High Commissioner Pranay Verma and Principal Staff Officer of Bangladesh Armed Forces Division, Lt. Gen. Shameem addressed the Seminar on Indian Defence Equipment - SIDE 2024 - hosted by the High Commission of India in Dhaka on 20 February 2024.  High Commissioner highlighted the advances made by the Indian defence industry over the last decade driven by Prime Minister Modi’s vision of “Make in India” and “Make for the World”, which has spurred unprecedented investments into the Indian defence manufacturing sector and has led to rising Indian defence exports. He described SIDE 2024 as a reflection of Indian defence industry’s interest in partnering with Bangladesh and to taking India-Bangladesh defence cooperation forward to the next level, including by utilizing the Defence Line of Credit of US$500 million extended by Government of India to Government of Bangladesh. He also noted that India is willing to share with Bangladesh wide-spectrum capabilities in defence manufacturing, including the most sophisticated technologies. He also proposed graduating the bilateral defence cooperation to the next level by building joint ventures in defence manufacturing.   A number of premier defence manufacturing companies of India, from both public and private sectors, participated in the event and made presentations showcasing a range of ‘Made in India’  defence equipment, technology and platforms. The seminar  was attended by representatives from Bangladesh Armed Forces as well as paramilitary and police forces.

South Korean Ambassador, Chang Jae-bok and his team are part of the G20 delegation visiting Meghalaya. On Tuesday, Asian Confluence — the Northeast think-tank — hosted the South Korean envoy and his team comprising Dr. Choongjae Cho, Deputy President of the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP) and Vice President for the Korean Association of Indian Social Science Research (KAISSR) for a round table on the theme: “Northeast India: Republic of Korea -India Special Strategic Partnership and the Way Forward”. Present at the meeting were NEHU Vice-Chancellor representative Dr. Prasenjit Biswas, NEIGRIHMS Director Dr. Nalin Mehta, NIFT Director Dr. Shankar Kumar Jha, NEHHDC representative Sriparna B. Baruah, Assam Chief Information Commissioner Samudragupta Kashyap, ICCR Director Munich Singh and former diplomats River Wahlang & Rudi Warjri and Dr Kriezo Yhome from the Nagaland University, amongst others. Chairing the meeting was former Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Riva Ganguly Das. Also present was former Arunachal Pradesh chief secretary Shakuntala Gamlin. The purpose for the meeting was to explore ways and means for cooperation between South Korea and the Northeastern states. The launch of Korea’s first Indo-Pacific vision document – Strategy for a Free, Peaceful and Prosperous Indo-Pacific in December 2022 has raised expectations for enhanced momentum in Korea’s strategic ties with India. Also 2023 is a landmark year when Korea and India celebrate 50 years of diplomatic ties. Speaking at the round table, the South Korean Ambassador said India-Korea relationship will rapidly grow and is a natural partner of Korea because the two countries share many facets of democracy. Mentioning the Act East Policy promoted by the Modi government, Jae-bok said the Look East Policy (LEP) started by PV Narasimha Rao in 1994 further revised and renamed and now the Act East Policy (AEP) is not just rhetoric but the Modi government has also chalked out detailed action plans as it is keen to ensure that North East India becomes the bridge between India and South East Asia. Jae-bok also pointed out that it is important to identify the areas of cooperation between South Korea and NE India and how to go about this. He stated that it is important to institutionalise such discussions. Allocation of Rs 1,500 crore for promoting the AEP in 2022-2023 shows the Modi government’s seriousness to develop the region as a strategic zone and a bridge between South East Asia and the NE region. South Korea is interested to extend its engagement to the NE region where the soft power of Korea resonates the most with K-pop being at the top. North East India will soon become a favourite investment destination from South East Asia, particularly South Korea. Ambassador Jae-bok said the very fact that the South Koreans danced the Oscar award winning Natu Natu and it went viral shows how close India and South Korea have become. “India and South Korea are natural partners for ensuring peace in the Indo-Pacific region and also for strategic economic and cultural ties with NE India and this relationship is set to expand within the next 50 years,” Jae-bok said. The Korean Ambassador also said that he has learnt from FICCI that the region is rich in resources such as oil and gas and cultural resources as well. “Korea has already invested in automobiles and electronics and will now explore investment in electronics Information and Communication Technology, green energy, food processing, organic agriculture, eco- tourism etc. He also mentioned that Manipur University is already offering Diploma Courses in Korean Language. NEHU is next in line as this oldest central university already has a vibrant tie-up with South Korea. Earlier Riva Ganguly Das laid out the premises on which Indo-Korean bilateral