Foreign-Affairs
Process to procure vaccine from China at final stage: FM
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Tuesday said Bangladesh is at the final stage to procure vaccine doses from China.
“It’s at the final stage…all types of discussions are very positive,” he told reporters at Foreign Service Academy when asked about procuring 1.5 crore vaccine doses from China.
The government is in discussion to procure 1 crore to 1.5 crore doses of vaccine from China with an initial consignment of 50 lakh doses.
Dr Momen said China assured Bangladesh of providing vaccine jabs ensuring its steady flow of supply.
China said it will continue to support Bangladesh's fight against Covid-19 and is willing to facilitate the discussion of cooperation in "vaccine filling" between Chinese and Bangladeshi companies.
China also said as a "good neighbour, partner and friend" of South Asian countries, they are ready to stand with the people of all countries, including Bangladesh, until the pandemic is defeated.
"South Asia is currently facing the severe challenges of a new round of pandemic," said State Councilor and Foreign Minister of China Wang Yi when he had a phone conversation with Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on Friday evening.
After its request to the United States, Bangladesh also urged the United Kingdom (UK) to help it by providing vaccines to meet emergency needs as the second dose vaccination is disrupted in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh sought 1.6m AstraZeneca doses from the UK.
The Foreign Minister said the government had been able to handle the first wave of the Covid-19 very successfully.
All the three documents – on non-disclosure, letter of commitment and sales agreement – "smoothened out", he said.
Bangladesh has also approved “Emergency Use Authorisation” for another Chinese vaccine of Sinovac. A Chinese team will visit Bangladesh in a week or so to see the feasibility of vaccine co-production.
The Foreign Minister said the discussion with Russia is also at the final stage. "We’ll also get vaccine doses from the COVAX facility. So, we think there won’t be a problem with vaccine supply in the coming days," he said.
Bangladesh entered into a deal with the Serum Institute of India (SII) to purchase 30 million doses of a potential vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca for Covid-19.
Bangladesh was supposed to get five million doses of vaccine per month as the SII and Bangladesh’s Beximco Pharma signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for priority delivery of the vaccine doses.
Bangladesh has so far received only 7 million of Oxford-AstraZeneca covid-19 vaccine doses produced by Serum through its contract. Bangladesh also received 3.3 million doses of vaccine as a bilateral partnership gift.
Foreign Minister dismisses Palestine envoy ‘s remarks
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Tuesday expressed displeasure over the Palestine ambassador’s disapproving comments regarding a change in Bangladesh e-passport.
“This is irrelevant to me, totally irrelevant,” he told reporters when his comment was sought on Palestine Ambassador Yousef SY Ramadan’s criticism of the removal of words – “except Israel”- from Bangladesh e-passports.
Dr Momen said Bangladesh maintains its foreign policy on its own way and it is totally irrelevant which ambassador says what.
“We’re a sovereign country. We’ll decide what we’ll do or not,” said the Foreign Minister after attending a programme at Foreign Service Academy.
Ambassador Ramadan earlier called Dhaka’s decision as “unacceptable.”
“I’m being frank with you about my feeling that it is unacceptable,” he told a small group of reporters at his office on Monday.
Bangladesh officials were surprised with Ramadan’s reaction even though the Ministry of Foreign Affairs clarified on Sunday that there has been no change in the country’s Israel policy and Bangladeshi citizens are still barred from visiting Israel.
The Ambassador, however, said they sincerely hope that Bangladesh will revise this decision and keep this sentence in the passport – “except Israel” - because this also represents a very good support to the people of Palestine.
The envoy said they can only request the government to revise the decision and they hope Bangladesh will do that.
Ambassador Ramadan said the change in passport was received by Israel like it was a reward to them.
Foreign Minister Dr Momen on Sunday told UNB that there has been no change in Bangladesh's position towards Israel as it still does not recognise Israel.
He said removing the words like valid for travelling except Israel in the new passport does not mean that there has been a change in Bangladesh’s position.
