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Chief of Army Staff (CAS) General Aziz Ahmed returned home from Maldives on Monday upon completion of his official visit at the invitation of Chief of Defence Force of Maldives Major General Abdulla Shamaal.

During the visit, Chief of Army Staff met Chief of Defence Forces of Maldives, Defence Minister of Maldives, other senior officials of the Maldives National Defence Force and the Bangladesh High Commissioner to the Maldives.

General Aziz Ahmed attended a formal meeting with Maldivian Defence Minister Mariya Ahmed Didi.

On behalf of the President of Maldives, the Defence Minister conveyed his greetings to the President and Prime Minister of Bangladesh. In reply, on behalf of the President and the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, General Aziz Ahmed conveyed best wishes to the President of Maldives.

The meeting discussed ways to further strengthen mutual cooperation and good relations between the two countries.

Mariya Ahmed Didi gratefully remembers the contribution of Bangladeshi citizens living in the Maldives in various fields. She also discussed the possibility of how the country could benefit through an organization like the Bangladesh Machine Tools Factory (BMTF) run by the Bangladesh Army.

Also, Maldives Defence Minister sought the assistance of the Bangladesh Army in enhancing its response to various natural disasters in the Maldives and enhancing its rescue capabilities in which Bangladesh is able to make a positive contribution.

Later, General Aziz Ahmed attended a bilateral meeting with the Chief of Defence Force of Maldives Major General Abdulla Shamaal and other senior officials at the Maldives Defence Forces Headquarters.

Major General Abdulla Shamaal thanked the Bangladesh Army Chief for accepting his invitation. He also thanked General Aziz Ahmed for sending a medical team of the Bangladesh Army to the Maldives with medicines and necessary equipment during the Covid-19 epidemic.

Mentionable that at present an army medical team of 18 people from the government of Bangladesh is providing corona vaccination activities in Maldives and is playing a special role in the vaccination activities of Bangladeshis in Maldives.

The meeting also discussed in detail issues related to various bilateral military interests. During the meeting, a briefing was given to General Aziz Ahmed on the organization and activities of the Maldives Defence Force.

Both the Maldivian Defence Minister and the Chief of Defence Forces expressed interest in sending troops to Bangladesh in various higher military educational institutions including Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC) and Military Institute of Science and Technology (MIST) to train members of the Maldivian Armed Forces. They hoped that the Bangladesh Army would respond positively in this regard. This would further strengthen the military ties between the two countries.

Army Chief General Aziz Ahmed discusses conducting joint counter-terrorism exercises with the Maldives Defence Force, which Bangladesh Army has been conducting with United States, United Kingdom, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and India.

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Discussions at various levels have revealed that the Maldivian government has undertaken an airstrip construction project with significant facilities on their ‘Kadhdhoo’ island and during their current visit, they have held discussions with expert engineers of the Bangladesh Army.

General Aziz Ahmed thinks that there is ample opportunity to provide necessary construction assistance through the Engineer Construction Brigade of the Bangladesh Army for the implementation of this mega project.

Bangladesh’s shipping lines are also able to provide full support in transporting construction materials from Bangladesh. However, detailed discussions and visits are needed between the two countries in this regard.


Later, General Aziz Ahmed visited the Bangladesh High Commission in Maldives and met the Bangladesh High Commissioner to the Maldives and other senior officials.

On behalf of the High Commission, Chief of Army Staff General Aziz Ahmed was given a briefing on issues of mutual interest between Maldives and Bangladesh.

Apart from the Maldivian and Bangladeshi armies, the visit is expected to further strengthen the friendly diplomatic relations between the two countries. During the visit to the Maldives, General Aziz Ahmed led a nine-member army team.


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Bangladesh and Oman have discussed formation of a Joint Business Council as the two countries see "huge potential" for expanding economic partnership.

The two sides -- at the first ever Foreign Office Consultation (FOC) held virtually on Tuesday -- also discussed possibilities of investment in High Tech Park and economic zones of Bangladesh.

Both the sides agreed upon new areas of cooperation which includes maritime affairs, diplomatic academies, think-tanks and start-ups and desalinization.

Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen led the 12-member Bangladesh delegation including representatives from the Ministry Home Affairs, Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, Armed Forces Division and Bangladesh Ambassador to Oman.

Undersecretary Sheikh Khalifa Alharthy led the Omani delegation.

Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen extended special thanks to the Government of the Sultanate of Oman for taking good care of the Bangladesh Community in Oman during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Undersecretary Sheikh Khalifa Alharthy appreciated the contribution of Bangladesh community to the economies of the both the countries.

While appreciating the generosity of Bangladesh for hosting 1.1 million forcefully displaced Rohingya people, he expressed Oman's unflinching support on Rohingya issue.