relations stand. She also stated that South Korea is an indispensable part of the Act east Policy. Dr. Choongjae Cho said that his first impression on arriving at Shillong is one of familiarity. Speaking of his organisation, he said it is engaged in trade and investments and India is one of 27 priority countries. “South Korea has capabilities to address regional imbalances in urban development, transportation, infrastructure, water resources management, access to health and hygiene, environment and climate change adaptation, green energy and ICT and these are areas of potential cooperation with North East India,” he said. Dr. Choongjae also said he saw the limestone being mined and wondered about sustainable mining strategies. He also spoke about making eco-tourism a sustainable venture. Dr. Nalin Mehta, Director of NEIGRIHMS, spoke about collaboration in the area of knowledge sharing through exchange programmes. Dr. Sriparna Baruah spoke of the need to empower grassroots organisations especially the micro and medium enterprises run by women entrepreneurs and wondered if there is a market in South Korean for the Eri silk products which is a women-centric product. She also spoke of strengthening and scaling up incubation centres. Rudi Warjri wanted the South Koreans to share with Northeast India their strategies on becoming an industrialised first nation and if they could set up something like a Samsung or Hyundai industry in the region. River Wahlang also desired that the South Koreans impart some of their strategies for nation building and how they position themselves geo-strategically. NIFT Director Dr. Shankar Jha said that India is known for its traditional knowledge whereas South Korea is known for its innovative thinking. Hence the key is to bridge the gap between the two. Shakuntala Gamlin, who is also on the governing board of Asian Confluence, summed up the discussions and stressed on the need for water harvesting in order to cope with the water crisis that is a key outcome of climate change. She also spoke on the urgency of natural resource regeneration and technology transfer. Sabyasachi Dutta, Director Asian Confluence earlier welcomed the panelists and stressed on the importance of people to people exchange between South Korea and North East India. Other speakers included Munish Singh of ICCR and Dr Kriezo Yhome.

Terming Africa a priority continent for India, the Ministry of External Affairs on Friday said the continent has a huge potential of joining collaboration in the exploration of Oil and Gas, especially in Western Africa. Dammu Ravi, Secretary (Economic Relations), MEA, while addressing a special briefing on the next week’s visit of Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu to Gabon, Senegal and Qatar said: “West African countries have lots of natural resources like oil and gas and have not been fully exploited. There is a lot of potentials for our companies to join collaboration with Gabon and Senegal.” “Since 2014, number of visits from India are 34 and 100 from other side actually characterizes the relationship. The prioritization from our side putting Africa on top of the agenda, clearly with the direction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that Africa is priority continent,” he said. Vice President Venkaiah Naidu will visit three nations (Gabon, Senegal and Qatar) from May 30 to June 7. He will be accompanied by a high-level delegation including Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar and three Members of Parliament, Sushil Kumar Modi (Rajya Sabha), Vijay Pal Singh Tomar (Rajya Sabha) and P Raveendranath (Lok Sabha). Speaking about the visit to Gabon and Senegal, Ravi said: “The most important aspect of the visit is the first-ever high-level visit from India to both Gabon and Senegal. The Vice President is visiting these two countries from May 30. On June 4, he departs from Senegal and goes to Qatar.” “The visits to Gabon and to Senegal will add momentum to India’s engagement with Africa and emphasise India’s commitment to the African continent,” MEA’s earlier statement read. During the Gabon visit, Vice President will hold delegation level talks with the Prime Minister of Gabon Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda. Vice President will call on the President of Gabon Ali Bongo Ondimba and meet other dignitaries. He will also interact with the business community in Gabon and address the Indian diaspora. Both India and Gabon are currently serving as non-permanent members of the UNSC. Bilateral trade reached USD 1.12 billion in 2021-22.  Source: ANI

