Day: February 10, 2023

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3-day Bangladesh Seed Congress to begin in city Saturday

Three-day “Bangladesh Seed Congress 2023” is going to begin at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) at Agargaon in the city on Saturday.

Bangladesh Seed Association (BSA) will organise an event where about 1000 local and foreign scientists, agro expansion activists, seed dealers, industrialists, agriculturists, bankers, teachers and farmer representatives will participate.

Former agriculture secretary and chief coordinator of the function Anwar Faruque informed this while addressing a press conference at Dhaka Reporters Unity on Thursday.

President of BSA M Anis Ud Dowla, vice president Dr M Ali Afzal, general secretary AHM Humayun Kabir were among others present on the occasion.

The organisers of the "Bangladesh Seed Congress 2023” said that an expo will take place at the congress where different organisations will showcase their products and activities at 13 pavilions and 60 stalls.

Agriculture Minister Mohammad Abdur Razzaque is scheduled to inaugurate the seed congress at 10 am on Sunday at the venue of the function while International Seed Federation’s secretary general Michael Keller and Food and representation of Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Bangladesh Robert D. Simpson will attend the event.

The organisers said that Bangladesh Seed Association is a single organization of private seed companies. This association is currently working with about 10,000 members.

They said the private sector plays a vital role in the seed industry. The private sector provides 53 percent of the country's total seed supply and some 44 percent of rice seeds are being supplied by the private sector, they said.

Of these, about 97 percent of hybrid rice seeds, 99 percent of maize, 86 percent of vegetable seeds, 74 percent of potato seeds, 83 percent of jute seeds are supplied by the private sector.

“Our seeds industry has taken a big shape of an organized sector where the public and private sectors are working together. The non-profit sector is working as a supplement to the government,” said Anwar Faruque.

He said private sector participation in seed cultivation began in 90s and with supportive policy and regulations it has grown substantially.

Since the year 2000, the number of private seed trading companies has increased significantly, and the use of quality seeds has also increased in the country.

Quality seeds accounted for 20 percent of the country's total seed demand in 2009, which has now increased to 33 percent.

However, this rate is 59.2 percent in the case of crops such as potatoes, vegetables, maize, rice, jute seeds etc.

The total seed requirement in the country is 1.25 million MT out of which 786,885 MT of potato seed is required. In the case of potato seeds, the yield of quality seeds is 16.38 percent, the organisers said.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

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Private sector to become the country’s development engine: Principal Secretary

Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Tofazzel Hossain Miah on Thursday said the government is simplifying rules for entrepreneurship development like in the developed countries as it wants the private sector to grow as the country’s development engine.

He was speaking at a seminar titled ‘Contemporary Global Economic Scenario: Challenges and a way forward for EPZ enterprises in Bangladesh’ held at Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) conference room in the city.

The BEPZA organized the seminar to highlight the business-friendly environment in Bangladesh among the local and foreign investors in the EPZs and the incentives and other opportunities for business growth.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has recently formed a committee under the principal secretary’s leadership with the participation of the private sector to formulate a logistics policy, which is crucial for growing entrepreneurship.

The government is working to simplify the process of permission for foreign investors and bring it under a single authority, Tofazzel said.

International trade expert Dr Mohammad Abdur Razzaque presented a keynote paper in the seminar on ‘From Headwinds to Opportunities: Charting A Path to Export Success through Global Turbulence’.

He pointed out that Bangladesh has made tremendous socio-economic progress and is now set to graduate from the LDC group in 2026.

Despite this advantage, external shocks and an unfavorable global trade environment pose threats to economic stability and development prospects. Along with this, the medium- to long-term export prospects will interact with the new realities of a much less favorable post-LDC graduation international trade regime, he said.

“The recent macroeconomic developments imply the critical significance of exports in maintaining foreign exchange reserves. It is in this context that the role of Export Processing Zones (EPZs), accounting for 17 percent of the country’s total merchandise exports, cannot be overemphasized,” he added.

The government is striving for promoting exports, a transformed trade and investment policy is now needed,” said Razzaque, who is also chairman of the research organization RAPID (Research and Policy Integration for Development).

