United News of Bangladesh

China has said the vision of 'Sonar Bangla' and 'Chinese Dream' today resonate deeply, opening broad prospects for cooperation between the two countries. "We are confident that this vision will bring even more cooperation opportunities for Guangzhou and Bangladesh," said Liu Liu, Deputy Director General of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Guangzhou Municipal People’s Government. She made the remarks during a dinner hosted by the Foreign Affairs Office in honour of the visiting delegation of the Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) at Hilton Hotel here on Thursday. DCAB President AKM Moinuddin, General Secretary Md Arifuzzaman Mamun, among others, were present. Liu said the friendship between Bangladesh and China stretches back centuries, with figures such as Xuanzang and Zheng He leaving behind inspiring stories of exchange. "Since we established diplomatic relations in 1975, our bilateral ties have grown steadily," she said. Silk Road Liu said Guangzhou is striving to become a beautiful, livable, and dynamic international metropolis - a top destination for foreign investment, talent, and business growth.   "We look forward to working closely with you, carrying forward the enduring spirit of the Silk Road and deepening practical cooperation for a mutually beneficial and bright future," she said. On behalf of Guangzhou Foreign Affairs Office, Liu extended their warmest welcome to the visiting journalists and thanked the Chinese Embassy in Bangladesh for their enduring support. "As a dynamic hub of China’s reform and opening up, Guangzhou serves as the country’s southern gateway to the world. Our city is defined by three key international roles," She said. First, Liu said, Guangzhou is a millennia-old trading hub, connected with over 200 countries and regions. "Both our total retail sales and foreign trade volume exceed 1.1 trillion RMB, and the Canton Fair - having been held for 138 consecutive sessions - leads China in exhibition scale and frequency," she said. Second, Liu said they are a global transport and logistics hub. Guangzhou is home to China Southern Airlines, the nation’s largest carrier, as well as the country’s biggest single-terminal airport.

We have become indifferent to human sufferings- conflicts, starvation, wars, genocides”, Khondker Mohammad Talha said at his maiden speech as the President of UNESCO General Conference on Thursday. While reflecting on the current tumultuous geopolitical discourse he further underlined - ‘cultural diversity is used to further fragment societies and scientific progress is posing even risk of obliterating the entire human race’. He painted this picture of the state of affairs and called for responsible actions of the global community upholding the values of human dignity and morality. Ambassador Talha further warned the global community of the uncontrolled use of artificial intelligence, nanotechnology and neuroscience. He noted that after 80 years, the fundamental vision of UNESCO remains relevant, but the world of 2025 is facing new and complex challenges. He finds UNESCO to be a changemaker by promoting culture of peace. The General Conference of UNESCO elected Ambassador Talha the President following his victory over Japan at an election held earlier in October. He is the first Bangladeshi President in the history of country’s membership to the multilateral organisation that champions education, culture and science. Audrey Azoulay, the Director General of UNESCO congratulated him for the election and marked this moment historic for Bangladesh. The Director General further recalled Bangladesh’s leadership in promoting and preserving mother language. The former President of General Conference Ambassador Simona also congratulated Bangladesh at her speech. She marked this a renewed opportunity for UNESCO and the global community to benefit from Ambassador Talha’s vast professional experience. Bangladesh greeted on election as president of UNESCO’s General Conference Later in the evening, he presided over the official opening ceremony where Shavkat Mirziyoyev, President of Uzbekistan; Aleksandar Vučić, President of Serbia; and Peter Pellegrini, President of Slovakia attended. General Conference has further geopolitical and regional significance as the Conference is being hosted outside of UNESCO Secretariat after 40 years.  

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has shown admirable leadership in realising the right to development for all individuals and peoples in the region by adopting the Declaration on Promoting the Right to Development and the Right to Peace Towards Realising Inclusive and Sustainable Development on 26 October 2025 at the 47th ASEAN Summit held in Kuala Lumpur, said Surya Deva, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Development. He issued the following statement: “In today’s world characterised by growing economic inequalities, conflicts and the triple planetary crisis, the ASEAN Declaration affirms the importance of multilateralism to achieve inclusive and sustainable development," Surya said. Under the Declaration, ASEAN States agree to undertake proactive measures to remove barriers to equitable access to education, healthcare, food, housing, transport, communications, utilities, digital technology, law enforcement, and employment. They also agree to pursue efforts to eliminate all forms of discrimination and address inequalities, including by the fair distribution of income. Rohingya crisis not a distant issue but ASEAN concern, says APHR "Peace is a precondition to development, while inclusive and sustainable development is essential for durable and lasting peace. The recognition of these fundamental linkages in the Declaration sends a powerful signal to countries in all world regions," she added. The Declaration recognises human beings as active agents in the development process through their active, free and meaningful participation in the development process. To facilitate such participation, ASEAN would now be expected to create enabling conditions such as access to information, free press and civic space.  

