The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) recently arranged a webinar on how rivers are legal, living persons with rights. Justice Md Ashraful Kamal, who delivered the judgment on the River Turag in 2019, presented the keynote at the "Legal Personhood of River." He highlighted the importance of the landmark ruling by the High Court Division that granted "legal personhood" to all rivers, declaring that all rivers in Bangladesh are entitled to legal protection under the Public Trust Doctrine (PTD). The judgment also included 17 key directives to the executive for dealing with river pollution and encroachment issues and for the survival of rivers as continuing ecosystem elements. "Because of these directives, river polluters have been banned from participating in the elections, the National River Conservation Commission as the 'guardian' of all rivers has been established, and polluters have been barred from receiving bank loans among other measures," Ashraful said. The concept of the legal personhood of the river is based on the legal recognition of the planetary ecosystems and other non-human entities as legal persons who have legal rights to protect the environment. Proponents of the concept say that legal systems should recognise the inherent value of the environment, including its survival as well as its enrichment. This means that certain entities cannot be harmed, corrupted or degraded without their consent. Sustainable rivers: Dhaka for 'just sharing' of waters, basin-wise river management For example, granting personhood status to ecosystems and animals can lead to greater protection from environmental degradation as well as a stronger voice in environmental decision-making. Against this backdrop, diplomats, scholars and activists are pushing to give nature legal personhood, with some countries such as Ecuador and Bolivia recently passing laws recognising the rights of nature. Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen said with the remarkable verdict Bangladesh had joined a growing number of communities, tribal nations, and countries, in securing a new form of legal protection for nature which recognises that nature is a living entity with legal rights. Syed Muntasir Mamun, director general of International Trade, Investment and Technology and ICT wings of MoFA, highlighted how the verdict is very much in line with Bangladesh's strong commitment to upholding the rights of all and maintaining the autonomy and agency of the human ecosystem under the guardianship of the public. Read more: HC delivers landmark verdict, declares Turag as living being

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Tuesday said the government needed to inform foreign missions in Dhaka that there is no room for “misinformation” and “confusion” “It is nothing new. It falls within the normal diplomatic practice as we always do that and keep all informed when something major happens,” he told reporters, noting that BNP’s plan to create anarchy centering its December 10 rally “didn’t work”. Alam said BNP is spreading propaganda at home and abroad and they had chosen December 10 as major countries announced new sanctions on December 9. BNP tried to block major Dhaka streets from December 7, he added. Read more: Tension over Dec 10 rally: Momen says govt doesn’t want conflict, will maintain maximum restraint The government will not allow deliberate violence and vandalism that are threats to public security, the state minister said. He said BNP invested millions of dollars and pounds on lobbyists who assured the party that there will be more sanctions. “Centering this, they were in a celebratory mood and wanted to prove that the government does not have any friends,” Alam said. Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) offered BNP the permission to hold their public rally at the historic Suhrawardy Udyan that has enough space for a large gathering. Alam said that BNP did not accept the venue, as it did not go with their spirit, and they did not have the ability to bring people in large numbers. Read more: US Embassy issues alert for its citizens in Bangladesh He said politics is “not like a picnic” and it is not acceptable to block streets and disrupt public movement. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on December 12 shared a “non-paper on recent political situation in Bangladesh” with all foreign missions and office of the UN Resident Coordinator in Dhaka. Assessing the possible implications on security, public safety, safety of properties, public mobility and overall law-and-order situation in the capital ahead of Victory Day on December 16, the historic Suhrawardy Udyan was offered.  “Presumably, BNP leaders wanted to make a political issue out of the venue. Their objective was to create anarchy on the busy public street as they did in 2014 and 2018 before the national elections,” the MoFA note reads. Read more: UN reminds Bangladesh of commitments to free expression, peaceful assembly It mentioned that the BNP wanted to take common people under hostage situations to make their unlawful demand. BNP plotted to use the constitutional right to peaceful assembly with unlawful and violent intentions, according to the document seen by UNB. According to police, cocktails were also found in the BNP party office. The circumstantial evidence shows that the actual plan of the BNP was to occupy the street forcefully and unlawfully three days prior to the scheduled public gathering, according to the MoFA document. Later BNP agreed on an alternative venue (Golapbagh Math) for their December 10 rally, and the meeting went peacefully without any major incident. “This reflects the government’s willingness and efforts to ensure freedom of expression and assembly,” reads the document.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday summoned Myanmar Ambassador to Bangladesh Aung Kyaw Moe and lodged a strong protest against Myanmar’s mortar shells inside Bangladesh territory a day earlier. "We have lodged a strong protest with Myanmar so that such incidents do not happen again. We have also strongly condemned the incident," Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Read: Canada's contribution to Bangladesh's development historic: GM QuaderHe said a note verbale was handed over to the ambassador.On Sunday, the foreign secretary said it will first be investigated whether the firing of unexploded mortar shells on the Bangladesh border was an accident or intentional.Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) stepped up its vigilance along Bangladesh-Myanmar border in Bandarban area after two Myanmar mortar shells landed in an area near Tambru under Naikkhangchhari in Bandarban on Sunday afternoon.Locals got panicked seeing the mortar shells which remained unexploded.  