Technological advancement is already impacting the way global trade takes place, and slow adaptation will undermine export competitiveness, he pointed out.

President of the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Investors' Association (BEPZIA) Shahadat Musharraf Khan, Additional Director of the Bangladesh Bank Mohammad Iftakhar Awal Bhuiyan and Member (Customs Export, Bond and IT) of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) Hossain Ahmed took part in the discussion on keynote paper.

BEPZA Executive Chairman Major General Abul Kalam Mohammad Ziaur Rahman said the aftermath of strict lockdown for the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing Russian-Ukraine war coupled with the sanctions and counter-sanctions by the economic giants have put the world into a situation of economic turmoil and uncertainty.

Bangladesh is also experiencing the shock of this economic uproar, so alternative ways and negotiations are needed to develop a policy for overcoming the situation, he said.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

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Eswatini wants trade, investment promotion with Bangladesh

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam had bilateral discussions with Eswatinian Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade Manqoba Khumalo in Mbabane Tuesday.

Manqoba Khumalo, during the meeting, underlined the need for trade and investment promotion between Bangladesh and Eswatini.

Mentioning textiles and agriculture as major areas of potential cooperation, he sought investment from Bangladeshi investors in these areas in Eswatini.

The Bangladeshi investors can reach out to other member states of SADC from Eswatini to export their products, said the minister.

Shahriar said Bangladesh is also interested in establishing cooperation with Eswatini in the agriculture and textile sectors.

Highlighting the Vision 2041 of the government for transforming Bangladesh as a developed and prosperous nation, he informed the Eswatini side about the recent infrastructural development, growth of manufacturing industries as well as other emerging sectors here.

Underlying the need for identifying potential sectors of trade and business as well as the exchange of visits among businessmen, the state minister reaffirmed Bangladesh's commitment to take the bilateral and economic relations with Eswatini to newer heights.

He invited the Eswatinian businessmen to trade and invest in Bangladesh.

The representatives of the investment promotion authority of Eswatini present at the meeting said Bangladesh businessmen can reach out to different member states of COMESA, SACU and SADC by establishing business in Eswatini.

Also, the Eswatinian side said joint ventures may be established in sugar, food items, cotton, contract farming, construction and livestock, IT and ICT sectors.

They mentioned various facilities offered by the Eswatinian government to the investors.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

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Eswatini invites Bangladesh pharmaceutical companies to set up plants

The health minister of Eswatini has invited Bangladeshi companies to set up production units in Eswatini.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam had a bilateral meeting with the Minister of Health of Eswatini Lizzy Nkosi in Mbabane Tuesday.

The health minister said the Covid pandemic introduced new challenges for the countries.

She showed interest in working with the Bangladesh government in Covid pandemic area as well as sharing knowledge with Bangladesh in the health sector.

During the discussion, the Eswatinian side said a partnership would be forged between Eswatini and Bangladesh sides for the production of pharmaceutical products.

The health ministry officials of Eswatini briefed the Bangladesh side about the facilities and opportunities of pharmaceutical production in the country.

The state minister informed the Eswatinian side about the achievements of the Bangladesh government in the health and pharmaceutical sectors.

Bangladesh exports pharmaceutical products to a large number of countries in the world, he said.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

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Govt giving Tk 8 crore incentives to 4 lakh jute farmers to boost production

The government has started disbursing TK eight crore as incentives to farmers to boost jute cultivation across the country.

A total of four lakh farmers will get seeds under the programme, said a press release of the Agriculture Ministry on Thursday.

A farmer will get one kg of jute seeds at free of cost for bringing one bigha of land under jute cultivation.

Also read; Faridpur jute growers find themselves in troubled waters

This incentives are being provided from the agriculture rehabilitation support sector under the regular budget of the Agriculture Ministry.

The disbursement of the intensives will start soon in filed level, said the press release.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

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Japan wants to invest in sugar industry, biomass power, prepaid gas meters in Bangladesh

Japan wants to invest in several sectors of Bangladesh, including the sugar industry, biomass power generation, and prepaid gas meter industry.