The ban on travel of Bangladeshi passport holders to Israel remains unchanged.
The confusion appears to have emanated from the new booklets of E-passports which do not contain the observation “all countries except Israel”.
The removal of the observation has been done to maintain international standards of Bangladeshi e-passports and does not imply any change of Bangladesh’s foreign policy towards the Middle East, the government said.
UNGA President pays tribute to Bangabandhu
President of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Volkan Bozkir on Tuesday remembered Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as a world leader committed to peace, human rights and sustainable development.
“I am reminded today of the statement he delivered to the General Assembly….he outlined the importance of peace, human rights and what is now known as sustainable development – the core pillars of the United Nations,” Bozkir wrote in visitors’ book after visiting Bangabandhu Memorial Museum in Dhanmondi.
Bangabandhu delivered the historic speech at the UNGA on September 25 in 1974.
He said it is a great pleasure to visit Bangabandhu Memorial Museum and pay his respect to the Father of the Nation in this centenary year of his birth.
Neaz, Shams elected President, Secretary General of CCB
Neaz Ahmed and Shams Mahmud have been elected President and Secretary General respectively of the Consular Corps in Bangladesh (CCB) for the next two years (2021-2023).
Neaz Ahmed is the Honorary Consul of New Zealand while Shams Mahmud is the Honorary Consul of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.
The Consular Corps in Bangladesh (CCB) formed the new Executive Committee at the 12th annual general meeting (AGM) held virtually recently, said a media release on Tuesday.
KM Mozibul Hoque, Honorary Consul General of Yemen, is the immediate past President of the CCB.
The two newly elected vice presidents are Reshadur Rahman, Honorary Consul General of the Republic of Poland in Dhaka and Abul Hossain, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Uganda.
Mohammed Taneem Hasan, Honorary Consul of Bosnia & Herzegovina, is the treasurer of the CCB.
ASM Mohiuddin Monem, Honorary Consul of Czech Republic, Syed Farhad Ahmed, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Estonia, Riad Mahmud, Honorary Consul, Consulate of Georgia in Bangladesh, Zulfikar Ali, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Guatemala and Samira Rahman Ali, Honorary Consul, Consulate of Iceland have been elected as Executive Committee members of the new committee.
UNGA President pushes for Covid-19 vaccines for all
President of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Volkan Bozkir on Tuesday pushed for Covid-19 vaccines for all with its fair and equal distribution globally.
“No one is safe until all are safe. Vaccine is the solution to this problem,” he told reporters at Foreign Service Academy, adding that the countries lacking production capacity are now facing a very difficult situation.
Bozkir said his country Turkey is also facing some difficulties.
“We’ll make all the efforts. We’ll push all the countries,” he said giving importance on equitable and fair distribution of vaccines among all countries.
Earlier, the UNGA President said they went into this pandemic together and they can emerge from it together. “Let us not rest when vaccines for all are so much in reach.”
On May 21, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance announced that it has signed an advance purchase agreement with Johnson & Johnson for its single-dose vaccine against COVID-19.
The agreement is for a commitment to purchase 200 million doses on behalf of the COVAX Facility, with the goal of them being supplied to Facility participants in 2021.
Supply of the vaccine will be available to both self-financing and Gavi COVAX AMC-eligible participants. Gavi will continue to assess the COVAX Facility portfolio and participants’ needs and will remain in discussions with Johnson & Johnson on potential supply of 300 million additional doses in 2022.
Bhasan Char to become another example to world: UNGA President
President of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Volkan Bozkir on Tuesday highly appreciated Bangladesh's efforts for Rohingyas in Bhasan Char, saying it will be another example to the world on how to deal with the refugee issues.
“I really applaud the work done there – the quality of buildings and also taking all the precautions. I think this will be another example to the world on how to deal with refugee issues,” he said.
Bozkir hoped that this would work well for the Rohingya people, giving them a better condition in Bhasan Char.
