special
Overcrowded BNP office sells 1,336 nomination papers on first day
Dhaka, Nov 12 (UNB) – Abuzz with party activists and leaders after a long time, BNP’s Nayapaltan central office sold 1,336 nomination papers on the first day on Monday among those who want to contest the 11th parliamentary elections with its tickets.
BNP makes real political comeback after 2014 ‘blunder’: Experts
Dhaka, Nov 12 (UNB – BNP’s decision to contest the 11th general election with two alliances in its fold, one spearheaded by Dr Kamal Hossain, is seen by political analysts as its real political revival at a time when its chairperson Khaleda Zia is in jail with her election fate hanging in the balance.
Swinton to Shirshendu, glimpses from DLF ending
Dhaka, Nov 10 (UNB) – Tilda Swinton was asked a question which perhaps been echoed a 100 times before in the Abdul Karim Shahitya Bisharad Auditorium.
Raw jute crisis hampers production in Khulna-Jashore region mills
Khulna, Nov 10 (UNB) – Production in nine state-owned jute mills in Khulna-Jessore region is being hampered due to crisis of raw jute while the stock of unsold jute products is increasing.
DLF Day 2: Breaking bad for a better society
Dhaka, Nov 9 (UNB) – The second day of Dhaka Literature Festival 2018 filled the premises of Bangla Academy on Friday with the same amount of enthusiasm from visitors thronging the venue and attending speakers and authors as the first.
A day at Dhaka Lit Fest 2018
Dhaka, Nov 9 (UNB) - Until recently, the Ekushey Book Fair was the only literature festival of note taking place annually in Bangladesh. With the advent of the Dhaka Literature Festival though, DLF for short, that can be said to have changed definitively.
How much the election going to cost the nation? Let’s see what EC says
Dhaka, Nov 7 (UNB) – The Election Commission (EC), now awfully busy to hold the 11th national election, says it will require an amount of Tk 700 crore to arrange polls, which is more than double than that of the 10th general election.
A beacon of hope for the visually impaired at DU
Dhaka, Nov 6 (UNB) - The Resource Centre for the Visually Impaired Students of Dhaka University is a study centre for the blind students of the university. Located on the ground floor of the administrative building of the university’s Central Library, it was established in 2007 through a joint initiative by the DU authority and Sight Savers International; an NGO that works for visually impaired students worldwide.
The story of a self-made man
Naogaon, Nov 6 (UNB) – Sohel Rana completed his graduation and started an integrated farm in his village Rupgram, located in Dibor union under Patnitola upazila of Naogaon, that has become a source of encouragement for the unemployed graduates in his locality.
Bangladeshi products likely to get duty-free access to EAEU countries
Dhaka, Nov 6 (UNB) – Bangladeshi products are likely to get duty-free access to the five member countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).
Dhaka received such indication at the recently held maiden meeting of the Bangladesh-Russia Intergovernmental Commission on trade and other issues in Moscow.
Bangladeshi officials who attended the meeting said Moscow has showed a positive attitude towards a proposal placed by Dhaka to increase its export to Russia and other EAEU member countries. “But all depends on its persuasion and improvement of the quality of goods,” said an official who attended the meeting.
Official sources said during discussion on trade cooperation, the Bangladesh side proposed including goods from Chapters 30, 61, 62, 63 and 64 of Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System in the list of goods originating from least developed countries which are eligible for tariff preferences during its importation into the territories of the EAEU countries.
In response to the proposal, Russia suggested that Bangladesh send its official request to the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) to increase its export to the member countries of the economic bloc.
A 16-member delegation from Bangladesh, headed by the Economic Relations Division secretary, attended the meeting held on October 22-24 in Moscow to discuss various issues, including boosting trade and cooperation in different sectors between the two nations.
The EAEU, officially launched in 2015, is a political and economic union of states located in central and northern Eurasia and its member countries are Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
During the meeting, the Russian side informed the Bangladesh delegation that amendments to the list should be approved by the Council of the Eurasian Economic Council, which is possible only with the support of all member states of EAEU, said the sources.
The officials at the ERD said if Dhaka gets the approval, it will facilitate Bangladesh’s main export items like readymade garments, leather and ceramics to get duty-free access to the five EAEU member countries.
Since the establishment of the Eurasian Customs Union in 2010, trade between the EAEU member states rose sharply.
The available statistics show mutual trade was $ 63.1 billion in 2011, 33.9 percent more than in 2010. In 2012, mutual trade was $67.9 billion and combined exports reached $593.7 billion, while imports were $340.9 billion.
Officials said if Bangladesh gets the opportunity to export its goods to the EAEU countries, it will tremendously boost its export.
According to official sources, the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation was formed in 2017 with the signing of a deal between Dhaka and Moscow on March 1 in 2017.
As per the deal, the Intergovernmental Commission was formed comprising 20 members from each nation.
Two members from the private sector also joined the recent meeting of the commission. They are Habib Ullah Dawn from FBCCI and Aniruddha Kumar Roy, managing director of RMM Group, who represents Russian company Gazprom in Bangladesh.