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) Monday organised a discussion to remember and mourn the assassination of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and most of his family on August 15, 1975. Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen chaired the session discussion at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka. Sheikh Kabir Hossain, trustee of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Memorial Trust, spoke as the chief guest. Read: Momen to countries sheltering Bangabandhu’s killers: 'It's very unfair:' State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam spoke at the event as a special guest. Lawmaker Md Abdul Majid Khan and eminent writer Professor Anwara Syed Haque also spoke. Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen delivered the welcome remarks.

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.

Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen has said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is creating a data-driven intelligent architecture for better and faster service across the globe.  He made the remarks while addressing a town hall meeting on "Innovation & E-Governance" in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday.  The Foreign Secretary highlighted several initiatives taken by the Ministry: securing the access of E-Nothi and D-Nothi for the Ministry and Bangladesh Missions abroad, introducing ibas++ in 20 Bangladesh Missions Abroad in the FY 2021-22, building Digital Archive system for the Ministry, introducing GRP in the Headquarters and all Bangladesh Missions abroad, and hosting "MoFA Telegram Series" for disseminating ideas on innovation, entrepreneurship and administration.  He shared the present and future initiatives of his Ministry.  Read: EU wants full implementation of labor roadmap for trade facility Masud said identical websites were launched on 07 July 2022 across all Bangladesh Missions.  Now the website of the Ministry and all the Bangladesh Missions Abroad have the same outlay customised to the unique needs of the mission.  The Ministry digitalised 34 Consular services and 28 internal services with the help of MyGov team from the a2i.  The Foreign Secretary also mentioned that the Ministry is working on building a Neural Network for ensuring Data Driven Mechanism, setting up an innovation lab, creating a trade portal for promoting domestic products and services, securing stronger remittances, creating a platform for innovation and entrepreneurship, networking for technical expertise, setting up a call centre and introducing Artificial Intelligence for data analysis.  He also spoke on market expansion for Bangladeshi products, communal harmony, human trafficking, public private partnership, and refugee issues.  Masud emphasised on a more active role of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to deal with the new challenges of the changing world (such as Ukraine crisis, energy crisis, Covid pandemic etc.) and stressed on the need for partnerships with other public and private institutions.  The Foreign Secretary expressed hope that there is no reason the Foreign Office of Bangladesh will lag behind any of the Foreign Offices of the world.  Read: Dhaka urges Jakarta to do more for repatriation of Rohingya refugees He said the knowledge, wisdom, patriotism, dedication, determination and enthusiasm of the young officers will shape the future of Bangladesh. Young diplomats of the Ministry especially the officers at the rank of Senior Assistant Secretary and Assistant Secretary participated the meeting with great enthusiasm and expressed their opinions and ideas on various issues. Director General (ICT & ITIT) Dr. Syed Muntasir Mamun moderated the meeting.  Director General (Administration), Director General (General Services) and other high officials of the Ministry attended the meeting.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been chosen for "Bangabandhu Public Administration Award 2022" under general administration and management category recognising MoFA's significant contribution.The award will be given on July 23 while marking the National Public Services Day.Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will virtually join the event to be held at Osmani Memorial Auditorium on Saturday morning. Also read: MoFa holds training on e-governance on easy and quick services"Great news. Hearty congratulations to all officials and staff of the Ministry for a job well done," Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen told UNB on Monday.He said their setting up of Bangabandu Corners in all Missions abroad and headquarters, Gonohottha Center, Public Diplomacy initiatives, observation of Mujib Chironthon to celebrate Bangabandhu's 100th anniversary and Golden Jubilee, setting up of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Gallery and Research Center, introduction of Bangabandhu Lecture Series, introduction of Bangabandhu Diplomatic Award of Excellence, setting up of Bangabandhu Centers and Professorships in few prestigious universities, introduction of Bangabandhu-UNESCO Award for Creative Economy, publication of few books on Bangabandhu, Sheikh Hasina, etc helped promoting the values, principles, the sacrifices of Bangabandhu and Bangladesh and his life stories, the economic and social achievements of Bangladesh under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina all across the nations. Also read: PM to inaugurate new MoFA building ThursdayAlso successful organization of World Peace Conference in Dhaka last December to commemorate Bangabandhu's 100th anniversary added to it, Momen said.

