The new country representative of UNHCR to Bangladesh, Sumbul Rizvi, has presented her credentials to Foreign Minister Dr A. K. Abdul Momen at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday, October 9. Foreign Minister welcomed the new country representative to Bangladesh and assured her of necessary supports of the Government in executing her duties.  He appreciated the persistent engagement of UNHCR in rendering the humanitarian operations for the Rohingyas temporarily sheltered in Bangladesh as well as for the host community.  Foreign Minister highlighted the innumerable challenges Bangladesh has been facing in hosting for than 1.2 million forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals (Rohingya) in Bangladesh.  Noting that a single Rohingya could not be repatriated to Myanmar in the last six years, Dr Momen cautioned that their prolonged stay in Bangladesh may pose threats to the security of the region and beyond. He called upon UNHCR and other UN agencies having presence in Myanmar to work with the Myanmar government towards creating conducive environment in Rakhine. The UNHCR Representative expressed her gratitude to Bangladesh for its continued cooperation to UNHCR. Underscoring the need for repatriation of the Rohingyas temporarily sheltered in Bangladesh, she mentioned that the UNHCR would continue its sincere efforts in maintaining the humanitarian response to the Rohingyas.  She concurred with the Foreign Minister that the Rohingya issue must remain at the top of the global agenda. She also agreed with Dr Momen that concerted and meaningful efforts by the international community were required for ensuring sustainable repatriation of displaced Rohingya people.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has signed the Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) to protect the world's oceans and reverse from the damage done to fragile marine environment by overfishing and other human activities. The agreement was signed on Wednesday under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea at the Ground Floor, General assembly Building, Treaty Event area. (BSS Reports) Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen while briefing newsmen about the Prime Minister’s engagements on the sidelines of the 78th UNGA session. The treaty gave consent to management and preservation of the genetic resources describing those as the common heritage. The Foreign Minister said he held several bilateral meetings with Foreign Minister of Singapore Vivian Balakrishnan and Netherlands Foreign Trade Affairs and Development Cooperation Minister Liesje Schreinemacher alongside attending several high level events that included Breakfast Summit on Climate Mobility and 18th Asia Cooperation Dialogue. Joining the climate summit, Momen said, “Bangladesh has become a role model for the rest of the countries to face the impact of climate change.”    He said the rich countries are mainly responsible for carbon emission while the contribution of the developing countries is only 0.47 percent. The Foreign Minister called upon the rich countries to walk on their pledges to give $100 billion  every year to the climate fund. “But unfortunately the rich countries don’t comply with their promises. They should keep their promises,” he said. The Foreign Minister said Bangladesh has got a nominal amount of the money from the climate fund to overcome the loss and damages caused by the climate change. He said, “Political commitment is a must to comply with the promises made by the rich countries.” Thematic Ambassador for Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) Saima Wazed and Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen, among others, were present.