In a joint media briefing at the Foreign Service Academy with Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen, the UNGA President said he could not visit Bhasan Char but he saw a video on it and acknowledged the high-level works there, including precautions and safety measures.
Read: Efforts underway to resume tripartite talks over Rohingya repatriation
Bozkir will visit Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar district to meet Rohingyas on Wednesday, before heading towards Pakistan.
He will make a statement after visiting Rohingya camps.
Prior to the briefing, Bozkir had a meeting with Foreign Minister Dr Momen at the same venue.
He said this is his second visit to Bangladesh and he found it absolutely an obligation to come and pay his respect and give a message to the world on what Bangladesh is doing and what are the problems.
Bozkir appreciated Bangladesh’s role in the peacekeeping operations and sacrifices of the Bangladeshi peacekeepers for the peace and security of the world.
On climate issues, he appreciated Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s efforts saying her body language shows how much importance is given to issues like tree plantation.
The UNGA President said Bangladesh's role in the UN peacekeeping operations is very much appreciated.
He said Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is really a leader on the climate issue.
Read: Rohingya repatriation looks uncertain: Hasina tells UNGA President
Bozkir said he has admiration for Prime Minister Hasina for her political and humanitarian thinking and saluted the hospitality and courage that Bangladesh has shown to the Rohingya people.
“We discussed the plight of the Rohingya people, the situation in Myanmar, the impact of climate change, the importance of human-centered development, and gender equality and women’s empowerment,” he said referring to his meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
They also talked about the significance of the culture of peace as Bangladesh is the number one troop-contributing country to UN peacekeeping operations. “It was a comprehensive and insightful discussion.”
Talking about his discussion with the UNGA President, Dr Momen said, "We discussed the Rohingya issue and we had very fruitful discussions on SDG 17, peacekeeping operations, migration and climate change issues.”
Dr Momen said they wanted him to go to Bhasan Char but because of timing he is unable to go there. “We showed him a video.”
Rohingya repatriation looks uncertain: Hasina tells UNGA President
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday expressed concern about the repatriation of Rohigyas following the recent development in Myanmar as it has made the process uncertain.“The situation has become uncertain due to the recent developments in Myanmar,” Sheikh Hasina said when visiting UNGA President Volkan Bozkir met her at her official residence Ganobhaban.PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed reporters after the meeting.Mentioning that over one million Rohingya people have taken shelter in Bangladesh, the Prime Minister said, “We were in dialogue with the Myanmar government with little progress.”
Read: Rohingya genocide continues after Myanmar military coup: BROUKShe said Bangladesh is monitoring the present situation in Myanmar as the repatriation process has become uncertain.Hasina said Bangladesh has prepared an island, Bhashan Char, for temporary but comfortable shelter of the Myanmar nationals, mentioning that over one lakh Rohingyas can be shifted there. “More than 18,000 have already been shifted.”Ihsanul Karim said both Hasina and Bozkir discussed various issues like the upcoming UNGA session, climate change, Rohingya and Covid-19 pandemic.
About the pandemic in Bangladesh, the Prime Minister said the government is trying to save both the lives of people and the economy amid the virus surge.Hasina mentioned about the stimulus packages and other incentives announced for all sections of people to keep the economy moving properly facing the fallouts of the pandemic.
Regarding women empowerment, Hasina said the process to empower women was initiated by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman just after Bangladesh’s independence.“We’re just following his path to empower women in all sectors of society – from politics to administration,” she said.The Prime Minister said currently the Leader of the House, Opposition Leader of the House, the Speaker of Parliament and Deputy Leader of the House in Bangladesh are women.She said the government has also ensured food security in Bangladesh apart from expanding the social safety net.Bozkir said they are thinking about holding the General Assembly this year with the physical presence of heads of governments. “We’re thinking of allowing a delegation of one-plus persons from each country in this year’s UNGA,” he said.