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today (Thursday) emphasised enhancing collaboration among the Asia-Pacific countries in agricultural research and education for ensuring food security alongside transferring and sharing of cutting-edge technologies.  "For ensuring food security . . . collaboration among the countries of the region in the field of agricultural research and education should be enhanced," she said. The premier said this in her first recommendation among three placed at the opening ceremony of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)'s 36th Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific.  She, in her second point, said transfer and sharing of cutting-edge technologies like bio-technology, nanotechnology, and robotics in agricultural sector needs to be strengthened among FAO member states in the region.  In the final point, she added: "As modern agriculture needs huge investment, special fund could be created to finance and support the agri-sector."  Bangladesh, for the first time, is hosting the virtual regional hybrid event. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina joined it remotely from her place of residence in Abu Dhabi.  She said the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the agricultural sector like other sectors. At the initial stage of the pandemic in 2020, the supply chain was disrupted affecting both the producers and consumers, she said.  "However, our timely and effective interventions helped the sector recover fast. We took special measures, including mechanization, to ensure unhindered food production and supply of agricultural inputs," she added.  Sheikh Hasina continued that the COVID-19 pandemic revealed how vulnerable human beings are in the face of such disaster, and it has also made surfaced how the human race by acting together can face such challenges.  She went on saying, "Food security is surely the most pressing issue for the people. About 305.7 million people in South Asia still suffer from hunger. We can arrange food for them easily if we all make sincere effort."  Director-General of FAO QU Dongyu and Fisheries and Livestock Minister SM Rezaul Karim spoke in the conference presided over by Agriculture Minister Dr Muhammad Abdur Razzaque.  Focusing on Bangladesh's agriculture sector, the premier said although the relative significance of the agricultural sector in GDP has been diminishing in the country, the absolute contribution did not fall, but has rather increased and the agricultural GDP saw a 40 percent rise since 2005-06.  Despite the fall in its share, agriculture still remains the main source of employment, providing livelihood to 40 percent of the labour force, she said, adding that currently about 22.7 million people of which 45 percent are women are directly employed in the agricultural sector.  Now many agro-processing industries are fully dependent on agriculture for basic raw materials like rice milling, sugar, tea, fruit juice, spices, edible oil, tobacco, jute textiles, cotton textiles, starch and others, she said.  Thus, agriculture still remains the backbone of Bangladesh's economy, she continued.  Mentioning that Bangladesh has made remarkable progress in the production of rice, vegetable, fruit, fish, meat, egg and milk production in the last 13 years, she said her country also became self-sufficient in rice production by producing nearly 38 million metric tons of rice a year.  In the world, the Prime Minister said, Bangladesh is ranked 2nd in jute and fresh water fish production, 3rd in rice and vegetable production, and 4th in tea production as well as stands first among the 11 Hilsha fish producing countries.  "These achievements have been possible due to continuous policy support and incentives provided by our government, as well as the efforts of our hard-working farmers," she said. She added that entrepreneurs have also created a thriving private sector where agriculture is growing and expanding.  The Prime Minister said, "Despite these successes, we realize that we have to do more for achieving food and nutrition security in the real sense. It is because these sectors are prone to shocks from nature and climate related abnormalities."  Noting that Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries affected by climate change, she said climate change is also a major threat to sustainable agriculture. "Therefore, we have been implementing various adaptation and mitigation projects from our Climate Change Trust Fund to offset the impacts," she added.  Bangladesh has also adopted the "Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan" and adopted the "Delta Plan 2100" to deal with the issues of climate change, she said. "Our scientists have developed flood, drought-resistant and salinity-tolerant crop varieties that can be grown in those difficult environments," she added.  Highlighting that Bangladesh's subsistence agriculture has also been transforming into commercial agriculture, Sheikh Hasina said, "We, therefore, need to put emphasis on diversification of food production through growing high-value food, and processing value-addition to the low-value foods."  "In order to ensure sustainable production, we are converting to modern agricultural practices like mechanization, floating agriculture, rooftop farming, hydroponic and aeroponic farming and integrated farming," she said.  Citing that the farmers were the most neglected in the society of Bangladesh, she said they even didn't have easy access to banking system a decade ago.  During her first tenure, her government distributed Agricultural Inputs Assistance Cards to the farmers and made arrangement for them to open bank accounts, she added.  "Now about 20 million farmers are holding such cards and getting financial incentives for agricultural inputs, and farming loans that are being sent directly to their accounts. Even share-croppers are being given collateral- free agri-loans," she went on to add. The Prime Minister said her government has taken various steps to enable farmers to obtain all kinds of assistance by the use of digital technology.  