Both sides agreed to work closely to address the ongoing challenges that emanated from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The agenda of the consultations focused on the ongoing political relations, economic cooperation, capacity building and training of Bangladeshi workforce, consular issues, and people-to-people contacts.

They agreed on the importance of health and food security in the coming days.

Both sides exchanged views on regional and multilateral issues and enhance the close cooperation in the multilateral fora.

 

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Bangladesh on Sunday blasted western countries for providing $24 billion bank guarantee to Myanmar, which is accused of conduct genocide against the Rohingya community and other ethnic minority people.

‘They talk big on human rights issue but what they are doing is contradictory to their policy. Seven banks are providing $24 billion guarantee to Myanmar and these banks are from the western countries who are very vocal against human rights violation’ Bangladesh Foreign Minister told newsmen in the afternoon.

It is shocking and you the media should raise its voice on this issue, said he.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh on Sunday urged the international community that it will shift another 80 thousand Rohingyas to Bhasanchar within the shortest possible time.

It also urged the international development partners and organisations including the UNHCR to be more active to ensure all inhabitable arrangements and fundamental rights for the Rohingya people forcibly displaced from Myanmar.

Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary Dr Ahmad Kaikaus made the call at a meeting with ambassadors, high commissioners and heads of delegations of various international organisations held at the Prime Minister’s Office, said a spokesperson of the PMO.

Dr Ahmad Kaikaus presided over the meeting that was convened to discuss the Rohingya issue.

The meeting was informed that the government has taken initiative to shift more 80,000 Rohingya refugees staying at various camps in Coxs Bazar to Bhashanchar within the shortest possible time.

In this regard, the meeting was also informed that more than 18,000 Rohingya people have already been taken to Bhashanchar, while process are on to shift the remaining refugees soon.

At the meeting, the Principal Secretary said, the government is doing everything possible to ensure all basic needs of the Rohingya including better liveable places for them.

Besides, ambassadors and high commissioners of various countries including USA, UK, Japan, Australia, France, Canada and Netherlands as well as heads of delegations of international organisations like European Union and UNHCR joined the meeting.

PMO Secretary Tofazzal Hossain Miah and secretaries concerned were also present in the meeting.

 

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Bangladesh has provided Tk65 crore to Sudan as debt relief in order to help the country combat poverty.

The Ministry of Finance made the announcement through a media release this afternoon, saying the government responded to a call made by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Sudan, a member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), has been battered by excessive pressure of loan repayment. Earlier last year, Bangladesh had provided Tk8 crore to Somalia to help the country battle rising poverty.

 

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Bangladesh is keen to expand its ties with Asean countries encompassing areas like trade, investment, physical connectivity, defence cooperation and track-2 diplomacy, said Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen on Wednesday.

He sought support from the Asean countries to Bangladesh’s application for becoming a sectoral dialogue partner.

The Foreign Secretary held a virtual discussion with the Heads of Missions from different Asean countries in Dhaka through the Bangladeshi App Boithok and discussed various issues of cooperation.

This was for the first time that the foreign diplomats successfully used the virtual meeting app developed by the ICT Ministry of Bangladesh.

The Foreign Secretary welcomed the Asean ambassadors to the meeting and said Bangladesh highly values its relations with the South East Asian countries.

The Foreign Secretary also shortly briefed them on Bangladesh’s Covid-19 management and the current scenario.

The Asean ambassadors shared their respective countries’ experiences with Covid-19. They informed that Bangladesh’s application to become Asean sectoral dialogue partner is under positive consideration in their capitals. They assured Bangladesh of their full support to its bid.

Secretary (East) Ambassador Mashfee Binte Shams, Secretary (West) Ambassador Shabbir Ahmad Chowdhury and Directors General of Myanmar and South East Asia Wings also joined the meeting.

 

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SL to negotiate preferential trade deal with Bangladesh​

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in discussion with Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during his official visit to Bangladesh in March
  • Cabinet of Ministers grants approval for Trade Ministry to initiate discussions
  • B’desh already appointed high-powered negotiations committee
  • After PTA, both countries expected to explore possibility of free trade deal
  • SL has positive trade balance with Bangladesh
The Cabinet nod has been received to commence negotiations for a preferential trade agreement (PTA) with Bangladesh to bolster trade flows between the two countries.

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina in March mutually agreed to enter into a free trade accord for strengthening economic relationships between the two countries, by initially focusiong on the possibility of entering into a PTA with a short list of goods.

Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers on Monday approved the proposal furnished by Trade Minister Bandula Gunawardana to initiate discussions with the relevant authorities of Bangladesh to enter into the proposed PTA.
Bangladesh government has already formed a high-powered ‘trade negotiation committee’ and has requested the Sri Lankan government to inform details of the country’s trade negotiation committee to initiate negotiations shortly, according to news reports from Bangladesh.