Read: Efforts underway to resume tripartite talks over Rohingya repatriationHe highly appreciated the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for the remarkable progress in gender parity and women empowerment in Bangladesh. “Bangladesh has achieved tremendous success led by a lady prime minister.”About Bangladesh’s graduation from the LDC status, Bozkir said Bangladesh has become an example before the whole world. “The people of Bangladesh are very courageous, and they’ll carry it forward,” he said.Turning to the Rohingya issue, the UNGA President highly praised the generosity of Bangladesh for giving shelter to over one million Rohingyas.PM’s daughter Saima Wazed, who is also the Chairperson of the Bangladesh National Advisory Committee for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, and Ambassador-at-Large Mohammad Ziauddin were present during the meeting.
Ex-WB adviser writes how Pakistan may end up taking aid from Bangladesh
Abid Hasan, a former adviser to the World Bank for the Pakistan Programme, has praised Bangladesh's economic growth while highlighting how Pakistan has gone around the world with a "begging bowl" with a possibility of taking aid from Bangladesh in a decade.
"It was unthinkable, 20 years back, that Bangladesh’s GDP per-capita in 2020 would be almost twice that of Pakistan. Bangladesh could be an economic powerhouse in 2030 if it grows at the same rate as in the past," he said in an article titled "Aid from Bangladesh."
The article appeared on The News on Monday, also reads, "If Pakistan continues its dismal performance, it is in the realm of possibility that we could be seeking aid from Bangladesh in 2030."
Abid Hasan, former Member of Pakistan Economic Advisory Committee and Federal Board of Revenue Tax Reforms Group, said if they continue with a ‘business as usual’ policy, they could end up taking aid from Bangladesh in a decade.
Read:Thailand axes travel corridors with Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan
In order to establish an economically strong Pakistan, it is incumbent on the PTI to reach out to all political parties to develop a national consensus on the fundamental reforms necessary to accelerate inclusive growth and at the same time lower debt, said the former WB adviser.
At the beginning of his article, Hasan said every government in Pakistan, including the current one, has gone around the world with a begging bowl.
"We’re now drowning in debt and stuck in an anemic growth orbit, and will continue to be this way since no government has pursued the deep reforms necessary to establish an economically strong Pakistan," he mentioned.
Hasan said Pakistan’s poor performance is their own fault, but their leaders conveniently blame their enemies and the IMF and the World Bank.
There is no doubt that the IMF/WB have often peddled “poorly thought out and one-size-fits-all” policies and bad loans but the deep hole that Pakistan is in is largely its own doing.
While corruption and the economic impact of terrorism have a role in the mess, for the most part the poor performance is a result of pursuing irresponsible, inappropriate and unpredictable policies, and half-hearted reforms.
The two most glaring examples of reckless policies were: excessive overspending by the government, financed by domestic and foreign debt; and imports far exceeding exports leading to unsustainable external debt.
He said Bangladesh’s successful journey is a good example, given the similarity in terms of religion, poor work ethics, messy politics, bad governance, weak public administration, high corruption, elite capture etc.
"In just two decades, Bangladesh has overtaken Pakistan on key economic indicators. Over the last 20 years, Bangladesh’s GDP per-capita increased 500 percent, two and a half times that of Pakistan. How did Bangladesh become a miracle story and Pakistan a disaster tale?"
The socio-economic development story of any country is complex and unique to that country.
Read: Iran bans flights from India and Pakistan
Bangladesh encouraged savings over consumption. Its savings rate is around 30 percent of GDP, compared to 15-20 percent for Pakistan.
Pakistan’s irresponsible and impulsive policies encouraged public spending and import consumption way beyond what the country could afford.
In 2000, Pakistan’s exports were 50 percent more than Bangladesh.
Since then, Bangladesh’s exports increased 700 percent, almost three and half times that of Pakistan.
In 2020, Bangladesh’s exports were almost twice that of Pakistan.
