensive, and useless, according to the complaint.The charges against her were politically-motivated, Kirchner stated. The Argentine court convicted the 70-year-old former president of the country guilty of "fraudulent administration" and barred her from holding public office again. She does, however, have temporary immunity because of her present employment, which means she will not be going to jail anytime soon and can appeal. Read More: Trump indictment ends decades of perceived invincibility Malaysia’s Anwar Ibrahim After two stints in jail prior to his premiership, Anwar Ibrahim became Malaysia's prime minister in November 2022, in an unprecedented turn of events. Anwar was sentenced to prison in April 1999 after being convicted of sodomy. Sodomy, even if consensual, is a crime punishable by up to 20 years in jail in Muslim-majority Malaysia. He has always vigorously denied the allegations, claiming they were politically motivated. In 2004, a court reversed that conviction. Further claims of sodomy were leveled against him after his comeback as an opposition figure, and he was remanded to prison in 2014 after a lengthy legal struggle that lasted years. Anwar was freed from jail in May 2018 after receiving a royal pardon. He immediately returned to parliament before leading the Pakatan Harapan coalition to a majority of seats in Malaysia's general election in 2022. Read More: Capitol insurrection: Jan. 6 panel unveils report, describes Trump 'conspiracy' Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi Before 2011, the flamboyant Italian billionaire was a serial prime minister. Berlusconi was the dominating figure in Italian politics for over two decades, during which time he was prosecuted on at least 17 counts of embezzlement, tax fraud, and bribery, said the CNN report.He has consistently denied any wrongdoing, and several of his convictions have been overturned on appeal. His resignation in 2011 was not due to legal concerns, but rather to Italy's debt crisis.The 81-year-old gained a seat in Italy's Senate in September 2022, and his party is a member of the country's ruling coalition. Read More: Trump probe: Court halts Mar-a-Lago special master review

Messi mania gripped Buenos Aires as the Argentina national team led by Lionel Messi beat Panama 2-0 on Thursday in a friendly match that was essentially a celebration of their World Cup victory last December. Although the world champions dominated the game, they didn’t get a goal until the 78th minute when Thiago Almada scored after a free kick by Messi hit the goal post. Ten minutes later, it was Messi’s turn and he scored the 800th goal of his professional career with a perfectly executed free kick. He is now one short of the 100-goal mark for the national squad. After the match, the celebrations got into full swing and Messi took center stage, smiling from ear to ear as he received awards and accolades. “I want to thank you for all the love we've been receiving . . . We told you we were going to do everything possible to win this,” a visibly emotional Messi said as he was handed the microphone. “Let’s enjoy this because we went a long time without winning it, and we don’t know when we’ll win it again.” When it was coach Lionel Scaloni’s turn to speak, the first thing he did was lead the packed stadium on a chant praising Messi. “Eternally grateful to this group of players,” Scaloni said as tears streamed down his face and he thanked fans for their support. The players’ families later joined them in the pitch and each of the players proceeded to lift a replica of the World Cup trophy in celebration. The players then walked around the pitch waving to fans as fireworks lit the night sky. Earlier in the day, news channels carried live images of the players traveling to the stadium with a police escort as excited fans waited to see the team's first game since it beat France in a thrilling final in Qatar. Outside the Monumental Stadium there was a party-like atmosphere from early in the afternoon as somebody impersonating Pope Francis blessed a World Cup replica, children almost universally donned Messi’s No. 10 jersey and street sellers hawked Messi dolls. Amid the celebrations there were also recriminations as many fans lamented they'd bought tickets for several times their face value from resellers that ended up being fake. The frustration led to scuffles with law enforcement officials who fired tear gas to disperse the angry fans. “This World Cup was a miracle,” Marcelo Saracho, 49, said while dressed up like the pope, an Argentine, but with his cheeks painted in the light blue and white colors of the national flag. Messi, the Paris Saint-Germain star who only last week was whistled by a group of fans of the French club that had been knocked out of the Champions League, received a massive ovation when he and his Argentina teammates entered the stadium filled with 83,000 fans. When the anthem played the cameras zoomed in on Messi, who looked to be holding back tears as fans sang along triumphantly. “I can’t believe I’m here,” Sofía Clavero, 12, said as her eyes welled up with tears while describing how she was eager to see her “idol” for the first time on the field. The match culminated a week in which Messi, 35, was widely celebrated as a hero after helping Argentina win its third World Cup title, a marked change for the player who once suffered the indifference and even apathy from many Argentina fans who blamed him for the team’s failings in previous championships. Read more: FIFA World Cup 2022: Messi’s Records, Argentina’s Road to Victory It all started Monday night when hundreds of fans mobbed a steakhouse in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Palermo when word spread that Messi was inside having dinner. He needed a police escort to leave but was all smiles as people shouted “Messi I love you” and “Thank you, Leo.” The next day, a group of fans realized the car next to them on the highway was carrying the man who is often described as the world’s best soccer player. They immediately started shouting, “I love you, Messi!” and “Let’s go, Messi!” That’s when Messi proceeded to roll down his window and wave. The brief video of the encounter quickly went viral. On Wednesday, the hosts of a morning network TV show went wild when they received an audio message from Messi. “Good morning everyone,” Messi said in the message that the hosts huddled to hear. “I’m happy to be here, to enjoy everything we keep experiencing after what happened in December, and excited to enjoy tomorrow’s game.” To avoid any issues, the players were taken to the stadium six hours before the start of the match flanked by a security operation that involved dozens of law enforcement officers. Plans for the transfer had been kept under wraps to avoid a repeat of what happened in December when a celebratory open-top bus throughout the capital had to be cut short when millions of fans made it impossible for the vehicle to advance. Tickets to Thursday’s match sold out quickly but the game was just one chapter of the celebration that included local musicians and a trailer of a documentary about the World Cup-winning squad. The fan who wrote “Muchachos,” which became the unofficial anthem for the Argentina squad in Qatar, was also present. The party continues next Tuesday when the team will play another friendly match against Curaçao in Argentina’s central Santiago del Estero province.

