PM
Dhaka International Trade Fair kicks off at Purbachal
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday inaugurated the 26th edition of Dhaka International Trade Fair (DITF) declaring ICT products and services as the “products of the year 2022”.
The largest annual commercial and trade event of the country is being held at its permanent venue – “Bangabandhu Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Centre '' – at Purbachal on the outskirts of the capital for the first time.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the fair virtually from her official residence Ganobhaban.
Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi presided over the function jointly organised by the Commerce Ministry and the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).
READ: Dhaka International Trade Fair begins Saturday in Purbachal
Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh and President of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) Md Jashim Uddin and Vice Chairman of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) AHM Ahsan also spoke at the event.
This year a total of 225 stalls, including 23 pavilions, 27 mini pavilions, 160 stalls and 15 food stalls, have been leased out to various local and international organisations.
The venue will feature a prayer room, children's play area, office rooms, medical rooms, guestrooms for officials and store rooms.
Previously, it used to be held at Agargaon but it was too small to accommodate the large number of participants and visitors.
The gate of the international trade fair will open at 10 am every day and close at 9 pm. On government holidays, the fair will run till 10pm. Ticket price for the adults has been fixed at Tk 40 while at Tk 20 for minors.
The government will provide a transport facility as 30 BRTC buses have been pressed into service in this regard. These will run from Kuril flyover to the fair venue from 8am to 10pm every day. Visitors will be able to travel in these buses with a minimum fare of Tk 30.
PM Hasina publishes SSC results
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday published the results of Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and its equivalent examinations-2021.
She published the results, joining a function at Bangabandhu International Conference (BICC) virtually from her official residence Ganobhaban in the morning.
On behalf of the Prime Minister, Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni received the results of the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and its equivalent examinations-2021 and related statistics from the chairmen of all the education boards.
Read: SSC, HSC’s 2022 exams likely in mid-year: Dipu Moni
This year, 2,278,098 students –-1,155,096 boys and 1,123,002 girls-- took part in the SSC and its equivalent examinations from 29,035 institutes under 11 education boards in the country.
Read: SSC, equivalent exams finally begin
The SSC and its equivalent examinations started on November 14 and completed on November 23 last with some 2.278 million students appearing in the exams.
PM opens distribution of free textbooks among students
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday formally inaugurated the distribution of free textbooks among students up to the secondary level for the academic year of 2022.
She opened the textbook distribution, joining a ceremony in the city’s Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) virtually from her official residence Ganobhaban.
On behalf of the Prime Minister, Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni and State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Md Zakir Hossen handed over textbooks to some students of primary and secondary levels at the function.
Also read:Maintain Covid precautions: PM Hasina
Some 347 million copies of textbooks will be distributed among some 41.7 students up to the secondary level from pre-primary level across the country in the 2022 academic year.
The textbooks have already been sent to every upazila in the country.
Also read:Curb food adulteration with an iron hand: PM Hasina
Deputy Minister for Education Mohibul Hassan Chowdhury, and Secondary and Higher Education Secretary Md Mahbub Hossain also spoke at the function.
PM returns home from Maldives
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday returned home wrapping up her six-day bilateral visit to the Maldives.
A special VVIP flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport here at 5:30pm, PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim told UNB.
Earlier, the aircraft departed Velana International Airport, Male at 1:20pm (local time).
Also raed: Launch of US-Bangla flights strengthened Dhaka-Male air connectivity: PM
On December 22 last, the Prime Minister went to the Maldives at the invitation of the county's President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.
During her visit, Sheikh Hasina had separate meetings with Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Vice-President Faisal Naseem, Speaker of its national parliament Mohammed Nasheed and Chief Justice Uz Ahmed Muthasim Adnan.
Three instruments -- one agreement on avoidance of double taxation and two MoUs on cooperation in health and sports sectors—were signed.
A joint communique was issued following the bilateral talks and the handing over ceremony of the instruments.
Also read: PM leaves Maldives for home
Bangladesh also gifted 13 military vehicles to the Maldives as a token of friendship between the two South Asian nations.
The Prime Minister addressed the Maldivian parliament and also virtually joined a community reception accorded to her by the Bangladeshi community living in the island nation.
PM leaves Maldives for home
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday left Male for home, wrapping up her six-day bilateral visit to the Maldives.