Chinese President Xi Jinping assured that his country will always stay beside Bangladesh in its needs including providing support in joining the BRICS and ensuring permanent solution to the Rohingya issue. Reports BSS   "I will always support you (Sheikh Hasina) as you can join the BRICS," Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen quoted Xi as telling Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a bilateral talks on the sidelines of the 15th BRICS Summit. The Chinese president also said, "China will help Bangladesh bring a permanent solution to the Rohingya issue---we don't want instability in the region". After the meeting at the Hotel Hilton Sandton here last (Wednesday) evening, Momen said in a media briefing that Xi wants to resolve the Rohingya issue through tripartite engagement of China, Bangladesh and Myanmar. According to Momen, the Bangladesh premier said her government wants to repatriate Rohingyas to their homeland citing that the displaced Myanmar nationals are becoming threats for the regional peace as many of them are engaged in illegal drugs and arms trading.   "Peace is imperative for development," Sheikh Hasina said.   The Chinese president assured that they will always support Bangladesh in solving Rohingya issue, expressing his country's keenness to help Dhaka in the development of energy, renewable energy and infrastructure. Xi also gave assurance of cooperation in making Bangladesh a developed and prosperous Sonar Bangla. He continued: "China will help you to materialise your dream to build a developed and prosperous 'Sonar Bangla' at the quickest possible time."   Sheikh Hasina has sought Xi's help in quick implementation of some Chinese funded projects which are now being stuck for fund crisis while the Chinese president assured of looking into the matter. During the talks, the prime minister stressed the need for reducing the trade gap between Bangladesh and China citing that Bangladesh imports Chinese goods worth about 20 billion US dollars every year while China imports Bangladeshi goods worth only 700 million US dollars. The Chinese president then assured of taking initiative to reduce the imbalance in China-Bangladesh trade. He said his country has given duty and quota free access of 98 percent Bangladeshi products to the Chinese market.   "The trade gap between Bangladesh and China will be reduced if some Chinese investments come into Bangladesh," Sheikh Hasina said. She also stressed the need for signing the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) between the two countries.   In reply, the Chinese president said, "We will take measures to quicken the signing of the Preferential Trade Agreement between the two countries." Momen also said Bangladesh in the bilateral meeting has expressed its eagerness to export fresh fruits such as mango, jackfruit, guava, fresh vegetables, cattle and poultry feeds to China.   The Chinese president assured Bangladesh of considering the issue prominently, the Bangladesh foreign minister said. The Bangladesh premier also invited the Chinese president to visit Bangladesh to witness the opening of the Padma Rail Bridge to be held in October next.   In reply, the Chinese president said, "I will definitely come to your country. But the time of visit will be fixed through talks between foreign ministers of both the countries".   Xi also invited the Bangladesh premier to visit China while Sheikh Hasina said she will visit China, but it may take time as she will be busy with the polls campaign as the national election is knocking at the door, Momen said.   The Bangladesh premier as well urged the Chinese president to widen the scope for Bangladeshi students to study in China while Xi assured of looking into the matter.   Sheikh Hasina arrived in Johannesburg on August 22 to attend the BRICS summit being held on August 22-24.   She will deliver a speech today on behalf of Bangladesh as a member of the "New Development Bank of BRICS" at Friends of BRICS Leaders Dialogue (BRICS-Africa Outreach and the BRICS Plus Dialogues) comprising representatives from 70 countries. Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen, Prime Minister's Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman Fazlur Rahman, PM's daughter and Thematic Ambassador of Climate Vulnerable Forum and Chairperson of the National Advisory Committee for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders Saima Wazed, PM's Principal Secretary Md Tofazzel Hossain Miah and Senior Secretary of Foreign Affairs Masud Bin Momen, were present at the meeting.

Foreign Minister Dr. A. K. Abdul Momen, M.P. received a business delegation from Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) from India today in the afternoon at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dhaka. Dr. Momen, during his interaction with the delegation, expressed his satisfaction over the excellent bilateral relation between Bangladesh and India.  He noted that both Bangladesh and India have made remarkable growth in trade and investment in the recent years. He urged that the two countries should work together to complement each other’s economies, especially, when the world is experiencing economic recession due to Covid-19 pandemic and ongoing geopolitical crisis. Dr. Momen noted, due to the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, regional stability has been ensured, which has benefited both the countries to augment economic growth. Dr. Momen stressed on working for the promotion of bilateral trade and commerce in a balanced manner and emphasized to remove all kinds of trade barriers, especially, tariff and non-tariff barriers for enhancement of trade volume between Bangladesh and India.  He invited the business delegation to invest in Bangladesh and take advantage of the congenial investment regime of the country. He stressed on developing the two Special Economic Zones (SEZs) located at Mirsarai and Mongla dedicated for India at an expeditious manner, so that, more investment can be accommodated. The Indian delegation appreciated the recent remarkable socio-economic growth achieved under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. They expressed their readiness to engage with various business bodies for promoting trade and commerce with a view to achieving economic development in both the countries.  They also expressed their keen interest in investing in Bangladesh especially in health, education and power sector. They also proposed to launch BIMSTEC Chamber of Commerce to promote trade and commerce amongst the BIMSTEC member states.  Foreign Minister appreciated the idea and assured of extending necessary support in this regard. Indian Chamber of Commerce which was set up in 1925, has a special focus on promoting trade and commerce in the South Asian and South East Asian countries. They are visiting Dhaka from 6-8 August 2023 and meeting various Chambers and business houses in Bangladesh.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left here for Rome, Italy on a three-day official visit to attend UN Food Systems Summit+2 Stocktaking Moment on 23 July. PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim said, "A regular commercial flight of Qatar Airways, carrying Prime Minister and her entourage members, took off from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) at 05:05am." The flight is scheduled to land at Rome Fiumicino Airport of Italy at 02:05pm local time (06:05pm BST) after making around one hour stopover at Hamad International Airport in Doha of Qatar. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is joining the United Nations Food Systems +2 Stocktaking Moment (UNFSS+2) conference at the invitation of the United Nations (UN) Secretary General António Guterres. The UNFSS+2 conference will be held at the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) headquarters in Rome, Italy on July 24-26 with the theme “Sustainable Food Systems for People, Planet and Prosperity: Diverse Pathways in a Shared Journey”. In a media briefing on July 20, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said two Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) - “Cooperation in the Field of Energy” and “Cultural Exchange Programme” - are likely to be signed between Bangladesh and Italy. Source: BSS

