foreign-affairs
Free Hasina Movement: FM recalls difficult days in Boston, NY
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Friday recalled the "very difficult and challenging time" when he had launched a movement in Boston and New York for freeing Sheikh Hasina during the military-backed caretaker government in the country.
"It's a historic day for us. It's a day of much joy for us," he said as the13th anniversary of release of Awami League President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from prison was observed on Friday.
Read:Bangladesh to get over 10 lakh AstraZeneca doses from COVAX: FM
On this day in 2008, Sheikh Hasina was released from the special sub-jail set up on the premises of the Jatiya Sangsad Bbaban after remaining confined there for nearly 11 months.
The Awami League president was arrested from her Sudha Sadan residence at Dhanmondi on July 16, 2007 during the military-backed caretaker government, which assumed power in the political changeover of 1/11 in 2007.
Dr Momen said he was an Adviser to Awami League but AL was in a hostile situation in Boston as many were supporting the military government at that time.
"I remember, I used to drive from Boston to New York in every weekend with my children and continue our movement from New York," he said.
Read:Bangladesh receives 2nd shipment of medical supplies from US
The Foreign Minister described how he faced many challenges by the "reformists" who favoured minus-2 formula.
Dr Momen also recalled when Sheikh Hasina visited Boston after getting freed from jail.
"I started calling all in New York. I must say they got inspired. Our group in Boston got larger than that of opposing group. Our intention was to protect Sheikh Hasina in a disciplined way," he said adding that current Information Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud accompanied Sheikh Hasina.
Dr Momen said Sheikh Hasina has forgiven them who favoured minus-2 formula and they are in good position now.
In April, the government tried to exile Hasina by barring her return from a vacation in the United States.
Read:Formal announcement over vaccine coproduction soon: FM
The Foreign Minister said the military-backed government tried its best so that Sheikh Hasina does not return home before her arrest.
"We told her (when she was going to England from the USA) you are daughter of Bangabandhu. You will surely go to Bangladesh, doesn't matter. Then she went to Bangladesh and faced the challenge," Dr Momen said.
The Awami League-led grand alliance saw a landslide victory with a two-third majority in Parliament in the national election of December 29 in 2008 and Awami League President Sheikh Hasina became the Prime Minister for the second term.
Unilever Bangladesh appoints Zaved Akhtar as CEO, MD
Unilever Bangladesh Limited (UBL), one of the largest consumer goods companies in the country, has announced the appointment of Zaved Akhtar as their Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director (MD), effective from July 1.
Zaved will also join the Unilever South Asia Leadership Team.
He is currently serving as the Vice President of Digital Transformation & Growth, South Asia, based in India.
Read: Former Unilever chairman Kamran joins Robi as independent director
Zaved will succeed Kedar Lele, who served as the CEO and Managing Director of UBL since January 2018 and subsequently became Chairman in addition to Managing Director in 2020.
Kedar will join the Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) Management Committee as Executive Director, Customer Development. He will continue as the Chairman of UBL.
A career marketer and business leader, Zaved began his career with British American Tobacco and then joined Unilever as Senior Brand Manager for its Oral Care business in 2000.
Read:Covid-19: Unilever partners with UNICEF to support Bangladesh
With 24 years of professional experience across South Asia, Southeast Asia and Australasia, Zaved has rich expertise in consumer centricity, design thinking and innovation management.
He is a graduate of the Institute of Business Administration, University of Dhaka.
In his current role as the Vice President, Digital Transformation & Growth, Zaved set up the ‘Digital Council’ for Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) and anchored the ‘Reimagine HUL’ agenda, a widely recognized programme across Unilever as a comprehensive end-to-end digital transformation programme with impact.
Read: Kedar Lele named new Chairman of Unilever Bangladesh
Sanjiv Mehta, President Unilever South Asia, said, “I would like to thank Kedar for his outstanding leadership of the Bangladesh business and laud his efforts towards strengthening Customer Development execution, transforming the company’s end-to-end supply chain, developing talent and improving diversity in UBL."
Sanjiv said he is delighted to welcome Zaved as the CEO and MD of Unilever Bangladesh, and to the South Asia Leadership Team.
"His contribution towards crafting Unilever’s Five Fundamentals of Growth and driving the Reimagine HUL agenda in India has been tremendous. I am certain that he will lead the Bangladesh business to greater heights.”
Bangladesh to get over 10 lakh AstraZeneca doses from COVAX: FM
Bangladesh will get some 10.8 lakh doses of AstraZeneca vaccine soon under COVAX facility.
These AstraZeneca vaccine doses have been allocated from the COVAX supply, said Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Friday.
He said the COVAX programme has not mentioned the source of this supply of AstraZeneca vaccine doses to Bangladesh.
The AstraZeneca vaccine doses will arrive soon, Dr Momen said.
Bangladesh Ambassador to the US conveyed the development to the Foreign Minister.
