Dhaka, Sept 13 (UNB) – Newly elected Australian Prime Minister Scott John Morrison has expressed his country’s willingness to strengthen bilateral ties with Bangladesh.

“I look forward to working with you (Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina) to strengthen the bilateral relationship,” said the Australian Prime Minister in a letter sent to his Bangladesh counterpart.

The letter, signed on September 1, was sent thanking Prime Minister Hasina for her greeting letter on Morrison’s appointment as the Prime Minister of Australia.

Morrison said he is pleased to note the strength and breadth of the relationship between the two countries. “Our two-way trading relationship grew by more than 11 percent last year and we cooperate closely in counter-terrorism and tackling other transnational crimes.”

He said the 49,000 people of Bangladeshi descent in Australia make a highly valued contribution to the Australian society.

“I acknowledge Bangladesh’s leadership in response to the Rohingya crisis,” said the Australian Prime Minister.

He noted that Australia has committed $70 million humanitarian relief, most of which has been directed to provide food, shelter and other essential services to those displaced people.

On August 27, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina congratulated Australia’s newly elected Prime Minister Scott Morrison on his assumption of office and wished his successful tenure.

Scott Morrison was sworn in on August 24 as the 30th Prime Minister of Australia.
 

Dhaka, Sept 13 (UNB) – Bangladesh High Commissioner to Nigeria Md Shameem Ahsan visited the office of the popular daily ‘The Leadership’ which wants to project Bangladesh in a positive way in Nigeria. 

Chief Operating Officer (COO) Bamidele Fanimo along with senior journalists of the daily warmly welcomed him on Tuesday.

While welcoming the High Commissioner for his maiden visit, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Abuja-based Daily said the flow of information is important to strengthen bilateral relations between the two friendly countries. 

He assured that his media house will be happy to project Bangladesh in a positive manner in Nigeria, said the High Commission on Wednesday.  

The High Commissioner in his remarks thanked the COO for his interest in Bangladesh and his readiness to project the country in a positive manner and expressed his desire for closer relations between the High Commission and the media house. 

Ahsan took the opportunity to brief them about the emergence of Bangladesh under the charismatic leadership of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. 

He also talked about the development journey of Bangladesh under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. 

Ahsan also talked about the tremendous success of Bangladesh made at home and abroad. 

His presentation generated interest about Bangladesh and he replied the queries of the attendees. 

The High Commissioner handed over a copy of “The Unfinished Memoirs” of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and publications on Bangladesh’s history, liberation war, culture and Rohingya issue. 

Senior journalists, including Executive Directors of the Daily, were, among others, present. 

Dhaka, Sept 13 (UNB) - Chinese Consul General in Kolkata Ma Zhanwu on Wednesday said his country was mooting a bullet train service between Kunming and Kolkata, traversing through Myanmar and Bangladesh, reports NDTV.

With joint efforts of India and China, a high-speed rail link could be established between the two cities, Zhanwu said at a conference.

"It will only take a few hours to reach Kolkata from Kunming if the rail link becomes a reality," he asserted.

The envoy also said that Myanmar and Bangladesh would benefit from the project.

"We may have a cluster of industries along the route. That increases the possibility of economic development of countries involved in the 2,800 km-long project," he maintained.

The project had also found mention at the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) meet in Kunming in 2015, he said.

The rail route was aimed at boosting trade flow in the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) corridor, Zhanwu said, adding that his country has been striving for the revival of Silk Route to increase connectivity from Kunming to Kolkata.

Dhaka, Sept 12 (UNB) – Bangladesh has requested for early establishment of direct air link between Dhaka and Hanoi and easing Vietnamese visa for the Bangladeshi businesspeople and tourists. 

Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque made the request during a meeting with Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh at the Vietnam Foreign Ministry, Hanoi on Wednesday.

Referring to the friendly ties between Bangladesh and Vietnam, Shahidul emphasised on exploiting the complementarities between the two countries in trade, investment, agriculture, SMEs and other areas of cooperation. 

The Vietnamese Foreign Minister responded saying Hanoi attaches value to its ties with Dhaka; and looked forward to exploring potential areas of cooperation in concrete terms, said the Foreign Ministry here. 

Highlighting that the annual bilateral trade has already surpassed US$ one billion mark, he emphasised on early convening of the Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) as well as Joint Trade Commission in Vietnam. 

Both of them also agreed on greater exchange of visits at the official level and deepening of people-to-people contact.  