Foreign Minister Dr. A. K. Abdul Momen, MP congratulated Ms. Sarah Cooke on her appointment as the new British High Commissioner to Bangladesh during her maiden courtesy call on him Monday, July 10. The Foreign Minister fondly recalled his personal interactions with both Her majesty the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles on different occasions.  He also mentioned the recent visits of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to London to attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. The Foreign Minister recalled that the historic relationship between Bangladesh and the UK started it’s journey on 8 January 1972 when the then British Prime Minister Sir Edward Heath warmly received Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in London on the way of his return to independent Bangladesh from the captivity in Pakistan. Highlighting the spectacular socio-economic development of Bangladesh under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, he termed the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and the UK as rock-solid, appreciated UK’s development assistance in our developmental journey,  and noted the sharing of the same values of democracy and human rights.  He invited more investments from the UK specially in our agro-processing, renewable and clean energy, and aviation sectors and sought further cooperation from the UK in tackling climate change, and support to the Bangladesh’s candidature to IMO Secretary-General and Council member elections. The British High Commissioner highlighted that Bangladesh and UK share historic bonding, deep people-to-people contact, and uphold common values of the Commonwealth.  Referring to the frequent exchange of high-level visits, stronger cooperation in defence, aviation and climate sectors, she commented that the relations between the two countries have shifted from development assistance centric to a strategic one following Bangladesh’s rapid economic development in the recent years.  The High Commissioner acknowledged the immense contribution of large Bangladeshi diaspora in the economy and society of the UK, role of Bangladesh-origin British Parliamentarians and informed that British investors are looking forward to suitable projects for investment in Bangladesh.  She assured of continued humanitarian and political support of the UK government to the Rohingya crisis and expedited visa issuance particularly for the students. The British High Commissioner expressed that the upcoming general elections in Bangladesh would be free, fair, peaceful and participatory.  Foreign Minister welcomed foreign observers during the upcoming general elections and underlined the need of all political parties’ commitment for free, fair and peaceful general elections.

The 9th Bangladesh-US Partnership Dialogue was held at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, DC, on 03 May 2023, where key bilateral and global issues of mutual interest were discussed. Foreign Secretary Ambassador Masud Bin Momen and U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Ambassador Victoria Nuland led their respective delegations. Foreign Secretary Momen briefed the US side about the Prime Minister’s visit to Japan and later to Washington, DC, to celebrate the 50 years of partnership between Bangladesh and the World Bank. He also shared the outline of Bangladesh’s recently released Indo-Pacific outlook. Ambassador Nuland noted number of areas of convergence between the two countries' respective Indo-Pacific documents. Foreign Secretary Momen also briefed his US counterpart about various measures taken by the Election Commission to pave the way for free and fair elections at both local and national level. The US side appreciated the Bangladesh Prime Minister’s express commitment on free and fair elections as well as openness to engage international election monitors. The Bangladesh Foreign Secretary shared some of the positive developments on Bangladesh’s recent human rights performance. He reiterated the call for lifting the sanctions on RAB and extraditing Rashed Chowdhury, the self-confessed killer of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Ambassador Nuland acknowledged the Bangladesh Government’s announcement to review the Digital Security Act by this year. She also emphasized the importance of continuing progress with the labour sector reform in order for attracting enhanced investment from the US.  Both sides expressed satisfaction at the growing and vibrant business cooperation in a number of critical sectors. They agreed to continue working further on cyber security and data protection to enhance business engagements by the US tech giants in Bangladesh. Ambassador Nuland appreciated Bangladesh’s remarkable generosity in hosting the Rohingyas from Myanmar and assured USA’s continued humanitarian support. Foreign Secretary Momen briefed her about the latest situation of the funding for Rohingya response as well as the renewed pilot scheme for repatriating a limited number of Rohingyas to Myanmar. Both sides agreed to further scale up the resettlement programme for some of the most vulnerable Rohingyas. The two sides exchanged their views on the climate change related issues and discussed areas of cooperation in this regard. The Foreign Secretary invited Under Secretary Nuland to the 10th round of the Partnership Dialogue which will take place in Dhaka next year. Bangladesh Ambassador to USA Muhammad Imran and senior officials from relevant Ministries and Bangladesh Embassy in Washington were present in the meeting. The US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas, Ambassador Donald Lu and senior officials from the US State Department, White House and the USAID were present from the US side.

