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Hasina offers Bangladesh land for setting up D-8 economic zone
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday proposed establishment of a D-8 Economic Zone in Bangladesh for investment by the member countries aimed at accelerating their collective economic growth.
The offer came in five-point proposals she made in her speech at the of the 20th D-8 Council of Ministers meeting at Dhaka’s Hotel InterContinental, joining it through video conferencing from her official residence Ganobhaban.
The prime minister said Bangladesh is ready to provide space at its Special Economic Zones for investment of the member states.
“If it begins the process now, within the next decade, it will have a robust D-8 Economic Zone,” she said.D-8, also known as Developing-8, is an organization for development cooperation among Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkiye.
Established in 1997, the objectives of the forum are to improve member states’ position in the global economy, diversify and create new opportunities in trade relations, enhance participation in decision-making at international level and improve standards of living.
PM Hasina said time has come for the 25-year-old forum to expand its focus also on implementation of Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), increased trade, ICT, diversification of agriculture for attaining food security and finding sources of alternative energy.
Read: PM Hasina urges global solidarity to face looming humanitarian crisis caused by war
PM Hasina urges global solidarity to face looming humanitarian crisis caused by war
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday called for greater multilateral cooperation and global solidarity to bravely deal with the “looming humanitarian crisis caused by Russia-Ukraine war and subsequent sanctions and counter-sanctions.”
“As the world is passing through a difficult time due to Covid-19 pandemic, conflicts, food and energy crisis, climate change and natural disasters, the need for strengthened multilateral cooperation and global solidarity deserves more attention than ever,” she said.
The prime minister said this while inaugurating the 20th session of D-8 Council of Ministers at Hotel InterContinental in Dhaka. She joined the programme virtually from her official residence Ganabhaban.
D-8, also known as Developing-8, is an organization for development cooperation among Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkiye. It was officially launched in Istanbul in1997.
PM Hasina said that a humanitarian crisis is looming due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and, the subsequent sanctions and counter-sanctions that have disrupted the production and supply of food, fertiliser, energy and power and other commodities.
“We should all come forward to bravely address this looming humanitarian crisis,” she said.
She said that while the world was reeling from the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine conflict has pushed the world to a fresh danger.
Also read: Promote right persons in Army: PM Hasina
She mentioned that countries like Bangladesh have been bearing the brunt of the impacts of the war most.
“Prices of the essentials have gone beyond the purchasing capacities of the most of people,” she said.
The premier said that the government in Bangladesh has taken comprehensive measures to mitigate the impacts of coronavirus pandemic on the economy and revive it to desired growth trajectory.
So far, she said, the government has announced 28 stimulus packages equivalent to USD 23 billion which is 6.3 per cent of the country’s GDP.
She mentioned that a total of 67.4 million people and 118,000 business entities have been benefited from these packages.
“Bangladesh is one of the very few countries which have successfully vaccinated its targeted population against COVID-19,” she told the conference.
She said that Bangladesh has been ranked fifth out of 121 countries and the first among the South Asian counties in COVID-19 recovery index.
Talking about the advancement of the country, Hasina said that Bangladesh has made impressive progress in all social-economic sectors over the last one decade.
She mentioned that poverty rate has gone down to 20 per cent with per capita income increased to USD 2,824.
She pointed out that robust agricultural growth has made the county self-sufficient in food production. There is gender equality in all sectors. Enrolment at primary level has gone up to 97.81 per cent, child mortality rate significantly decreased to 28 per 1000 live-births and life expectancy increased to 72.8 years.
She said that more than 98 per cent population have been brought under safe water and sanitation network. Access to government services has been made digital and easy, and 5.8 per cent of the national budget has been earmarked for social security and welfare programmes.
“Our sustained efforts in all areas of socio-economic advancement have paved the way to graduating from the LDCs,” she said.
The prime minister said that last month, she opened the longest bridge in Bangladesh, the Padma Bridge, which is an engineering marvel built entirely with the country’s own funds.
She said that the bridge is expected to contribute 1.23 per cent to the annual GDP.
She mentioned that mega projects, including Metro rail, Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, Payra Seaport, Karnafuli tunnel, Elevated Expressway, 100 Special Economic Zones and High-Tech IT parks, are being implemented.
“These will be crucial to realize our vision to build a developed and prosperous Bangladesh by 2041,” the PM said.
However, she said, there are many challenges for Bangladesh in its endeavours to be a developed country.
In this regard she said that global warming and climate change has posed tremendous threat to the country’s existence.
“Having located in a unique hydro-morphological system in the largest delta of the world and with a densely populated coastline, the impact of climate change is extreme for Bangladesh,” she said.