The Foreign Secretary, earlier, addressed a discussion on ‘Missed Opportunity: Diaspora Networks’ at the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual Asean Summit and called for re-looking at diaspora.

He called for the origin societies to value their diaspora across countries as “asset” for the country to attract and mobilise them in the development of the origin country. 

The Foreign Secretary stressed on public policies to be proactive and flexible, societies to be welcoming and facilitating to attract and sustain the members of their diaspora in respective countries. 

He cited various polices adopted by the Bangladesh government in engaging Bangladeshi diaspora from the world over in its development. 

The discussion was moderated by Reuters Associate Editor Clara Ferreira Marques and joined by Jose Isidro Camacho, Vice-Chairman of Asia-Pacific Credit Suisse AG, Professor of London School of Economics and Political Science Lutfey Siddiqi.

The Foreign Secretary discussed with Borge Brende, President of the WEF, issues of interests between Bangladesh and the WEF. 

He had a TV interview by the CNN on the Rohingya issue where he highlighted a range of humanitarian and generous steps taken by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in addressing the issue, situation of the Rohingya people in Bangladesh and the status of their repatriation in light of his recent visit to Myanmar. 
 

Dhaka, Sept 12 (UNB) - Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury on Wednesday said the garment industry has demonstrated a ‘revolution’ in the country following timely steps taken by the government and working plans that boosted its growth. 

“The growth of the textile industry has generated huge employment opportunities, especially for women, apart from contributing to the economic development of the country,” she said. 

The Speaker was addressing the inaugural ceremony of 19th Textech Bangladesh 2018, 14th Dhaka International Yarn & Fabric Show 2018 and 33rd Dye+Chem Bangladesh 2018 at International Convention City Bashundhara in the city.

She said the garment industry is now contributing 15 percent to the GDP (Gross Domestic Products) with amounts to US$ 30 billion.

Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Harsh Vardhan Shringla said India's development cooperation with Bangladesh has grown tremendously in size and coverage over the last few years. 

“India is a committed development partner of Bangladesh,” he said.

State Minister, Ministry of Textile and Jute Mirza Azam, President, Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI) Md Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, President, Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Rudra Chatterjee, Vice President, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BKMEA). Fazlee Shameem Ehsan, Vice President, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BGMEA) Mohammed Nasir and President & Group Managing Director, CEMS Global-USA & Asia Pacific, Meherul N Islam were present.

With the extension of a third Line of Credit of US$ 5 billion during the visit of Prime Minister of Bangladesh to India in April 2017, the total amount extended by India under Lines of Credit to Bangladesh stands at US$ 8 billion which is the largest extended by India to any country, said the High Commissioner.

Bangladesh readymade garments industry has emerged as the leading contributor to the Bangladesh economy. 

With exports worth US$ 30.61 billion, the garments industry accounts for nearly 84 percent of Bangladesh’s total exports and contributes nearly 15 percent to its GDP. Bangladesh is also the second largest exporter of garments in the world. 

Shringla said Bangladesh’s exports of readymade garments to India have also seen substantial growth since receiving duty-free quota and free access to the Indian market in 2011. 

“Bangladesh’s RMG exports in the year 2017-18 jumped by 115 percent to USD 278.68 million from USD 129.81 million in 2016-17. India is now emerging as one of the fastest growing markets for Bangladesh’s garment exporters,” he said.

The High Commissioner said India is also one of the biggest sources of raw materials and machineries for the Bangladesh RMG industry. 

“A large part of India’s exports to India consist of inputs for the Bangladesh industry. Around one-fourth of Bangladesh’s demand for raw cotton and yarn is met by Indian suppliers,” he said.

Textile machinery exports from India to the world are also witnessing a remarkable growth. 

Shringla said Indian exports grew by 20.03 percent to US$ 739.49 million in 2017-18 over the previous fiscal year. 

Apart from Bangladesh, India is exporting textile machinery to several countries including Germany, Netherlands, Indonesia, Italy, the UAE and Turkey. Indian textile engineering industry has a large production capacity for textile machinery, parts and accessories with over fourteen hundred units spread all over India. 

Indian Chamber of Commerce arranged an India pavilion with the participation of over 50 Indian companies from textile engineering sector in Textech Bangladesh. 

“As a neighbour, India is ideally positioned to provide textile machinery and other raw materials to Bangladesh at lower prices and delivery times,” said the High Commissioner.