Governor of Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) Nobumitsu Hayashi expressed the interest when he paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the latter’s official residence Ganabhaban in Dhaka.

PM’s speechwriter Md Nazrul Islam briefed reporters after the meeting.

Read more: Bangladesh, Gambia agree on co-deployment of troops in UN peacekeeping

Hayashi said JBIC is keen to provide loans to Japanese entrepreneurs for making investments in these particular sectors in Bangladesh.

PM Hasina appreciated the offer – saying that one or two out of the country’s 15 sugar mills can be made available to Japanese investors.

She said a prepaid gas meter factory can be built under a joint venture.

The prime minister said Japan is a trusted partner of Bangladesh, adding that the people of Japan have been standing by Bangladesh since the Liberation War in 1971.

“I am extending gratitude to Japan on behalf of Bangladeshi people, as Japan is still extending cooperation to us,” she said.

Read more: PM launches operation of 3 newly built rail lines on Rooppur, Shasidal and Joydebpur routes

In this connection, she said that Bangladesh is implementing several mega-projects with Japanese support, which include Matarbari deep seaport, Matarbari coal-fired power plant, Third Terminal of the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, Bangabandhu Rail Bridge over the Jamuna river and Dhaka Metro Rail project.

She hoped, “The existing bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Japan will be strengthened further in future.”

The JBIC governor described Japan as Bangladesh’s development partner and vowed to contribute more to the country’s development journey. Senior Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen, PMO Secretary Mohammad Salahuddin, and Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Iwama Kiminori were present at the meeting.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

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Credit Suisse posts $1.4B pre-tax loss as woes go on in 4Q

Credit Suisse on Thursday reported a pre-tax loss of more than 1.3 billion Swiss francs (about $1.4 billion) in the fourth quarter of last year, as its new managers vie to right the top-drawer Swiss bank that has faced a string of setbacks in recent years.

The bank also announced the $175 million purchase of the investment banking business of U.S.-based M. Klein and Co. and plans to roll those operations into the revived CS First Boston investment bank.

The Zurich-based company, Switzerland’s No. 2 bank after UBS, said net revenue sank 20% compared with a year ago, coming in at 3 billion francs for the fourth quarter. The pre-tax loss was nearly 1.32 billion francs, compared with 1.67 billion in the same period a year earlier.

Credit Suisse saw its investment bank business shrink and its Swiss bank and wealth management operations increase as a share of revenue. The company says it expects losses in both the investment bank and wealth management units for the first quarter of this year, partly due to a drop in assets under management and lower deposits since announcing a broad restructuring in October.

The bank’s performance last year overall “was mainly driven by significantly lower” investment banking revenue, pointing to an “industry-wide slowdown in capital markets” with major indices all falling in 2022, it said in a statement.

In October, Credit Suisse unveiled a “radical strategy” to revamp itself through measures including cost cuts, staff reductions, steps to lower risk and a cash infusion through a share purchase from the Saudi National Bank.

Credit Suisse has run into multiple troubles in recent years, including bad bets on hedge funds and a spying scandal involving UBS. A Swiss court fined the bank more than $2 million in September for failing to prevent money laundering linked to a Bulgarian criminal gang more than 15 years ago.

For the year, revenue plunged 34% to 14.92 billion francs, and the pre-tax loss came in at 3.26 billion francs, compared with a pre-tax loss of 600 million francs in 2021.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

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Voting to elect 2023-24 committee for Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh ends; counting begins

Eight hours of voting to elect the committee for 2023-2024 term of Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB) – the oldest professional organization of the country – has ended, and counting has begun.

According to Engineer Mohammad Azizul Islam, chairman of IEB selection committee, a total of 3 candidates are vying for the post of president, says a press release.

The candidates are: Bangladesh Awami League’s Science and Technology Affairs Secretary Engineer Md Abdus Sabur, former vice chancellor of BUET Engineer Dr Prof SM Nazrul Islam, and Engineer Mohammad Ali.