The prime minister said that the D-8 countries with more than one billion population have enormous potentials for economic cooperation.
She mentioned that Bangladesh has been attracting investment through its liberal, friendly investment policies and arrangement of linkages between foreign and local businesses.
She said that the export earning has increased from USD 18 billion in 2010 to over 52 billion in the last fiscal year.
In this regard, she said Bangladesh, currently the 41st largest economy in the world, is set to become the 25th by 2035.
“We look forward towards new partnerships to attain our shared vision of prosperity for the people keeping in mind the guiding focus in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.”
She called upon the D-9 countries to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the grouping with new focus on some specific areas for the next decade.
The areas are: Preferential Trade Agreement or PTA, D-8 Economic Zone, ICT, diversified agriculture to ensure food security and alternative energy sources.
Regarding the finalisation of the D-8 Preferential Trade Agreement, she said, it will help harmonise the intra-country trade, liberalize the barriers, and stimulate trade and economic cooperation among the member states.
The premier said that the 25-year-old D-8 is now poised to deliver its goal of economic development through creating synergies.
“This is possible through political commitment and meaningful cooperation of our public and private sectors. The immense possibility that we have, if realized properly, will heighten our power as an economic bloc,” she told the meeting.
She urged the member countries to “work together to provide the impetus for harnessing our potentials towards a prosperous future.”
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen, D-8 secretary general Ambassador Isiaka Abdulqadir Imam, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Ministry Md Shahriar Alam, President of D-8 Chamber of Commerce and Industries (D8CCI) Sheikh Fazle Fahim and Foreign secretary Masud Bin Momen also spoke at the programme.
A documentary on the D-8 and its 25 years journey was screened at the programme.
Air quality remains 'moderate' in Dhaka
Dhaka's air quality continues to be in the 'moderate' zone, all thanks to intermittent monsoon showers.
With an air quality index (AQI) score of 59 at 9am on Wednesday, the metropolis ranked 30th in the list of world cities with the worst air quality.
Indonesia's Jakarta, Iran's Tehran, Pakistan's Lahore and Peru's Lima occupied the first four spots in the list, with AQI scores of 140, 128, 125, and 118, respectively.
An AQI between 50 and 100 is considered ‘moderate’ with an acceptable air quality. However, there may be a moderate health concern for a very small number of people who are unusually sensitive to air pollution.
Read: Global pollution kills 9 million people a year, study finds
An AQI between 101 and 200 is considered 'unhealthy', particularly for sensitive groups.
Similarly, an AQI between 201 and 300 is said to be 'poor', while a reading of 301 to 400 is considered 'hazardous', posing serious health risks to residents.
AQI, an index for reporting daily air quality, is used by government agencies to inform people how clean or polluted the air of a certain city is, and what associated health effects might be a concern for them.
In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria pollutants -- Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone.
Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy during winter and improves during monsoon.
With the advent of winter, the city’s air quality starts deteriorating sharply due to the massive discharge of pollutant particles from construction works, rundown roads, brick kilns and other sources.
Read: Solution to pollution: Sprinkling water on Dhaka's roads & construction sites?
Air pollution consistently ranks among the top risk factors for death and disability worldwide. Breathing polluted air has long been recognised as increasing a person’s chances of developing heart disease, chronic respiratory diseases, lung infections and cancer, according to several studies.
As per the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, largely as a result of increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections.
Global Covid cases top 577 million
The overall number of Covid cases has now surged past 577 million amid a rise in new infections in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Europe.
According to the latest global data, the total case count mounted to 577,023,105 and the death toll reached 6,407,209 on Wednesday morning.
The US has recorded 92,494,018 cases so far and 1,052,935 people have died from the virus in the country, the data shows.
India's daily caseload further slipped to 14,830 on Tuesday, officials said.
According to federal health ministry data released on Tuesday morning, 14,830 new cases of Covid-19 were reported in 24 hours, taking the total tally to 43,920,451 in the country.
Read: From Dec, only Covid booster dose will be available in Bangladesh
The new cases reported on Tuesday mark a decrease from the Monday's daily caseload of 16,866.
The country also registered 36 new deaths due to Covid, bringing the death toll to 526,110, the ministry said.
Covid in Bangladesh
Bangladesh recorded four more Covid-19-linked deaths with 621 new cases in 24 hours till Tuesday morning.
With the latest figures, the country's total fatalities reached 29,275 and the caseload 2,002,944, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The daily case positivity rate dropped to 6.14 per cent from Monday's 7.84 per cent as 10,053 samples were tested.