"Because of imprudent import and exchange rate policies, we have been foolishly incurring foreign commercial loans, deposits and bonds, at high interest rates, to finance unnecessary imports. A stark example of this bad policy was when we imported $3 billion of cars and phones and raised an equivalent number of Eurobonds," he said.
For most of the past two decades, Bangladesh’s fiscal deficit was around three percent of GDP, while Pakistan’s fiscal deficits were twice as high.
Over 20 years, Pakistan’s cumulative per-capita government spending was $4000, while Bangladesh was half of that.
Despite our per-capita spending being twice that of Bangladesh, our economic and human development indicators are worse than Bangladesh.
"We spent double for worse outcomes! Government spending in Pakistan has been reckless, based on the uninformed belief that higher spending leads to growth," Hasan said.
Read: Death toll from suicide car bombing rises to 5 in Pakistan
As a result of irresponsible fiscal and trade policies: (i) Pakistan’s public debt is now close to 600 percent of government revenues, twice that of Bangladesh; (ii) bank lending to the private sector is 200 percent in Bangladesh and 80 percent in Pakistan. Credit to the private sector is very restricted in Pakistan because of excessive government borrowings; and (iii) our external debt is 400 percent of exports, four times that of Bangladesh, Hasan said.
Pakistan’s FDI policies mostly encouraged investment in the service sector, where revenues are in rupees while liabilities in foreign currency. In comparison, Bangladesh aggressively promoted FDI in export manufacturing.
Bangladesh’s economic miracle also benefited from separation of religion from state, elimination of unelected institutions’ role in politics, and their leaders’ single-minded focus on Bangladesh, he said.
"It will hurt our national ego, but the only sure way for Pakistan to accelerate growth and reduce debt, and avoid seeking aid from Bangladesh, is to emulate Bangladesh. There is no shortcut to success, except to follow prudent fiscal and monetary policies," the article reads.
Access to Covid vaccines top priority for LDCs: Dhaka
Highlighting multidimensional challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic to the LDCs, Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Rabab Fatima has identified access to Covid-19 vaccines as the top priority for the LDCs.
She said if this issue is not addressed immediately, the LDCs will face serious humanitarian and economic misery for years to come.
Ambassador Rabab Fatima and Ambassador Bob Ray, Permanent Representative of Canada, jointly convened the first Session of the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) meeting of the Fifth United Nations Conference (LDC-5) on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) at the UN Headquarters in New York on Monday.
Read:Covid-19 vaccines: Commonwealth health ministers demand equal access for everyone
They were elected as the co-chairs of the PrepCom at its organisational session in February 2021.
The LDC-5 conference will be held in DOHA, Qatar in January 2022.
The LDC-V conference is envisaged to be one of the biggest UN conferences in 2022. The next programme of Action for the LDCs is expected to come up with a new global compact to address both the immediate and structural issues of the LDCs.
As a co-chair, Bangladesh will also have the opportunity to move forward some of its key priorities, including sustainable graduation and international support measures for graduation.
Notably, the UN recommended Bangladesh to graduate from the LDC category in February, 2021.
The President of Malawi Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera joined the meeting virtually as a keynote speaker in his capacity as the global chair of the LDCs.
Read: China proposes setting up int’l forum on vaccine cooperation
As the host of the LDC-5 conference, State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Qatar Soltan bin Saad Al-Muraikhi also delivered a keynote speech.
Among others, President of the UN General Assembly Volkan Bozkir, President of the ECOSOC Munir Akram, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J Mohammed OECD Development Assistance Committee Chair Susanna Moorehead, and USG, OHRLLS Fekitamoeloa Katoa Utoikamanu, spoke at the meeting.
The General Debate was addressed by a large number of Member States, including important development partners, who highlighted serious consequences facing LDCs due to the pandemic and expressed solidarity and partnership towards an ambitious 10-year Programme of Action for the LDCs.
Ambassador Rabab Fatima stressed the need for an incentives-based graduation package for the graduating and graduated countries from LDCs as they are at a high risk of sliding back—both by the Covid-19 impact and the loss of LDC specific support measures.