Bangladesh earlier sought 2 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from the US for addressing Bangladesh's immediate needs but the US is yet to reply to that particular request.
Read:Bangladesh receives 2nd shipment of medical supplies from US
Dr Momen said the US is only giving assurances, and he received a letter from the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday which he says a very good in a sense.
Grant financing deal of EUR 12mn signed to support power, energy sector
The French Development Agency (AFD) and the government of Bangladesh have signed a grant financing agreement of EUR 12 million or around Tk 1.24 billion to support advanced digital solutions in the power and energy sector in Bangladesh.
This agreement is part of a larger multi donor project involving the joint commitment of AFD and the European Union (EU), for a total investment of EUR 112 million.
Read:Bangladesh receives 2nd shipment of medical supplies from US
The project, called “Power Factor Improvement and Smart Grid under Dhaka Power Development Company (DPDC) Dhaka, Bangladesh” is the first ever smart grid project in Bangladesh and will be implemented over the next 5 years, said a media release.
EU Ambassador to Bangladesh Rensje Teerink said the European Union is committed to supporting Bangladesh in adopting advanced digital solutions in power distribution, in view of a sector decarbonisation, thanks to the joint effort with one of our Member States, France.
"This project is also relevant for the Team Europe Initiative on Green Energy Transition, which involves the EU, its Member States and like-minded partners. It aims at supporting Bangladesh in its transformative, low-carbon development, through an increased use of renewable energy and energy efficiency enhancement.”
Benoit Chassatte, AFD Country Director said for AFD in Bangladesh, 2020 was an opportunity to amplify existing commitments to modernize Dhaka’s power grid.
This is the first ever initiative in Bangladesh to equip the existing grid with reliable, cutting-edge new technology, allowing DPDC to optimize energy distribution without making an unnecessary additional heavy network capital investment.
Read:Formal announcement over vaccine coproduction soon: FM
"In addition, AFD has increased its commitment in the energy and power sector in Bangladesh by financing (EUR 151.56 million) in 2020 the Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL) and the Bangladesh Infrastructure Finance Fund Limited (BIFFL), both public financial institutions specializing in the financing of infrastructure and renewable energy projects, and the promotion of green initiatives.”
Through this project, 1,141,000 people will benefit from a significant improvement in the quality of electricity service.
It will also prevent an accumulated 104,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year, thereby contributing to Bangladesh’s climate goals.
With this project, AFD and the EU are reinforcing their role in supporting the Government of Bangladesh in the search for and use of advanced digital solutions in distribution stations and in medium-voltage grids.
The goal is to equip existing infrastructure with these new, innovative and reliable technologies in order to ensure services are prepared for the future.
Read:G7 must ensure vaccine access in developing countries: UN experts
A core aspect of Bangladesh’s economic development strategy is an improved performance of the power sector in terms of generation, transmission, and distribution.
The smart grid in Bangladesh is in its early stages, and merely consists of deploying smart meters.
Bangladesh receives 2nd shipment of medical supplies from US
United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), has delivered a second shipment of emergency medical supplies to Bangladesh.
The US Embassy in Dhaka says it will help save lives, stop the spread of COVID-19, and meet the urgent health needs of the Bangladeshi people.
This latest delivery brings the total of U.S. pandemic assistance to more than $84 million.
Also read: US delivers emergency medical supplies to Bangladesh to combat COVID-19
US Embassy Dhaka Deputy Chief of Mission JoAnne Wagner, and USAID Mission Director Derrick S. Brown and Director of America Wing from the Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) Seheli Sabrin, welcomed the arrival of this second shipment at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Thursday.
Major General Shamim new Ambassador to Libya
The government has appointed Major General S M Shamim-Uz-Zaman as the new Ambassador of Bangladesh to Libya.
Major General S M Shamim-Uz-Zaman was commissioned in Bangladesh Army on 21 December 1984.
Also read: Fazlul Bari new Bangladesh ambassador to Iraq
Since commissioning, he has been serving in various staff, instructional and command appointments at different levels.
Major General Shamim has served as Military Secretary to the President of Bangladesh, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Also read: Sarwar Mahmood new Bangladesh ambassador to Spain
He has attained Masters in Defence Studies from National University and Masters in Military Science from Madras University, India.
FBCCI president for more market research to boost trade with Malaysia
Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI) President Md. Jashim Uddin has laid emphasis on doing more market research and evaluation on export diversification to deal with the Malaysian market.
He made the suggestion when Bangladesh-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BMCCI) President Raquib Mohammad Fakhrul along with the Board of Directors met him at his office.
The BMCCI President submitted some important points in a memorandum to the FBCCI President for consideration.
Also read: Bangladesh to gain new commercial facilities post-LDC graduation: FBCCI
He proposed to undertake an initiative to sign Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Malaysia by ensuring Bangladesh’s interest which has been a long pending issue.