Read: 70% of Covid deaths among unvaccinated: DGHS DG
The deceased included two men and two women. Two of them were from Chattogram, and one each from Dhaka and Sylhet divisions.
The mortality rate remained unchanged at 1.46 per cent. The recovery rate rose to 96.78 per cent from Monday's 96.75 per cent.
In June, the country reported 18 Covid-linked deaths and 20,201 new cases, according to the DGHS.
Bangladesh reported its first zero Covid death on November 20 last year since the pandemic broke out here in March 2020.
The country registered its highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 last year and daily fatalities of 264 on August 10 in the same year.
End/UNB/SIS/JM
Joy now a voice of youth in Bangladesh's policy reform circles: CRI
Wishing on his birthday, the Centre for Research and Information (CRI) on early Wednesday said Sajeeb Wazed Joy has become a voice of the youth in Bangladesh's policy reform circles.
"He is now helping policymakers make Bangladesh a knowledge-driven economy and deal with the challenges of the 4IR," CRI said.
Describing Joy as a visionary and strategist, CRI wished him a very happy birthday.
On this day in 1971, Sajeeb Wazed was born in Dhaka, amidst a furious War for Liberation of Bangladesh.
Joy's father was a nuclear scientist and his mother Sheikh Hasina is the prime minister of Bangladesh.
His grandparents were killed in August 1975, and young Sajeeb would be barred from entering Bangladesh by a military regime.
Read: Sajeeb Wazed to hand over Joy Bangla Youth Award to young masters Tuesday
He then did his schooling in India and moved to America to pursue his computer science undergraduate and public policy graduate studies at the University of Texas and Harvard University respectively.
In his 30s, he became an advocate for democracy in Bangladesh when an unelected military-backed regime ruled over Bangladesh in 2007.
He helped restore a politically elected government.
He would start advocating for a new progressive tech-advanced Bangladesh.
Sajeeb became the ICT affairs advisor to Bangladesh's Prime Minister.
He is regarded as the mastermind of the Digital Bangladesh initiative, which would accelerate e-governance and transform the country's IT industry in 15 years.
FM’s book on Padma Bridge unveiled
Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury unveiled the cover of the book titled “Amader Aurthey Amader Padma Setu” (Our Padma Bridge by Our Own Funds) in the capital on Tuesday.
The book edited by Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen was unveiled at a programme organised by “Chandaboti Academy” at auditorium of Foreign Service Academy.
Foreign Minister Momen, Law, Justice and Parliament Affairs Minister Anisul Huq, State Minister for Foreign Minister Md Shahriar Alam and Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam were present at the ceremony.
Read: MoFA, Technical and Madrasa Education Division vow to modernize technical and madrasa education
Speakers at the programme said the Padma Bridge is the symbol of the capability of the country as the bridge was implemented under determination of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
They also said the book will be a document in the history of Bangladesh’s development as several aspects of the implementation of the bridge was scripted in the book.
Foreign Minister Momen dedicated the book to the premier.
The 400-page book contains 67 articles written by the prominent writers on various aspects of the recently inaugurated Padma Bride which is the symbol of pride and self-confidence of the Bangladeshi nationals.
MoFA, Technical and Madrasa Education Division vow to modernize technical and madrasa education
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Technical and Madrasa Education Division on Tuesday jointly organized the second webinar on “Role of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Bangladesh Missions in Technical Education and Technology Transfer”.
Md Kamal Hossain, Secretary of Technical and Madrasa Education Division, joined as the chief guest in the webinar.
Ambassadors and High Commissioners, senior officials of the Technical and Madrasa Education Divisions, senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Bangladesh Missions abroad participated in the virtual meeting.
Through the "MoFA Telegram Series", the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has taken initiatives for greater exchange of views between Bangladesh Missions abroad and various government Ministries, divisions, departments and other private institutions in the country.
It is expected that through this telegram series it will be easier to coordinate the execution of various functions at the government and private levels and important issues can be resolved easily, said MoFA.
In the webinar, the Secretary of the Technical and Madrasah Education Division highlighted the structure of his department, ongoing projects, initiatives taken and future plans.
Read: MoFA creating data-driven intelligent architecture for faster service across globe: FS
He mentioned that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has given importance to technical education and for this reason the work of setting up one technical education institute in each Upazila is going on.
Also, the government is building technical training institutes with modern facilities in 100 Upazilas of Bangladesh.
He mentioned that initiatives have been taken to build four new Engineering Colleges and four Women Polytechnic Institutes are being constructed for the expansion of women's education.