Bangladesh has asserted that the Padma Multipurpose Bridge, a flagship infrastructure development project that is set to be inaugurated on June 25, is entirely funded by its national exchequer, with no part of the cost being paid out of any financial contribution by any bilateral or multilateral funding agency. Some quarters are trying to portray that the bridge has been built with foreign funding, specifically one of the Chinese government's loans under the Belt and Road Initiative, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) Friday, which is why the government felt the need to clear the air by issuing a statement. Both Bangladeshi and foreign construction firms were engaged in the implementation of the project, MoFA said. The completion of this bridge will fulfil the long-cherished dream of connecting the 19 south-western districts with the rest of the country, resulting in collective prosperity, socioeconomic development and enhanced regional connectivity. MoFA hoped that all friends of Bangladesh would join hands in celebrating the completion of this landmark project which is "all the more special since it was done entirely with the contribution of the people and the government of Bangladesh." Also read: Padma Bridge: FM says WB must be apologetic

Amid uncertainty over global energy supplies, Qatar said it will continue supplying liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Bangladesh, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA). Qatar Ambassador to Bangladesh Seraya Ali Al-Qahtani met State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam and discussed issues of mutual interest Sunday. The state minister thanked the government of Qatar for extending its vaccine support to Bangladesh expatriates and not sending them back during the Covid crisis.He appreciated the government of Qatar for supporting each other in international fora. Read: Dhaka, Ankara eye Turkish president's visit this yearShahriar Alam informed the ambassador about investment opportunities in Bangladesh and hoped that during his tenure trade and investment between the two countries would expand.As Seraya Ali expressed his commitment to further strengthen relations with Bangladesh, Shahriar Alam assured him of all support.The ambassador praised the Bangladesh government for the country's steady economic growth and continued socio-economic development. Also, he briefed the state minister about preparations taken by his government for hosting the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 despite Covid.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday said e-governance and innovation will make the service receiving easier and more comfortable ensuring transparency and accountability to the people. The MoFA said it has the necessary foundations for delivering e-governance promises and instituting innovation in its architectural framework.  This was acknowledged at an online training session on “E-governance and Innovation.” It was presided over by Secretary (West & ICT) Ambassador Shabbir Ahmad Chowdhury. Wing Heads and officers of the ministry attended the session. Read: Bangladesh now an important economic, political partner: Germany Along with discussing the successful initiatives (digitalising consular services, implementation of E-nothi in the Ministry, meeting on Boithok platform) taken by the ICT wing of the ministry, senior officers of the Ministry suggested the future course of actions.  There will be a similar session to brief the missions on “E-governance and Innovation” next week and the process of reconstituting the innovation team will soon be finalised.  The chair thanked everyone for their presence in the session and requested everyone to provide their suggestions for easing of service provisions.