Among other things, she also underscored the multidimensional challenges and vulnerabilities faced by the LDCs in the areas of poverty and inequality, trade, climate change, external debt, migration and remittances.
Read:Covid vaccine: China to send additional 6 lakh doses as gift
This meeting sets in motion the substantive work for the LDC5 Conference to be held in Doha, Qatar in January 2022.
It will continue through the week.
Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen, and Information and Communication Technology Affairs Adviser to the Prime Minister Sajeeb Ahmed Wazed are expected to participate in different thematic sessions of the meeting later this week.
Politically good enough: Palestine on Bangladesh’s clarification
Palestinian Ambassador to Bangladesh Yousef SY Ramadan has welcomed Bangladesh’s clarification on Israel issue, noting that it is "politically good enough" but will be happier to see those words - “except Israel” - in Bangladesh e-passports.
“Politically this (Bangladesh's clarification) is good enough for me,” he said on Monday thanking Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen who explained the situation and clarified the position of Bangladesh assuring everybody that nothing has changed in the foreign policy of Bangladesh and Bangladeshi citizens are still prohibited to go to Israel.
While talking to a small group of journalists at the Embassy, the Palestinian Ambassador appreciated the generosity of Bangladeshis, including expatriates Bangladeshis in Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain.
“You’ve such an amazing principle. We don’t compare you with anyone. I’m saying that from my heart. It’s not lip service. It’s true. You’re magnificent people. We’ll never forget your support, solidarity and principled attitude,” he said.
The Ambassador, however, said they sincerely hope that Bangladesh will revise this decision and keep this sentence in the passport – “except Israel” - because this also represents a very good support to the people of Palestine.
“I didn’t receive this news, frankly speaking, with happiness or with joy. I was sad to receive the news,” said Ambassador Ramadan, adding, “because at least the blood of our children is not dried yet.”
Read: No change in Bangladesh's position over Israel: FM
The envoy said they can only request the government to revise the decision and they hope Bangladesh will do that.
“It is unacceptable, it’s obviously unacceptable. It cannot be acceptable for us. But finally Bangladesh is a sovereign State and that we respect. Since you’ve asked about my feeling and the majority of the Palestinian people, I’m being frank with you about my feeling that is unacceptable,” he told one of the questioners.
A government official said he is "surprised" to see Ambassador's such comments (unacceptable) even though the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen himself clarified the matter on Israel and passport issues on Sunday.
Ambassador Ramadan said the change in passport was received by Israel in a way like it was a reward.
“And they’ve tweeted, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) tweeted as you all know, the next step for Bangladesh, they wish, will be diplomatic relations. That’s why it didn’t send a clear message to Israel, the wrong message was sent to Israel after the incident, after the crime was committed, after the atrocity, and after we faced this suffering. It was not the right time at all. And I believe it should have been [done] later on,” he added.
Foreign Minister Dr Momen on Sunday told UNB that there has been no change in Bangladesh's position towards Israel as it still does not recognise Israel.
He said removing the words like valid for travelling except Israel in the new passport does not mean that there has been a change in Bangladesh’s position.
Read: BNP slams govt over Israel issue
The ban on travel of Bangladeshi passport holders to Israel remains unchanged.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the confusion appears to have emanated from the new booklets of E-passports which do not contain the observation “all countries except Israel”.
The removal of the observation has been done to maintain international standards of Bangladeshi e-passports and does not imply any change of Bangladesh’s foreign policy towards the Middle East, it said.
The government of Bangladesh has condemned the recent atrocities inflicted upon the civilians by the occupation forces of Israel in al-Aqsa mosque compound and at Gaza.
Read: Removal of "except Israel" from passports exposed govt’s amoral position: BNP
Bangladesh reiterates its principled position concerning the two-State Solution of the Palestine-Israel conflict in light of the UN resolutions recognising pre-1967 borders and East Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine, said the MoFA.