"A special VVIP flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her entourage departed Velana International Airport, Male at 1:20pm (local time)," Prime Minister's Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim told UNB.
The flight is scheduled to land at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport here around 6:00pm on Monday.
On December 22 last, the Prime Minister went to the Maldives at the invitation of the county's President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.
Read: Be partners in Bangladesh’s development story, Hasina to Maldivian entrepreneurs
During her visit, Sheikh Hasina had separate meetings with Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Vice-President Faisal Naseem, Speaker of its national parliament Mohammed Nasheed and Chief Justice Uz Ahmed Muthasim Adnan.
Three instruments–one agreement on avoidance of double taxation and two MoUs on cooperation in health and sports sectors—were signed during the visit.
A joint communique was issued following the bilateral talks and the handing over ceremony of the instruments.
Bangladesh also gifted 13 military vehicles to the Maldives as a token of friendship between the two South Asian nations.
Read: Bangladesh-Maldives ties must grow further: Hasina
The Prime Minister addressed the Maldivian parliament and also virtually joined a community reception accorded to her by the Bangladeshi community living in the island country.
PM to return home Monday from Maldives
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will return home on Monday afternoon wrapping up her six-day bilateral visit to the Maldives.
"A special VVIP flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her entourage members will depart Velana International Airport, Male at 1:00pm (local time) tomorrow," Prime Minister's Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim told UNB.
The flight is scheduled to land at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, here at 5:45pm on Monday.
Also read: Be partners in Bangladesh’s development story, Hasina to Maldivian entrepreneurs
On December 22 last, the Prime Minister went to the Maldives at the invitation of its President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.
During her visit, Hasina had separate meetings with Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Maldivian Vice-President Faisal Naseem, Speaker of its national parliament Mohammed Nasheed and Chief Justice Uz Ahmed Muthasim Adnan.
Three instruments–one agreement on avoidance of double taxation and two MoUs on cooperation in health and sports sectors—were signed.
A joint communique was issued following the bilateral talks and the handing over ceremony of the instruments.
Also read: Bangladesh wants friendly relations with all countries: PM
Bangladesh also gifted 13 military vehicles to the Maldives as a token of friendship between the two South Asian nations.
The Prime Minister addressed the Maldivian parliament and also virtually joined a community reception accorded to her by the Bangladeshi community living in the island country.
Launch of US-Bangla flights strengthened Dhaka-Male air connectivity: PM
The commencement of direct flights between Dhaka and Male by Bangladeshi private carrier US-Bangla Airlines has strengthened air connectivity between the two countries, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said during her visit to the Maldives Thursday.
"Our national carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines is also going to introduce flights with the Maldives via India's Chennai. We hope there will be more people-to-people contacts and exchange of tourism cooperation due to the flight operation on this route," she added.
Read: Biman to introduce flights with Maldives: Hasina
To meet the long-standing demand of more than 1 lakh expatriate Bangladeshis in the Maldives, private carrier US-Bangla started operating flights on the Dhaka-Male-Dhaka route, three days a week, on November 19, Md Kamrul Islam, general manager (public relations) of US-Bangla Group, said.
Direct flights are expected to play an important role in elevating tourism and trade relations between Bangladesh and the Maldives.
The minimum return fare of US-Bangla's Dhaka-Male-Dhaka route has been fixed at Tk45,545.
Be partners in Bangladesh’s development story, Hasina to Maldivian entrepreneurs
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday called upon both the public and private sectors of the Maldives to be partners in Bangladesh’s development journey in the next 50 for mutual benefits.“I call upon both the government and private sectors of the Maldives to be our partners in the development journey in the next fifty years for mutual benefits,” she said.Sheikh Hasina made the call while speaking at the People’s Majlis, Maldives (the Maldivian Parliament) with its Speaker Mohamed Nasheed in the chair.She hoped that the warm and friendly relations between the two countries will further be consolidated as Bangladesh is thriving on possibilities and potentials. “We believe no country in the world can prosper in isolation.”
Also read: Dhaka, Male seek cooperation in fisheries, agricultureHasina mentioned that the Covid-19 pandemic taught that all are interdependent and have to share their experiences for the sake of a better, secure, and prosperous world.