Bangladesh government was hoping to sign the proposed PTA between the two countries as early as next month. Recently, Bangladesh’s Central Bank approved US$ 200 million currency swap facility to support Sri Lanka’s depleting foreign exchange reserves. Earlier, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were planning to initiate negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) and a joint feasibility study for the proposed FTA was conducted in 2018.

However, Sri Lanka’s trade negotiations and other trade-related developments came into a grinding halt in late 2018 due to the volatile political environment at the time.

Currently, Both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh act as stakeholder member countries of the SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement (SAPTA), South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA), Global System of trade Preference (GSTP), Asia – Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA) and Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).

“However, trade movements between the two countries lie at a minimum level despite the special provisions under the aforementioned accords,” the Government Information Department stated.

The bilateral trade peaked to around US$ 170 million between the two countries in 2018, with Sri Lanka exporting US$ 133 million worth goods to Bangladesh while importing US$ 37 million worth goods from Bangladesh.

 

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Bangladesh has become the fourth largest destination for exports from India overtaking Hong Kong in the first three months of the ongoing calendar year, according to Indian Commerce Ministry data.

India's exports to Bangladesh rose 46 percent on an annual basis at 3.16 billion USD during the January to March period, securing the fourth position after the US (15.41 billion USD), China (5.92 billion USD) and UAE (5.34 billion USD), reports our New Delhi correspondent quoting the data.

Indian merchandise exports to Bangladesh, which saw a 35.14 percent year-on-year growth to 0.95 billion USD in January and 17 percent to 0.94 billion USD in February, rose to 1.26 billion USD in March.

Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO) Director General Ajay Sahai said two main reasons for increased export to Bangladesh is a sharp rise in export of farm produce and seamless movement of goods from India to the country via rail and waterways compared to other export destinations in the US and Europe due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Major contributors to the increase in exports to Bangladesh in 2020-21 are petroleum products and agricultural commodities like rice (other than basmati), according to India Exim Bank's Chief General Manager (Research and Analysis) David Sinate.

Exports also jumped due to a sharp reduction in import duty on rice (from 62.5 percent to 25 percent) by Bangladesh.




Burmese defense attaché discussed bilateral issues with Bangladesh coast guard chief at BCG headquarter.

 

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Germany will provide EUR 339.54 million or approximately Tk 3463.3 crore technical and financial cooperation support to Bangladesh for development projects in different sectors.

Bangladesh and Germany on Sunday signed the financial and technical agreements on development cooperation, said the German Embassy in Dhaka on Monday.

The cooperation under the agreements will take place in the areas of renewable energy and energy efficiency (EUR237.5 million EUR), sustainable urban development (EUR 30 million EUR), good governance (EUR 5.5 million), displacement and migration (EUR 19 million), training and sustainable growth for decent jobs, (EUR42.5 million EUR) and protection of biodiversity (EUR 5.04 million).

Following the negotiations of the two governments, the available amount totalling EUR 339.54 million (approximately Tk 3463.3 crore) has been allocated with EUR47.04 million for technical cooperation and EUR 292.5million for financial cooperation.

Fatima Yasmin, secretary at Economic Relations Divisions and Peter Fahrenholtz, Ambassador of Germany to Bangladesh, signed the agreements on behalf of the two governments.

The signing ceremony was attended by high officials from the German Embassy in Dhaka, the German Development Bank KfW, the German technical cooperation agencies GIZ and BGR, as well as from Bangladesh government.

‘We are glad to continue our support for the Bangladeshi success story,’ the German ambassador said.

 

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BANGLADESH NATIONAL DEFENCE COLLEGE STUDENTS ON STUDY TOUR IN RWANDA

Kigali, 22 June 2021

A delegation of 47 Senior Military Officers from Bangladesh National Defence College is in Rwanda for a study tour from 20 to 24 June 2021. The group is composed of students from different nationalities including Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Nepal, Indonesia and South Sudan.

The delegation led by Maj Gen Ashraful Islam paid a courtesy call to Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) Air Force Chief of Staff, Lt Gen Jean Jacques Mupenzi after which they received a presentation on the RDF roles and organisation.

The Head of delegation who is also Bangladesh NDC Senior Directing Staff said that the purpose of their tour was to learn about Rwanda’s socio-economic development as well as Rwanda Defence Force organisation.
‘’We are also grateful to learn about the history of Rwanda and particularly the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and how the country recovered from that tragic history.” he said.

Yesterday, the delegation visited Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre where they paid respect to the victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

Today they visited the Campaign against Genocide Museum and also had a briefing on RDF health care, welfare and production projects presented to them jointly by Zigama CSS, Military Medical Insurance and Rwanda Military Hospital.