The farmers can now obtain agriculture related information by accessing "Krishi batayon- Agricultural Windows", she said, adding that there are 499 Agricultural Information and Communication Centers countrywide to provide agri-related information.  She said her government has formulated visionary policies and laws for the development of agriculture, and for the welfare of farmers. The present government has also taken initiatives and actions to implement the National Agriculture Policy 2018, National Food and Nutrition Security Policy 2020 and Sustainable Development Goals 2030, she added.  After Bangladesh's independence, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman called for a "Green Revolution" for the economic emancipation of farmers, said Sheikh Hasina, also the eldest daughter of the Father of the Nation.  During his three and a half-year in office, the premier said Bangabandhu introduced a host of measures to attain food autarky and rebuild the war-ravaged country.  "Let us together create a world that can eradicate poverty, hunger, war and human sufferings and achieve global peace and security for the well-being of humanity," she said, quoting Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's maiden speech delivered at the 29th session of the United Nations in 1974.  The Prime Minister also declared the FAO 36th Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific open. Source: BSS AH

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday said collaboration among countries at regional and global levels is fundamental to accelerate progress in the Universal Health Coverage.   “Resource mobilization to ensure Universal Health Coverage is a fundamental obstacle in many countries. Effective global partnership to formulate healthcare financing strategy for each country could be an important tool to achieve UHC and ultimately SDGs by 2030,” she said.   The Prime Minister said this while addressing 'Multi-stakeholder Panel’ held in parallel to the High-level meeting on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) on the theme 'UHC as driver of equity, inclusive development and prosperity for all'.   Sheikh Hasina along with her Spanish counterpart Pedro Sánchez co-chaired the program held at ECOSOC Chamber of the UN Headquarters.   Hasina said, "I believe, collaboration amongst countries at regional and global level is fundamental to accelerate progress in Universal Health Coverage.”   "Inclusive development and progress mean two things -- everyone, irrespective of his or her social background, must get equal opportunity; and everyone must have equal access to the common benefit and resources,” she said. She said only generating growth and creating wealth are not enough for progress and wellbeing unless the access to and distribution of the wealth are just and proper.  “We’ve found out that securing universal health coverage is one of the pre-conditions for establishing a righteous and fair society as our health equates to our existence. While adopting Agenda 2030 in 2015, we committed that all individuals and communities should be able to receive essential health services,” she added. Although there has been some major progress, half the world's population still lacks access to necessary health services. About 100 million people are pushed into extreme poverty each year because of health expenses, and 800 million people spend at least 10 per cent or more of their household budget on healthcare expenses," Hasina said. Noting that equity for all in availing of healthcare is an important issue, she said socio-economically disadvantaged people most often cannot access services from privately-owned health care providers resulting in inequity in overall health care benefits. The Prime Minister said lack of equity and absence of inclusive development may bring political instability and serious erosion of social cohesion. The PM said the equity in healthcare services could be ensured through Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by reaching to the poorest segment of the society with affordable and efficient health services. “We need to ensure that no family is forced into poverty because of health care expenses,” she said. As stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for his or her health and well-being, she added. She said 90 percent of health needs can be met at the primary healthcare level. "Therefore, strong primary healthcare systems can be the first line of defence against communicable and non-communicable diseases." In Bangladesh, Hasina said, the government has established about 14 thousand ‘Community Clinics’ across the country to provide primary healthcare to rural areas so that the last one in line can be reached. The PM said some 40 patients take health services from each community clinic per day and 90 percent of them are women and children. More than 10 million average visits are made to these community clinics in every month. Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights; Maha Taysir Barakat, Chair of the Board of the RBM Partnership to End Malaria; Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of Oxfam International; and Jeffery Sachs, Professor and Director, Center for Sustainable Development, Colombia University, were the panelists of the event. Source: UNB AH