Defending champions and host Bangladesh earned 2nd consecutive victory in the 12-nation  Bangabandhu Cup International Kabaddi Tournament' 2023 beating football world champions Argentina by 72-23 points  in their 2nd match at the Shaheed Nur Hossain Volleyball Stadium here on Tuesday. Bangladesh, which earned six creditable "lona" (all out) in the match against their Latin American rivals, clearly dominated the first half by  44-8 points. Mizanur Rahman of Bangladesh was adjudged the man of the match to receive prize money of BDT 10,000. Also Read: Bangabandhu Cup Int'l Kabaddi: Bangladesh make flying start beating Poland in opener Two South East Asian countries--Thailand and Indonesia also made a good start after winning their opening matches on the 2nd day of the Tournament at the same venue on Tuesday. Thailand beat last times semi-finalists Sri Lanka by 36-32 points in a hard-fought day's 2nd match after leading the first half by 20-16 points. Earlier in the day's first between two neighbor,  Indonesia defeated Malaysia by 36-23 points.  A record 12 twelve countries --England and Poland from Europe, Argentina from Latin America, Kenya from Africa, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Chinese Taipei from South East Asia,  Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh from South Asia and Iraq from Middle East of Asia--are taking part in the eight-day  Participating teams are:  Group A- Bangladesh, Iraq, Nepal, England, Argentina and Poland Group B- Kenya, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Chinese Taipei.    

More than half of Argentina was left without power on Wednesday (March 01, 2023) after a fire broke out at the national electricity grid. Buenos Aires and other major cities of the South American country are wholly or partly affected, reports BBC. Read More: Reopening embassy will boost trade between Argentina, Bangladesh: Visiting minister hopes According to reports, the fire began in open fields and spread to coastal areas, where it damaged vital power lines and shut down a nuclear power plant. Argentina is experiencing both a heat wave and a drought. An estimated 150,000 people are still without power in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area, the BBC report said. Read More: Woman burned to death in Chattogram fire

Argentina’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship Santiago Andrés Cafiero today (February 28, 2023) hoped that the economic, trade and business collaboration between his country and Bangladesh will get a boost following the reopening of the Argentine embassy in Dhaka. He expressed the optimism while paying a courtesy call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the latter’s official residence Ganabhaban this morning. PM’s speechwriter Md Nazrul Islam briefed reporters after the meeting. “Argentina is happy to reopen its embassy in Dhaka,” the visiting foreign minister was quoted as saying while extending thanks to Sheikh Hasina for giving the opportunity to reopen the mission in such a short time. Read More: Bangladesh should go for PTA with Mercosur instead of FTA: Argentine minister He hoped that economic, trade and business collaboration between the two countries will be enhanced, as well as friendship will be strengthened further with reopening the embassy. “There is enough scope to enhance cooperation between our two countries,” Cafiero was quoted as saying. Argentina first opened its embassy in Dhaka in 1974 but it was closed in 1978 by the military junta that ruled the South American country at the time. The Argentina embassy was reopened in Dhaka’s Banani area yesterday. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that Bangladesh is very keen to enhance relations with Argentina. Read: All roads in haor areas will be elevated for unobstructed water flow: PM “There is huge scope to enhance trade and tourism between Bangladesh and Argentina,” she was quoted. Argentina can import garments and pharmaceutical items, jute and related products, and leather goods from Bangladesh, she said. Bangladesh mainly imports edible oil, particularly soybean oil, animal and vegetable fats, seeds, fruits, grains, dairy products, eggs and natural honey. “We can also collaborate in the fields of sports, education and culture,” she said, seeking cooperation from Argentina for the development of Bangladesh football. Read More: Latin America-Bangladesh Chamber president meets Argentine business delegate in Dhaka Sheikh Hasina said the whole world is going through turmoil caused by the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia-Ukraine war, economic sanctions and counter-sanctions. Not only Bangladesh, but many developed countries are being impacted as prices of food items and inflation have gone up significantly around the world, she said. In this context, she said that public suffering can be eased through enhancing cooperation and relations among friendly countries. The PM said Bangladesh has put emphasis on raising food production and setting up 100 special economic zones to generate employment, developing infrastructures and connectivity with neighbouring countries. Now Bangladesh is a marketing hub in South Asia, she added. Read: President at Mithamain to welcome PM The visiting Argentine minister said the people of his country are also bearing the brunt of high inflation induced by the Russia-Ukraine war and the Covid-19 pandemic. Talking about climate change, he said relations among the member states of the global south forum can be strengthened to fight the impact. He praised Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s leadership in fighting climate change. Appreciating the development of Bangladesh, he said, “We are highly impressed with the socio-economic development of Bangladesh.” Read More: Bangladesh attractive destination for business, investment: Momen tells Argentine delegation Noting that this is his first visit here, the Argentine foreign minister said he did not imagine that Bangladesh would be so beautiful. PMO Secretary Mohammad Salahuddin, Secretary (West) at the Foreign Ministry Shabbir Ahmad Chowdhury and non-resident Ambassador of Argentina to Bangladesh Hugo Gobbi were present. On Monday, Argentine Foreign Minister Cafiero arrived in Dhaka to inaugurate his country’s new embassy here and deepen trade and cultural relations. Diplomatic operations, such as visas in order to travel, were handled by the Argentine embassy in India until now. Read More: Argentine FM to hold bilateral talks with Momen in Dhaka Monday