Dhaka, Jan 16 (UNB) - Heavily pregnant British Labour MP Tulip Siddiq, a niece of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, was pictured in a wheelchair after she postponed the date of a caesarean section to vote against Theresa May’s Brexit deal.

The Labour MP for Hampstead & Kilburn was wheeled into the chamber ahead of the first vote on Tuesday night, on an amendment brought by Tory MP John Baron, reports The Evening Standard.

Tulip Siddiq, 36, could be seen in the chamber chatting to other MPs including fellow Labour MP Stella Creasy and Conservative Commons' Leader Andrea Leadsom.

Usually, heavily pregnant MPs, those with newborns and the sick are able to be “paired” with an opposition party member who also cannot vote so the overall result is not affected.

But after Conservative Party chairman Brandon Lewis broke a pairing arrangement with Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Jo Swinson in July 2018, Tulip said she could no longer trust the system.

Tulip wrote on Twitter thanking people for support after her decision was first reported by the Evening Standard.

Thank you all for supportive messages. My decision to delay my baby's birth is not one I take lightly. Let me be clear, I have no faith in the pairing system - in July the Govt stole the vote of a new mother. It's my duty to represent Hampstead & Kilburn, and I will do just that.

— Tulip Siddiq (@TulipSiddiq) January 15, 2019

She said, "My decision to delay my baby's birth is not one I take lightly. "Let me be clear, I have no faith in the pairing system, in July the Govt stole the vote of a new mother.

"It's my duty to represent Hampstead & Kilburn, and I will do just that."

Tulip told the Standard earlier this week: “If my son enters the world even one day later than the doctors advised, but it’s a world with a better chance of a strong relationship between Britain and Europe, then that’s worth fighting for.”

Dhaka, Jan 16 (UNB) - UN Under Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix has appreciated and acknowledged Bangladesh’s role in the UN peacekeeping.

He was addressing a two-day “Preparatory Conference on Peacekeeping” in The Hague hosted jointly by the Netherlands and Rwanda, said the Bangladesh Embassy in The Hague on Tuesday. 

The UN Under Secretary General, recalling his visit to Bangladesh, appreciated Bangladesh’s role in the UN Peacekeeping as a major troops and police contributor. 

Lacroix also appreciated the quality of professional trainings being conducted by the Bangladesh Institute of Peace Support Operations and Training (BIPSOT). 

He wished to see more attention being provided in the affairs of safety of civilian population of the host country. 

Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok, Dutch Defence Minister Ank Bijleveld and Jean Pierre Karabaranga, Ambassador of Rwanda to the Netherlands and Smail Cherugi, African Union Commissioner for Peace and Security jointly inaugurated the conference. 

About 70 countries including Bangladesh joined this Preparatory Conference on Peacekeeping where Ambassador Sheikh Mohammed Belal led Bangladesh delegation comprising Brig Gen Md Nurul Anwar, Director General, Operations and Plan Directorate, Armed Forces Division and Dr K H Mahid Uddin, Deputy Inspector General of Police of Bangladesh. 

Ambassador Belal reiterated Bangladesh’s commitment to the UN peacekeeping and relayed personal commitment of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina about Bangladesh’s readiness to contribute troops and police in response to UN call for strengthening world peace and stability. 

Recalling Bangladesh Prime Minister’s role at the high level event on action for peacekeeping, Ambassador Belal urged the UN to consider recruiting more female forces and police in their contingent and assured Bangladesh’s readiness to provide such forces at the shortest possible time when requested. 

Paying tribute to all those peacekeepers of the world including 145 from Bangladesh who have made the ultimate sacrifice, Ambassador Belal reassured the world about Bangladesh’s devotion for adequately training the forces and police before deployment. 

Bangladesh also reiterated her “zero tolerance” for sexual exploitation and abuse as well as our awareness for reducing the environmental footprints of peacekeepers.  
 

Dhaka, Jan 15 (UNB) - Bangladesh has appointed an Honorary Consul in Emmeloord with jurisdiction for the provinces of North-Holland and Flevoland of the Netherlands.

Bangladesh Ambassador to the Netherlands Sheikh Mohammed Belal on Tuesday handed over the letter of commission to Maarten Verbruggen, newly appointed Honorary Consul of Bangladesh in Emmeloord at a function held at the Embassy of Bangladesh.

Maarten Verbruggen has been associated with Bangladesh over the last eighteen years owning to his professional work in the medical sector of Bangladesh in the early years and later through businesses with Bangladesh in agriculture and light engineering sectors, said the Embassy.  

Jan-de Boer, Senior Policy Officer Asia and Oceania Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, Representatives from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), Dutch Development Bank (FMO), Dutch agriculture entrepreneurs and members of Bangladesh community living in the North-Holland and Flevoland provinces also joined the occasion.

Ambassador Belal hoped Maarten Verbruggen would be instrumental in introducing the Dutch agricultural innovation and creativity in agriculture sector, especially in the areas of technology-based agricultural production, farm produce processing and agribusiness given his extensive experience in the agriculture sector of both Bangladesh and the Netherlands. 

He appreciated the Netherlands Enterprise Agency as well as the consortium partner companies of the Netherlands for their undertaking Potato Impact Cluster project worth of Euro 900,000 to find an integrated solution to address the high post-harvest losses in the potato sector of Bangladesh. 

The newly appointed Honorary Consul narrated his long association with Bangladesh and appreciated highly the development spree that has taken place in Bangladesh over the last one decade. 

The Senior Policy Officer of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs highlighted the continued deepening of bilateral relations between Bangladesh and the Netherlands and assured his Ministry’s support to the Honorary Consul in the discharge of his mandate.
 

Sylhet, Jan 15 (UNB) - Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Tuesday laid emphasis on the global community’s role in resolving the protracted Rohingya crisis saying it is an international problem.

“It’s an international problem. We’ll resolve the problem working together,” he said seeking an effective international role in resolving the crisis.

The Foreign Minister made the remarks while talking to reporters after offering fateha at the shrine of Hazrat Shahjalal (RA).

He said they want to move forward keeping friendship with all countries in the spirit of “friendship to all and malice to none” as defined by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Asked about his India visit, the Foreign Minister said Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj invited him and they will discuss various bilateral issues during the visit.

The Foreign Minister also mentioned that the Indian government was the first among the countries which congratulated Bangladesh Awami League President Sheikh Hasina and her party’s reelection.

Earlier, acting High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh Dr Adarsh Swaika met the new Foreign Minister of Bangladesh and handed over the letter of congratulations from the External Affairs Minister of India Sushma Swaraj.

Expressing gratitude to all, Minister Dr Momen said, “I’m very lucky to have the responsibility of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a son of Sylhet.”

He also recalled the role of foreign ministers Abdus Samad Azad and Humayun Rashid Chowdhury, and said he would follow their footprints to keep up the goodwill through his works. 

Dhaka, Jan 15 (UNB) – A delegation of Bangladesh-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BGCCI) led by its President Omar Sadat on Tuesday met Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi and discussed various issues related to trade and investment.

The delegation exchanged views on bilateral trade relations between Bangladesh and Germany.

They also discussed with the Commerce Minister as to how the foreign direct investment (FDI) can be increased in Bangladesh, said the bilateral chamber body.

The Minister hoped that with cooperation from everybody Bangladesh can be one of the top countries of the world in terms of trade and investment.

Senior Vice President Golam Morshed, Vice President Md Muin Uddin Mazumder, Directors Kutub Uddin Durlove and Ibnul Wara; and Executive Director MA Matin were present.