Read: IEB protests DCs' proposal on design, implementation of projects

Voting started at 9:00 am today and went on till 5:00 pm.

A total of 17,601 voters of 18 centres, 33 sub-centres, 13 international branches of IEB are casting their votes at the IEB central office.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

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Come out of nightmare of an unelected government: PM

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday asked those who are now dreaming of bringing an unelected government to come out of this nightmare.

“Those who are dreaming of an unelected government, please come out of this nightmare. It’ll never happen in life,” she said.

Sheikh Hasina, also the Leader of the House, was delivering her valedictory speech in the 21st session of the current 11th Parliament.

She said some persons have been saying that if an unelected government runs the country for 2-3 years, there would be no harm and it won’t make the Mahabharata incorrect.

The PM also asked the people of the country to be alert against such persons who want to bring an unelected government.

“Do those who say such things really want the welfare of the people of this country? They prioritise personal gains. So, the people of the country will have to be careful and alert against them,” she said.

She said today Bangladesh is internationally recognised as a development model. “But the change of the nation doesn’t come to their notice. It is unfortunate,” she added.

“Now they want to bring an unelected government,” she said, adding that the people of the country witnessed the destruction of trade and business development, hampering the country’s production and creating a frightening situation during the unelected governments in the past.

“Do they want to take the people of the country again to the frightening situation and play ducks and drakes again with the fate of the people,” she asked.

The maiden session of the 2023 calendar year was prorogued after lasting for 25 sittings.

Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury read out the prorogation order of the President on Thursday night.

Earlier, President Md Abdul Hamid delivered his speech at the beginning of the first session of the New Year, which started on January 5.

Later, the House adopted a motion to thank the President after the MPs spoke for 40 hours and 27 minutes, joining the general discussion over the thanksgiving motion.

The PM asked those who are interested to come in power in the name of an unelected government to join politics and go to the people for coming in power by obtaining their votes.

She said the country is progressing thanks to the continuation of democratic trend and government for the last 14 years. “People are benefiting,” she added.

Referring to the recent six parliamentary by-polls and Rangpur City Corporation election, Awami League President Sheikh Hasina said the government has proven that the elections are held in a free, fair and neutral manner.

She said not a single person of Bangladesh could raise any question regarding the recent six parliamentary by-polls.

Noting that these elections were held in a fair, free and neutral manner, she said “Doesn’t it prove that the Election Commission has the capacity to arrange elections staying quite independent and neutral during the regime of Awami League? The AL government doesn’t interfere into it and won’t do as well,”

Enough stock of food for Ramadan:

The PM assured the people that there won’t be any scarcity of essential commodities during the upcoming Ramadan as enough quantity of foods is in the country’s stocks and more items are being imported from different countries.

She said there is no problem for those who do business in a fair way to import the essential items for Ramadan month. There is no barrier to open LCs to import commodities, she added.

“The essential commodities – chickpeas, sugar, edible oil, onion, date, pulse—are enough (in stocks), but we’re still purchasing more (from different countries). ….Still we have a food stock of 19 lakh tonnes,” she said.

Militancy, terrorism to be checked:

Sheikh Hasina said the government made the country as Digital Bangladesh but now information is exchanged through different apps over how to make bombs and conduct militancy.

“How can we curb militancy and terrorism and how will we get their information, if these things can’t be watched,” she asked.

She said many people are now talking against beimg watchful. “But what is the reason? What secret would they say? And it will be a problem if the government hears it,” she said.

The PM said the government does not hear the conversation rather the law enforcement agencies do it to prevent the acts of militancy and terrorism from happening.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

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US Counselor Chollet’s visit to help strengthen Dhaka-Washington ties: Spokesperson

The forthcoming visit of Counselor of the US Department of State Derek Chollet will help strengthen Bangladesh-US relations, said a spokesperson Thursday.

"Counselor Derek Chollet will be visiting Bangladesh. The purpose of his visit is to strengthen the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and the United States," Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Seheli Sabrin told reporters in the afternoon.

The US Counselor serves at the rank of under secretary as a senior policy advisor to the US secretary of state on a wide range of issues and conducts special diplomatic assignments as directed by the secretary.

