The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will begin its "Bangabandhu Lecture Series" on Tuesday, marking the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Former Finance Minister and freedom fighter AMA Muhith will deliver the keynote at the inaugural lecture on the first day of the month of Victory which will be held at the newly-built Foreign Service Academy at State guesthouse Sugandha.

Prime Minister's International Affairs Adviser Dr Gowher Rizvi will attend it as a special discussant. The programme will begin at 11am.

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen will connect it virtually from his residence.

After the Independence of Bangladesh, Sugandha became Gonobhaban housing the first Prime Minister Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman for 1972 to 1974.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated Bangabandhu Centre for Diplomatic Strategy and Research.

The Lecture Series will continue till Mujib Borsho and 50 years celebrations of Independence, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

There will be questions and answers session after the delivery of keynote speech.

Diplomats from home and abroad, intellectuals, senior officials from public and private sectors will join the event both in person and virtually.

Private television channels Ekattor, Channel i, DBC and News24 will broadcast the event while The Business Standard will go live through Facebook page.

Nobel laureate and Indian economist Amartya Kumar Sen will deliver keynote speech at the second lecture in January.

Prof Rehman Sobhan is expected to join too at that time.

At least one lecture will be delivered each month.

The Lecture Series will be held at Bangladesh Missions abroad too.

Read Also: Becoming Bangabandhu

Japanese Embassy in Dhaka has said the new Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Railway Bridge (4.8 km) will become a key part of the international and regional rail transport network.

The Embassy mentioned the Trans Asian railway network, SAARC Corridor and BIMSTEC railway network as part of the rail transport network.

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Railway Bridge Project is one of the five projects included in the “Japan- Bangladesh Comprehensive Partnership” joint statement and was specifically requested by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during her visit to Japan in May 2014.

This new railway bridge will be built at the location 300 meter upstream of the existing Bangabandhu Multipurpose Bridge.

The existing Bangabandhu Multipurpose Bridge with single rail line was constructed under co-financing by JICA, World Bank and ADB in late 1990s, has some restrictions like weigh load, size and speed of train movements.

With the highest permitted speed of 20kmph, currently it takes about half an hour for a train to travel from the east side station of the bridge to the one on the west.

The delays in schedule of trains frequently occur due to restrictions on load and speed on the Bangabandhu bridge, said the Japanese Embassy.

Great potentials of this railway route, especially for freight transport with the neighboring countries, has not been fully utilized because of such restrictions of the existing bridge.

Therefore, it said, construction of another railway bridge dedicated to the railway at this location is indispensable to meet the increasing and sub-regional traffic demand.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina laid the foundation stone of construction work for Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Railway Bridge through videoconferencing on Sunday.

It is being implemented with JICA’s financial assistance.

Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh ITO Naoki and Chief Representative of JICA Bangladesh Office Hayakawa Yuho participated in the ceremony.

Under this project, a 4.8-kilometer-long dedicated railway bridge over the river Jamuna will be constructed by Bangladesh Railway.

Once completed in 2024, this dual-gauge double-track bridge would be the largest dedicated rail bridge in Bangladesh, said the Embassy.

The bridge would drastically improve the capacity and safety of rail transportation between the capital and western part of the country, it said.

Also read: PM to lay foundation stone of Bangabandhu Railway Bridge Nov 29

Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Dr Yousef Al-Othaimeen has extended his sincere congratulations to Ambassador Hussein Ibrahim Taha from the Republic of Chad who has been elected as the new Secretary General for a five-year term starting from November 17, 2021.

Al-Othaimeen expressed his wishes for success to the new Secretary General, in his mission to continue working for promoting joint Islamic action, in the interest of the peoples and countries of the Islamic world.

Ambassador Hussein Taha, was honored to take the oath after announcing his election as Secretary General of the organization, at the forty-seventh session of the Council of Foreign Ministers, which concluded its work on Saturday in Niamey, Niger, according to OIC Secretariat.

On his part, Al-Othaimeen also thanked the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the hosting state of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, headed by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and his crown prince, HRH Prince Muhammad bin Salman, for their continuous trust and support during his tenure.

He also thanked Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan for his continued support, in addition to all colleagues in the Foreign Ministry.