The Republic of Kosovo has extended its support to the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh through a new partnership aimed at improving educational opportunities for children living in the camps of Cox’s Bazar. Lulzim Pllana, Ambassador of the Republic of Kosovo in Dhaka signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with Mahfuja Khanam, Executive Director of the Association for Socio-Economic Advancement of Bangladesh (ASEAB), in the presence of Kamruzzaman, Director General of the Myanmar Wing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday Through this partnership, the Republic of Kosovo will provide a financial contribution of 5,000 EUR to support ASEAB’s efforts in improving learning conditions for Rohingya children by supplying school benches, bags, and water pots across community learning centres in Cox’s Bazar. Ambassador Pllana reaffirmed the Republic of Kosovo’s solidarity with Bangladesh in their ongoing humanitarian response to the Rohingya crisis. He underlined the importance of education in fostering hope, dignity, and resilience among displaced children. “Kosovo stands in solidarity with Bangladesh and the international community in supporting the Rohingya people. Education is not only a fundamental right but also a bridge to hope and resilience for children whose lives have been uprooted by conflict,” said Ambassador Pllana during the ceremony. While Director General Kamruzzaman underlined that "the generous support of Kosovo to Rohingya people temporarily sheltered in the camps of Bangladesh is a demonstration of its empathy and compassion towards their gravest humanitarian crisis". Executive Director Mahfuja Khanam underlined that “for ASEAB, this collaboration represents not only financial support but a shared commitment to humanity, dignity, and hope and that “ASEAB assures its full transparency and accountability in implementing this project in coordination with the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC)”. This initiative reflects the shared commitment of Kosovo and Bangladesh to humanitarian values, education, and international cooperation, and further strengthens the already existing friendly and constructive relations between the two countries.

A new opportunity has opened up for Bangladeshi recruiting agencies to send workers to Malaysia, as the Malaysian government moves toward providing equal access for all licensed agencies from Bangladesh. For years, recruiting agencies from other countries enjoyed greater opportunities to participate in Malaysia’s worker recruitment process. This is because when it came to Bangladesh, Malaysia repeatedly limited the number allowed to operate in their market. Following a 2021 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), Putrajaya authorised only about 100 Bangladeshi agencies to send workers, out of around 2500. With the selection criteria that was used not being very clear, this was likened to a 'syndicate' that inflated migration costs, limited fair competition, and left the vast majority of agencies in the sector excluded from the process. Successive Bangladesh governments have been urging Malaysia to ensure equal and fair treatment for all legally licensed Bangladeshi recruiting agencies - not for special favours, but treatment on par with the rest. No other country's recruitment agencies face such limited access. One reason might be the sheer number of Bangladeshis that have flooded the Malaysian labour market over the years. As of June 2025, there were over 800,000 Bangladeshi workers with valid work permits in Malaysia, making them by far the largest group of foreign workers in the country. According to data from the Malaysian Ministry of Home Affairs, Bangladeshis account for 37% of Malaysia's total foreign workforce. According to the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, the issue was extensively discussed during the 3rd Bangladesh–Malaysia Joint Working Group (JWG) meeting held in Dhaka on May 21–22, this year. At the meeting, the Malaysian delegation assured that Bangladesh would be treated on par with other labour-sending countries under uniform selection standards. Following up on that commitment, Malaysia formally shared its freshly updated ‘Recruiting Agent Selection Criteria’ with Bangladesh on Tuesday (Oct 28). The same criteria will also apply to agencies from India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Myanmar, ministry officials said.   The strictness of the new criteria however, raise questions as to how many Bangladeshi agencies would actually manage to meet them. Under the new guidelines, agencies must demonstrate at least five years of satisfactory operational experience for obtaining their license, along with proof of sending a minimum of 3,000 workers abroad during that period. They must also have sent workers to at least three different destination countries. Each recruiting agency must possess valid licenses from the relevant authorities in Bangladesh for training, assessment, recruitment, and overseas employment activities, as well as a ‘Certificate of Good Conduct’ issued by the competent authority of the country. The criteria further stipulate that agencies must have no record of involvement in forced labour, human trafficking, labour law violations, extortion, money laundering, or any unethical migration practices. They must also operate their own training and assessment centre with accommodation, technical training facilities, and induction modules for outgoing workers. In addition, the recruiting agencies must provide letters of appreciation from at least five international employers attesting to their satisfaction in working with the agency in question. Each agency must also maintain a permanent office — in operation for at least three years — with a minimum floor space of 10,000 square feet, and suitable infrastructure for worker selection and recruitment. Finally, agencies have to provide documentary evidence of having followed the law and due process in their recruitment practices, including those related to Malaysia. According to the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, the next step would be to send the names of all Bangladeshi recruiting agencies meeting these criteria to the Malaysian government, for inclusion in the list of approved agencies. Qualified recruiting agencies have been requested to submit applications along with all supporting documents to the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment by November 7. Critics fear that the latest changes, while framed as "ethical", could lead to a new syndicate. Activists are concerned that the barriers to entry remain too high, and that could simply work to the benefit of another small group of powerful agencies.