Sabrin said Chollet will also discuss the Rohingya issue and see the situation on the ground. Bangladesh is hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas in Cox's Bazar and Bhasan Char.

"The programmes are yet to be finalised," said the spokesperson about Chollet's planned February 14-15 visit.

Chollet previously held positions at the state department, the White House, and the Department of Defence.

From 2012-2015, he was the US assistant secretary of defence for international security affairs, where he managed US defence policy towards Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Western Hemisphere.

Before joining the Pentagon, Chollet served at the White House as special assistant to the president and senior director for strategic planning on the National Security Council (NSC) staff.

From 2009 to 2011, he was the principal deputy director of the state department's policy planning staff.

He served on the 2020 Biden-Harris State Department transition team as well as the 2008 Obama-Biden NSC transition team.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

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DRS in BPL finally!

The Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) authority has confirmed that the Decision Review System (DRS) will be implemented in the playoffs of this year's tournament.

Technicians who will operate the system have arrived in Dhaka, according to a BPL governing council member.

The DRS will be employed in three playoff matches and the final, using Hawk-Eye and UltraEdge technology to prevent controversies that arose during the league phase.

The DRS equipment has been installed in the production room at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, and six cameras will be used for the operation, with at least four technicians overseeing the system.

The BPL faced criticism for not using the DRS system in the league phase, which led to several controversies in the matches.

The council had previously cited a busy schedule and lack of personnel as reasons for not implementing the DRS from the start of the tournament. However, the BPL has fulfilled its promise to use the DRS system in the playoffs.

The absence of DRS has led the BPL authority to implement an Alternative Decision Review System (ADRS), which is not used in any major T20 leagues globally.

The playoffs, including an eliminator and two qualifier matches, will commence on Sunday, with the final set to occur on February 16th.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

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Bangladesh lift SAFF U-20 Women’s Championship title beating Nepal 3-0

Hosts Bangladesh won the four-nation SAFF U-20 Women's Championship 2023 with an unbeaten run, beating Nepal 3-0 in the final at the floodlit Birshrestha Shaheed Sipahi Mostafa Kamal Stadium in the capital's Kamalapur Thursday evening.

This was the second straight win for Bangladesh against the Himalayan nation in the competition. Earlier, the hosts beat Nepal 3-1 in the group stage.

So far, the Bangladesh women's team have reached the final in eight SAFF age group tournaments since 2017. It was the fifth title for Bangladeshi women in the South Asian Football tournaments – four at different age groups and the other at the national (senior) level.

The Bangladesh women's team made history by clinching their first SAFF Women's (Senior) Championship title, beating hosts Nepal 3-1 in Kathmandu last September.

Earlier, Bangladesh beat India 1-0 in Dhaka in 2017 to win the SAFF U-15 Women's Championship with an unbeaten record.

Also, they clinched the SAFF U-18 crown with an unbeaten run in Bhutan in 2018, beating Nepal 1-0.

Bangladesh won the SAFF U-19 Championship in Dhaka in 2021 after beating India 1-0.

In today's final, Shaheda Akter Ripa opened Bangladesh's account in the 42nd minute with an accurate shot into the far corner of the net (1-0). Captain Shamsunahar doubled the lead in the 45th (2-0).

Unnoti Khatun sealed the fate of the match after scoring the third goal for Bangladesh in the 86th minute, capitalising on a free kick from Shaheda Akter Ripa (3-0).

Also, forward Aklima Khatun missed two easy chances in the first half.

After league-basis matches of the championship, Bangladesh made the final as the only unbeaten team, securing seven points. Nepal reached the final after earning six points.

On the road to the final, Bangladesh beat Nepal 3-1, drew goalless with India and outplayed Bhutan 5-0 in the last group match.

Nepal moved into the final, defeating Bhutan 4-0, India 3-1, and losing 1-3 to Bangladesh.

State Minister for Youth and Sports M Zahid Ahsan Russell congratulated Bangladesh women for their win and handed out the awards to the champions and runners-up.

Source: United News of Bangladesh