The Secretary of Technical and Madrasah Education Division also mentioned that various institutions have adopted several language teaching measures to improve the linguistic skills of the students.
Md Kamal Hossain shed light on modernization of technical and madrasa education, addition of emerging technologies in the curriculum of technical education, agreements with various foreign institutions regarding training, introduction of internationally recognized evaluation certificates in Bangladesh for the acceptance of certificates issued by educational institutions of Bangladesh and he sought the help of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Bangladesh Missions to achieve modern technology in Bangladesh.
The webinar was conducted by the Director General (International Trade, Investment and Technology) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr. Syed Muntasir Mamun.
Ambassadors/High Commissioners of Bangladesh appointed in Bahrain, Egypt, United Arab Emirates and Ethiopia, Director General of Technical Education Directorate, Director General of Madrasa Education Directorate also spoke at the meeting.
The participants present in the meeting expressed their conviction for the development of technical and madrasa education system in keeping with the modern world.
Seminar on nation branding held
Bangladesh Security Exchange Commission (BSEC) in partnership with Bloomberg L.P organised a seminar titled “Nation Branding: Attracting New Talent & Investments Worldwide” on Monday.
BSEC Chairman Professor Shibli Rubayat-Ul-Islam chaired the seminar while Prime Minister’s Private Industry & Investment Advisor Salman Fazlur Rahman was the chief guest.
Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen was the special guest at the function while Andrew Boggs, Regional Strategy Lead, Bloomberg presented the keynote paper.
In the panel discussion, speakers focused on the foreign investment interest and the full-fledged shift to digital and digital services which may eventually lead to Digital Bangladesh.
Masud Bin Momen spoke about the digital shift of the Foreign Office for greater competence in serving the various line ministries and also the expatriates for greater economic and other benefits.
Read: BSEC Scholarship introduced at DU
He shared the engagement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the a2i and the ICT Division to bring efficiency in mission services around the world along with creating substantial and substantiative contributions in the narrative epistemology of cutting-edge technology by cultivating imaginative minds and the nimble hands of people and connecting them globally.
Connecting the markets and providing a strong support platform to global supply chain solutions is a core facet of the government’s economic diplomacy.
The Foreign Secretary spoke about the role of private equity and other modes of finance in underwriting this huge architecture.
He also highlighted the role of freelance developers in connecting Bangladesh to the creative economy paradigm.
Masud emphasized bridging institutional voids and articulating inchoate demands.
Delegates and dignitaries from the government and regulatory authorities, financial institutes, and the business community of Bangladesh joined the programme.
BGB inaugurates fish fries release program on the occasion of National Fisheries Week-2022
Director General (DG) of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) Major General Sakil Ahmed on Tuesday inaugurated the fish releasing programme as part of successful implementation of the National Fisheries Week-2022 with the slogan 'Nirapad Mache Bharbo Desh, Bangabandhu Bangladesh'.
The National Fisheries Week began July 23 with the aim of making the country's people more aware of and involved in increasing safe fish production.
On this occasion, he released the fish fry of different species of fish in the pond adjacent to Shaheed Captain Ashraf Hall of BGB headquarters in Pilkhana this morning.
Read: WTO ministers reach deals on fisheries, food, COVID vaccines
In his speech during fish fry releasing programme, the DG of the BGB said that the importance of meat in building a healthy nation is immense. Fish fulfills the bulk of our non-vegetarian needs. Therefore, there is no alternative to fisheries in the present context, he said.
He also said that Bangladesh is a country of rivers, canals and ponds. if fish is cultivated at the individual and institutional level without abandoning all these ponds and reservoirs, it is possible to earn a lot of foreign exchange by exporting it after meeting up the national nutritional needs.
The top official of the paramilitary force called upon every BGB member to cultivate fish by renovating all the ponds and reservoirs in all regions, institutions, sectors, battalions and BOPs of the BGB. He expressed his firm belief that every member of BGB will contribute strongly to building Sonar Bangla, the dream of the father of the nation, by participating spontaneously in all the great works of the country, not only fishing.
Prisoner dies at DMCH
An inmate of Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj died at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) on Tuesday morning.
The deceased was identified as Anowar Hossain alias Khabir Uddin, 55, son of Asiul Haq in Al Amin village of Hatia upazila of Noakhali district.
Read:Physician who set herself on fire dies at DMCH
He was taken to the hospital after falling ill and was declared dead around 10:30am, said Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) police outpost in-charge Md Bacchu Mia.
"The body was kept at the hospital morgue for an autopsy," he added.
"The deceased was incarcerated in a drug case."