Foreign Minister Dr. A. K. Abdul Momen MP held a meeting with the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the US Department of State in Washington on Monday. In their initial remarks in presence of the media, both leaders expressed satisfaction in the existing bilateral relations and echoed their desire to further strengthen bilateral relations for the next 50 years, building on the solid foundation of the past 50 years. Terming the Bangladesh-US relationship wide-ranging, dynamic and multifaceted, Dr. Momen hoped to develop, strengthen and solidify the relations. He thanked President Biden for his warm message to the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on the Independence Day of Bangladesh, which ended with “Joy Bangla”. During the meeting, they discussed various bilateral and other issues of mutual interest, including strengthening and diversification of economic partnership, resolution of Rohingya crisis, climate change, labour rights, civil liberty, and elections. Apprising Mr. Blinken of the ongoing and completed works in labour sector reforms in Bangladesh, the Foreign Minister hoped that these efforts would be duly acknowledged and appreciated through stronger economic partnership between the two countries. Mr. Blinken appreciated the ongoing US-Bangladesh consultative process in improving labour situation in Bangladesh. Foreign Minister called upon USA to take advantage of the generous investment regime of Bangladesh and encourage US private sector to invest in special economic zones and high-tech parks in Bangladesh. Dr. Momen thanked the US government for their generous support in combating COVID-19 and continued humanitarian support for the Rohingyas sheltered in Bangladesh. He stressed the need for sustained international pressure on Myanmar for creating environment for voluntary repatriation of Rohingyas to Myanmar. Secretary Blinken highly appreciated Bangladesh for generously hosting over one million Rohingyas and assured to continue to work towards repatriation of the Rohingyas. Foreign Minister echoed with the US Secretary of State on the importance of a free and fair elections and reaffirmed the commitment of Bangladesh government in this regard. He reiterated Bangladesh’s request to extradite Rashed Chowdhury, a self-confessed killer of Bangabandhu.  At the end of the meeting, Foreign Minister handed over a letter that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina wrote to US President Joe Biden to thank him for his warm message on the Independence Day of Bangladesh. The Ambassador of Bangladesh to the US Mr. Muhammad Imran, Deputy Head of Mission Ms. Ferdousi Shahriar, Director General (North America) Mr. Khandker Masudul Alam, and officials of the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were present in the meeting. Counselor Derek Chollet, Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration Ms. Julieta Valls Noyes, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Ms. Kara McDonald, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Ms. Afreen Akhter accompanied Mr. Blinken in the meeting.

Dr. Tandi Dorji, the Honourable Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade of the Royal Government of Bhutan, has extended warm greetings and felicitations to Foreign Minister A K Abdul Momen and the people of Bangladesh on the occasion of upcoming Independence Day to be observed on 26th March 2023. "I am happy to note that our countries maintain an excellent bilateral relationship bolstered by increasing cooperation and interaction," Dr. Tandi Dorji said in a felicitation message to his Bangladeshi counterpart recently. "I am confident that this bond of friendship will continue to grow even stronger in the coming years," he wrote. He wished that this Independence Day would bring happiness, peace, and prosperity to the people of Bangladesh.

The Minister of State (Indo-Pacific) at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) of the UK, Ms Anne-Marie Trevelyan, MP, called on Foreign Minister Dr. A. K. Abdul Momen, MP on monday afternoon at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  Lauding the UK’s role in multilateral fora, particularly at the UN Security Council on Rohingya issue, Foreign Minister urged the international community, including the UK to play more decisive role in ensuring the voluntary, safe and sustainable repatriation of the forcibly displaced Rohingyas, temporarily sheltered in Bangladesh, to their homeland in Myanmar at an early date. The Foreign Minister also briefed the British Minister of State on the facilities created in Bhasan Char for the Rohingyas. During the call, both sides also discussed various other bilateral and international issues of mutual interest and concerns, including bilateral trade and investment, cooperation on climate change, war in Ukraine, etc.