Bangladesh has urged the OIC member States to continue political and humanitarian support to Bangladesh until dignified repatriation of Rohingyas to Myanmar is ensured.

Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Bangladesh Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Dr Mohammad Javed Patwary made the call at the 47th session of the Islamic Council of Foreign Ministers in Niamey, Niger on Saturday.

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen was supposed to lead the Bangladesh delegation at the meeting but his visit was cancelled as he had tested positive for COVID-19 hours before his departure.

Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen also missed the event as he also tested positive for COVID-19.

The meeting discussed various issues including ways for supporting the Rohingya case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), according to Bangladesh Embassy in Riyadh.

Bangladesh is now hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas in Cox's Bazar district.

The Gambia filed a more than 500-page Memorial, which also includes more than 5000 pages of supporting material, in its lawsuit against Myanmar at the ICJ in The Hague, making its case for how the Government of Myanmar is responsible for genocide against Rohingya.

In November 2019, The Gambia opened a case at the ICJ, also known as the World Court, against Myanmar for failing to prevent or punish genocide against Rohingya Muslims.

On January 23, 2020, the ICJ unanimously indicated legally binding provisional measures, requiring the Government of Myanmar to take all steps within its power to prevent the commission of all acts of genocide, such as killing, causing serious mental or bodily harm, and other acts listed in the Genocide Convention.

The OIC CFM was opened on Friday by Mahamadou Issoufou, President of the Republic of Niger, who affirmed that the Organization of Islamic Cooperation is important to its member states, and that his country plays an active role in the Organization.

He also extended his appreciation to the Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Dr. Yousef Al-Othaimeen for the work he did for the Organization.

On his part, Dr. Al-Othaimeen said that the choice of the theme for the session, “United against Terrorism for Peace and Development”, is a strong reminder that “terrorism is the single most serious threat to the region and the world, given its negative impact on growth rates and cooperation ties, in addition to worsening Human Development Indices (HDI) ranking.”

He also valued the role assigned to the OIC Sawt al-Hikma (Voice of Wisdom) Center, which acts in coordination with the International Islamic Fiqh Academy to bring reason to bear and promote moderation and tolerance.

The Secretary General offered his gratitude to His Excellency the President of the Republic of Niger for his gracious patronage of the meeting, and also thanked the people and government of the republic of Niger for the organization of the meeting and the warm hospitality.

He extended his appreciation to all African member states for their keen involvement and support of the work led by the OIC.

Al-Othaimeen also commended the dedicated efforts the United Arab Emirates (UAE) exerted during its tenure, as the Chair of the esteemed Council’s 46th session, and the efforts the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia deploys in its capacity as the host country of the OIC and chair of the 14th Islamic Summit.

He expressed his deepest gratitude and appreciation for the care and attention given to the Organization’s activities in their entirety, under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and His Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, may they be under Allah’s protection forever.

Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, the Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and its representative as Chair of the Islamic Summit, said that the Kingdom has donated a piece of land for the construction of the permanent building of the OIC General Secretariat.

Reem Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation in the UAE, delivered a speech where she referred to the activities that Abu Dhabi carried out during its chairmanship of the 46th Session of the ICFM, noting that her country has learned from the Organization the importance of advancement in diverse issues.

Al-Hashemy handed over the chairmanship of the Council to the Foreign Minister of the Republic of the Niger.

Speeches were also delivered by the foreign ministers of Tunisia, Senegal, Turkey, on behalf of the Arab, African and Asian groups, in addition to the speech of the African Union, the guest of this Session.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been filed to bridge the gap between the ICT Industries of Bangladesh and Malaysia to explore and develop the opportunities on Saturday.

BMCCI President Raquib Mohammad Fakhrul (Rocky) and BASIS President Syed Almas Kabir signed a Tri Party MoU among BMCCI, BASIS and Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) at BMCCI Office, said a press release.

Mushfiqur Rahman, Vice President (Finance), Moon Mondal Rajib, Executive of Corporate Affairs from BASIS side, Mahbubul Alam, Secretary General, Dato' Goonahalam Subramaniam, Joint Secretary General and Syed Moinuddin Ahmed, Treasurer from BMCCI Side were present there among others.