“We reiterate our principled position of collaboration with our fraternal neighbours in South Asia, as had been enunciated by our Father of the Nation,” she said adding, “We’re particularly encouraged to witness your development journey, your successful transition from LDC to a middle-Income country, and we hope Bangladesh and the Maldives would tap the complementarities.”The Prime Minister described 2021 as a landmark year for Bangladesh-Maldives bilateral relations with the exchange of high-level visits, fruitful bilateral discussions among relevant authorities, and goodwill exchange of collaboration on many areas of bilateral interests.“We firmly believe we would further consolidate our bilateral relations through further expansion of trade, investment, connectivity, tourism, and people-to-people contacts,” she hoped.Hasina said the next 50 years’ journey will be even more fruitful with meaningful changes to the lives of the people of the two countries.Briefly describing the history of Bangladesh, its Independence, role, struggle and sacrifice of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, she Bangabandhu laid down the foundation of the path to socio-economic freedom for Bangladesh after the independence.Following his footsteps and inspired by this economic and political philosophy, she said, “I am happy to share that Bangladesh has achieved remarkable progress in the last one decade.”
Also read: Hasina for tapping Bangladesh-Maldives’ full trade potentialsThe average GDP growth registered in the previous few years has been more than 7 percent, while in 2019-20, just before the pandemic, our DGP growth rate was 8.2 percent, the Prime Minister said.“During the last decade, Bangladesh has also made remarkable progress in socio-economic indicators, including women empowerment, maternal and child health, life expectancy, population growth rate, sanitation, drinking water, primary education, and literacy,” Hasina said.
In continuation of Bangladesh’s development journey, she said, “We’ve to transform Bangladesh into a middle-income country by 2021, meet all the SDG targets by 2031, turn into a knowledge-based developed country by 2041, and a prosperous and resilient Delta by 2100.”The Prime Minister went on saying, “As you may be aware that on November 24, 2021, the UN General Assembly unanimously adopted the resolution on Graduation of Bangladesh from the LDC category.”She mentioned that Bangladesh is now a US-$411 billion economy and is ranked among the 34 largest economies of the world.“However, development brings its own challenges. To cope with the situation that we’ll face after the withdrawal of the benefits we used to enjoy [benefits] as an LDC, our focus will be on diversifying the economy and exploring new markets. We’re also striving to transform into a technology-driven society and innovation-led growth with a vision of Digital Bangladesh.”
The Maldivian Speaker presented Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina a boat painting.
PM greets female booters for clinching SAF U-19 Football trophy
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday greeted the Bangladesh Under-19 Women Football team for becoming the SAF U-19 Football champion.
The Prime Minister, now in the Maldives on an official tour, congratulated the team as they beat the Indian Under -9 Women Football team.
READ: Bangladesh-New Zealand T20 series: PM greets Tigers for going 2-0 up
Bangladesh outplayed India by 1-0 in the final held at Bir Shrestha Sipahi Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Kamalpur of the city.
READ: PM greets Tigers for ODI series win against Zimbabwe
PM to pay official visit to Maldives Dec 22-23
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will pay a two-day official visit to the Maldives, the largest labour market for Bangladesh in South Asia, on December 22-23 to take the relations between the two countries to newer heights.
The Prime Minister will fly to Male on a special flight on December 22 and be received at the airport by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ahmed Khaleel.
On Thursday (Dec 23) morning, Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih will formally welcome the Prime Minister and then she will be given Guard of Honour.
After receiving the guard of honour, the Prime Minister will proceed to the Presidential Palace. The President of the Maldives will hold a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister at the venue.
After the meeting, the two countries are likely to sign four bilateral documents -- agreement on avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income, MoU on cooperation in the area of youth and sports development, MoU on recruitment of qualified health professionals and MoU in the areas of healthcare and medical sciences between Bangladesh and Maldives (renewal).
Read: Hasina for strengthening connectivity with Maldives
At the request of the Maldivian Defence Ministry, 13 military vehicles, provided by the Bangladesh Army, will be handed over to the Maldivian Defence Ministry as a token of friendship.
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen briefed the media at Foreign Service Academy on the Prime Minister’s forthcoming visit to the Maldives.
Secretary (East) Mashfee Binte Shams and Secretary (Maritime Affairs Unit) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Rear Admiral (Retd) Md Khurshed Alam were, among others, present.