He also talked about promoting relocation of Malaysian sun-set Industries to Bangladesh, to make close connectivity between Chattogram and Penang Port; to organize events on Trade & Investment opportunity in Bangladesh on a regular basis.
The FBCCI President assured of providing all possible support for development of trade and investment opportunities between Bangladesh and Malaysia.
He thanked the BMCCI leaders for their appreciable role in promoting bi-lateral relationships between the two countries.
Also read: Bengal Group’s Jashim Uddin elected FBCCI president
He proposed to sitting again together with FBCCI, BMCCI and other concern stakeholders with all required data to discuss more and precisely on proposed FTA between Bangladesh and Malaysia.
FBCCI Vice President Md. Habib Ullah Dawn, Director Syed Moazzem Hossain and Director Syed Almas Kabir took part enthusiastically.
Formal announcement over vaccine coproduction soon: FM
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Thursday said they will hopefully be able to make a formal announcement soon on vaccine coproduction in Bangladesh as there has been a progress in the ongoing negotiation.
He, however, said it is up to them (vaccine-manufacturing countries) to choose local pharmaceutical companies for the vaccine coproduction in Bangladesh.
Read:G7 must ensure vaccine access in developing countries: UN experts
"They’ll come and see the capacity after necessary inspection and will provide coproduction facilities," Dr Momen told reporters at State guesthouse Padma.
He said there will be no vaccine crisis in the country once coproduction begins. "Hopefully, we’ll become the exporter of vaccines after meeting domestic demand."
Earlier, he attended a programme where Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries (BAPI) leaders donated medicines to Palestine Ambassador to Bangladesh Yousef SY Ramadan.
G7 must ensure vaccine access in developing countries: UN experts
The UN human rights experts Wednesday called on leaders of the world's largest economies to make sure people in the developing countries get equal access to Covid-19 vaccines and not to allow the profit motive to undermine global health and equity.
"Everyone has a right to have access to a vaccine for Covid-19 that is safe, effective, timely and based on the application of the best scientific development," they said ahead of the G7 Summit of leaders – set to be held in the UK during June 11-13.
The UN experts including Olivier De Schutter, special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Tlaleng Mofokeng, special rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; Dante Pesce, chair of the Working Group on Business and Human Rights, Surya Deva, vice-chair; Saad Alfarargi, special rapporteur on the right to development, made the call in a joint statement issued from Geneva.
Also read: Pragmatic talks underway over vaccine procurement, coproduction: Ambassador Li
"Now is the time for international solidarity and cooperation to provide effective assistance to all governments in their vaccination efforts and to save lives. It is not the time for protracted negotiations or for lobbying to erect barriers to protect corporate profits," they said.
The experts stressed that the extraordinarily speedy production of safe and effective vaccines against Covid-19 has not been followed by swift action to ensure equity of access across all countries and regions.
"Billions of people in the Global South are being left behind. They see vaccines as a mirage or a privilege for the developed world," they continued. "This situation will unnecessarily prolong the crisis, drastically increase the death toll and deepen economic distress, possibly sowing the seeds of social unrest."
The G7 leaders must make it their top priority to protect the rights to life and health of people in the most socially and economically precarious situations at a time when millions face poverty and hunger, said the experts.
Also read: WTO panel considers easing protections on COVID-19 vaccines
"It is shocking that, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) reports, less than 1% of all vaccines administered so far have gone to low-income countries," they said.
The UN experts stressed the importance of ensuring that intellectual property rights do not become a barrier to low-cost production and expanded supply.
Also, they urged pharmaceutical companies to join the WHO's Covid-19 Technology Access Pool for sharing know-how, data, and to facilitate technology transfer.
They recalled that while the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) provides for certain flexibilities – including for the possibility of compulsory licensing in cases of national emergency – these remain insufficient to respond to the current pandemic.
Also read: US to honour Bangladesh's request for AstraZeneca vaccine: FM hopes
"Maximising production of safe vaccines must take precedence over profiting from a global pandemic," they said. "States must ensure that legal protection for intellectual property and patents does not undermine the right of everyone to get access to a safe, timely and effective vaccine."
The experts also reminded states to act in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and ensure that multilateral institutions such as the WTO "neither restrain the ability of their member states to meet their duty to protect nor hinder business enterprises from respecting human rights."
They also highlighted the need to strengthen the capacity of developing countries to produce vaccines themselves by ensuring financial and technical support for local manufacturing – some of which are already taking off – and safeguarding access to active ingredients required for production.
WFP ED lauds Bangladesh's development journey
Executive Director (ED) of the World Food Programme (WFP) David Beasley has highly appreciated Bangladesh's development journey.
The WFP ED expressed his admiration for the big strides Bangladesh has made as the country's Ambassador to Italy Shameem Ahsan presented his letter of credence to him at the WFP headquarters in Rome Tuesday as the permanent representative of Bangladesh to the WFP.
Also read: WFP reopens fresh food corners at Rohingya camps