Twenty young aspiring journalists shared experiences, and engaged with leading media professionals from October 26-28 to better understand what it takes to become the next generation of women leaders in journalism. Participants from the Department of Communication and Journalism, University of Chittagong, and the Department of Journalism, Media and Communication, Daffodil International University, took part in interactive lectures and discussions on leadership, tracing the journey from being a young woman in media to becoming an experienced newsroom leader. They explored the differences between leadership and management while reflecting on personal and professional challenges, failures, and success stories. Sessions focused on building confidence, professional networks, mentorship, and navigating newsroom dynamics. Participants also discussed the importance of surrounding themselves with the right people who inspire and support growth. Critical issues such as newsroom safety, handling harassment, managing emotions, and responding to threats were addressed through practical insights. Speakers emphasized the urgent need for more women in journalism in Bangladesh and shared valuable career guidance from GIJN Bangla and international media perspectives. By the conclusion of the program, participants left inspired, better equipped, and ready to contribute as the next generation of women media leaders, said a media release. The workshop highlighted the essential role of mentorship, skills development, and continuous support in shaping the future of journalism. The AGILE Women Media Leaders of Tomorrow workshop, organized by the Fojo Media Institute in collaboration with the Communication and Journalism Educators Network (CJEN) and co-funded by the European Union, was held from 26 to 28 October at BCDM, Gazipur. The program brought together 20 ambitious female students from the Department of Communication and Journalism, University of Chittagong, and the Department of Journalism, Media and Communication, Daffodil International University, who are passionate about pursuing careers in journalism. The sessions were led by renowned journalists and mentors, including veteran Swedish journalist and former Executive Director of Fojo Media Institute Kersti Forsberg, Sheikh Sabihah Alam (Dhaka Bureau Chief, AFP), Fahim Ahmed (CEO, Jamuna Television), SK Tanvir Mahmud (Editor, GIJN Bangla), Jesmin Papri (Fellow, Rest of World), and Mariem Aziz Mourin (Staff Reporter, News24). Together, they provided practical guidance on leadership, media ethics, resilience, and career development — empowering the participants to take confident steps toward becoming influential voices in the media landscape.  

Ambassador of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to Bangladesh Dr Abdullah bin Zafer bin Abiyah on Wednesday inaugurated the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s project to distribute sacrificial meat among underprivileged communities in Bangladesh. The project was inaugurated on the Embassy premise, in cooperation with the Udhiyah Project, under the supervision of the Royal Commission for Makkah City and the Holy Sites. Abdur Rashid, Director (Admin) of the Department of Disaster Management and Relief and Jahangir, Deputy Director of the Department of Disaster Management and Relief and Mostofa Jamil Khan, Director of West Asia Wing, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Ambassador Ibrahim Al-Ahmari, the representative of the Udhiyah Project, Ahmed Al-Zahrani, along with a number of journalists and media personals were present at the inaugural ceremony. This project is a part of the Kingdom's charitable work, which is an extension of the humanitarian and relief projects implemented by the Kingdom to benefit all Muslims from the sacrificial meat. This year, a total of 40,000 sacrificial animals, equivalent to 372 tons of meat, have been allocated for Bangladesh. The meat was handed over to the Bangladesh government for distribution among deserving families across all 64 districts The Kingdom's project to benefit from sacrificial meat extends over more than four decades and is one of the largest logistic supports in the world, benefiting needy groups in more than 25 countries around the world. The Saudi Arabia Project for Utilizing Hadi and Sacrificial Animals, in cooperation with the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, distributed a portion of the sacrificial animal’s meat in the Chittagong region in presence of Ahmed Al-Zahrani from the Saudi Arabia Project for Utilizing Hadi and Sacrificial Animals, Jahangir, Deputy Director of the Department of Disaster Management and Yasser Shesha, representative of the Saudi Embassy in Dhaka.

Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen on Wednesday expressed Beijing’s sincere hope for Bangladesh to hold a peaceful and successful general election, maintaining social stability and improving the livelihoods of its people. "Democracy is not simply about participation in voting; it should be reflected throughout the entire process of national governance," he said, noting that Bangladesh is now standing at a crucial stage of democratic transition and national rejuvenation. Speaking at a seminar at the Foreign Service Academy hosted by Association of Former Ambassadors (AOFA), Ambassador Yao said democracy finds its true meaning only when the people's aspirations are fully reflected in state governance. "This process—from the expression of the people’s opinion, to decision-making, and to policy execution and oversight—should be infused into a system that safeguards fairness and justice and promotes the well-being of the people, which defines the soul and nature of China's whole-process people's democracy," he said. Ambassador Yao said China stands ready to work with Bangladesh to uphold a people-centered development philosophy, carry forward the spirit of independence and self-reliance, and jointly explore a path to modernisation that suits their respective national realities and keeps pace with the trends of our times. Have deep relations with US, extensive economic ties with China: Touhid Hossain President of the Association of Former Ambassadors (AOFA) Ambassador Abdullah Al-Hasan and General Secretary Ambassador AFM Gousal Azam Sarker also spoke. The development path of socialism with Chinese characteristics conforms to China’s reality and ensures that the people run the country, said Ambassador Yao. 

Parliamentary State Secretary to the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and Member of German Bundestag, Johann Saathoff has said Germany remains firmly committed to supporting Bangladesh and the international community in seeking durable solutions for the Rohingya. "The Rohingya people deserve the opportunity to return home voluntarily, safely, and with dignity — but lasting peace and stability in Myanmar are essential for that to happen. Until then, we will continue to stand by Bangladesh and all those working to support both refugees and host communities," he said. Saathoff visited Bangladesh from October 27–28 to deepen bilateral relations and uphold and demonstrate Germany’s commitment to supporting Bangladesh in its development and humanitarian priorities. Bangladesh, Pakistan pledge stronger ties to boost mutual progress During his visit, Saathoff met senior government representatives, including Secretary of the Economic Relations Division under Ministry of Finance, Md. Shahriar Kader Siddiky, as well as representatives from the United Nations, international partners, and civil society. Discussions focused on shared priorities in sustainable development, economic growth, and the humanitarian situation in Cox’s Bazar. Together with German Ambassador Dr. Rüdiger Lotz and a delegation from BMZ, Saathoff travelled to Cox’s Bazar to meet with representatives of Unicef and local partners, and to observe ongoing efforts supporting the Rohingyas and host communities. The visit highlighted Germany’s continued solidarity with Bangladesh in addressing development and humanitarian challenges. Germany continues to be one of Bangladesh’s key partners in development cooperation, focusing on climate and energy, good governance and sustainable economic growth, said the German Embassy in Dhaka on Wednesday.    

Another 174 Bangladeshi nationals returned home from Libya on Tuesday. They arrived at Dhaka at 2:30 pm aboard a Burak Air chartered flight, according to a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The repatriation was coordinated by the Bangladesh Embassy in Libya, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The returnees had been staying in Libya irregularly. Most of the returnees had entered Libya with the intention of traveling illegally to Europe via human traffickers. Many had experienced abductions and abuse during their stay. Officials from the foreign ministry and the IOM welcomed the returnees at the airport and requested them to share their difficult experiences to raise public awareness. Each returnee received travel allowances, food supplies, basic medical care, and temporary shelter from the IOM. The joint efforts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Bangladesh Embassy in Libya, the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, and the IOM continue to ensure the safe return of Bangladeshis detained in various centers in Libya.