They will also visit other key government and public institutions before returning back.

 

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Iran produces bitumen but can’t legally export the item due to international sanctions.

Some companies in China and some other countries facilitate the exports of Iranian bitumen. Transfer of bitumen from one ship to another and packaging take place in United Arab Emirates (UAE). When the bitumen is being exported to any country, it carries a tag “Country of origin UAE).

The influx of Iranian bitumen into Bangladesh through Chattogram port has been going on unabated, flouting the ban imposed by the commerce ministry.

The roads and highways have to bear the brunt of the use of substandard bitumen imported from Iran, labelled as the product from the UAE.

An investigation reveals that the Iranian bitumen is brought to Chattogram port by Iranian flag carrier ships. The authorities concerned are worried about the entry of Iranian bitumen, defying the commerce ministry’s order.

Economists and experts opined that the import of Iranian product by Iranian ship may put Bangladesh under international pressure. The country’s economy may face a detrimental effect of such illegal imports from Iran, which is under international economic sanctions.

Sources said some bitumen-laden ships have anchored in Chattogram port recently. A few of the ships have already been unloaded. On June 17, a ship of importing agency ‘Jahangir and Others’ reached the port. On June 14, another ship loaded with Iranian bitumen for National Development Engineering Ltd also anchored. It has been learnt that both the ships were from Iran.

Iranian flag carrier ship “NEGAR” carried the bitumen for National Development Engineering Ltd.

The ship registered in Iran bears IMO number 9165839. The 23-year old ship has the capacity of carrying 23,000 tonnes of goods. A tracking service shows that the ship left Chattogram port on June 19 and is now heading towards a Malaysian port.

Jahangir and Brothers has shown an invoice value of $832,301 against the import. The official exporter of the bitumen is Raj Specialist Chemicals Pvt Ltd. Chowdhury Syndicate of Chattogram acted the agent. Rosner Holding Co Ltd exported bitumen from another ship. The invoice value of the bitumen has been shown as $417,855. The bitumen carried by both the ships is of 60-70 grades.

Raj Specialist Chemicals Pvt Ltd is an Indian company with head office in Chennai. It procures bitumen from Iran and supplies it to the importers. It is also involved in the re-export of bitumen from the UAE.

Rosner Holding Co Ltd, a Hong Kong-based company, has offices in Shanghai of China, Netherlands and Ethiopia. It has no office in UAE. In utter peculiarity, the bitumen of National Development Engineering shows Rosner Holding as the exporter.

Bangladesh consulate in UAE confirmed that UAE does not produce bitumen. Basically, the country refines bitumen collected from neighbouring countries. Refilling stations are also located in Abu Dhabi, Hamriya, Fujairah and Ajman.

Various companies of China, India and other countries have established depots near UAE port. Iranian bitumen is stored in the depots and later sent to various destinations with the tag “country of origin UAE.”

Talking to the journalists, the Sales manager of Global Infinity General Trading, a UAE-based bitumen exporter, said UAE does not have any bitumen manufacturing company. In fact, they procure bitumen from Iran and change the label as a product of the UAE.

Iranian sources claimed that the country produces and exports bitumen.

A sales officer of Isfahan Bitumen Production Company of Iran admitted that they export their product to Bangladesh and other countries via UAE regularly. Following international sanction, Iranian bitumen companies have to rely on any UAE-based firms for exports.

The exporters of UAE are trading Iranian bitumen as a product of their own country through forgery.

The influx of Iranian bitumen cannot be stopped due to the influence of a syndicate in Bangladesh.

It has been learnt that the import of substandard bitumen continues despite restrictions imposed by the government. The importers manage to release the goods without quality testing. Accordingly, PHP Group and Elias and Brothers have released 11,000 tonnes of Iranian bitumen from the port recently.

Joint Commissioner of Chattogram Tofayel Ahmed said “Imported bitumen is being tested after government order. We will not compromise with the quality.”

About the recent release of Iranian bitumen, he denied making any comment.

“The commerce ministry officials are the right persons to comment on this issue. We permit the release of imported goods only after the quality assessment is done. I cannot say anything more,” he said.

 

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The plans of military and military-technical cooperation between Moscow and Dhaka by the COVID-19 pandemic will be implemented, said Colonel General Alexander Fomin at a meeting with the Bangladesh Senior Defense Secretary Abu Hen Mostof Kamal.

In turn, Abu Hen Mostof Kamal noted that Bangladesh is very grateful to Russia for their help.

′′ We will never forget the assistance received to us from the Russian Federation, the Russian state during our confrontation for liberation ", said Bangladesh Senior Secretary.

 

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