Mar 03, 2018
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Visiting Asian Development Bank President Takehiko Nakao highly praised Bangladesh's tremendous socioeconomic success, saying that the country has immense potential to emerge as an economic power in Asia. The ADB president's appreciation came when he paid a courtesy call on Honourable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her official residence Gonobhaban. Mentioning that the ADB has been working with Bangladesh for its socioeconomic development since 1973, Takehiko Nakao said his organisation is ready to assist in power, transport and other sectors for boosting the country's economy further.
Bangladesh has advanced two notches in the latest "world corruption perceptions index" annually prepared by Transparency International (TI), marking the country's enhanced capacity in checking corruption. Berlin-based TI published yesterday the country wise corruption situation in 2017, placing Bangladesh at 17th position, which was 15th in 2016. The graft watchdog's Bangladesh chapter Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) unveiled the report at a press conference at their office saying, it is a matter of temporary relief for us that our (Bangladesh) position improved a bit.
Three female Nobel Peace Prize laureates today called the atrocities on the Rohingyas a genocide, saying that the perpetrators must be brought to the book. The Myanmar government must be taken to task for committing genocide in the Rakhine state and let the world take a stand against it, the three Nobel laureates -- Shirin Ebadi, Mairead Maguire and Tawakkol Karman -- said this when they paid a courtesy call on HPM Sheikh Hasina this week. They also called Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as a kind mother and said Bangladesh now needs more international assistance for rehabilitation of the Rohingyas.
The Certificate of Appreciation received by Bangladesh for implementation of the Montreal Protocol of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) was handed over to HPM Sheikh Hasina this week. Environment and Forest Minister Barrister Anisul Islam Mahmud and Deputy Minister Abdullah Al Islam Jakob handed over the 'Certificate of Appreciation' to the premier at the outset of the weekly cabinet meeting. According to media reports, Bangladesh received the Certificate of Appreciation for its success in implementing the UNEP Montreal Protocol meaning checking of degradation of ozone layer in the 11th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Vienna Convention and the 29th meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol held on November 23 last year.
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
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The Asian Development Bank has approved $360 million in loans to help Bangladesh buy modern rolling stock and support reforms in its railway. According to the statement, the loan will address the investment and modernisation needs of Bangladesh Railway. According to media reports, it will procure 40 broad gauge locomotives, 125 luggage vans, and 1,000 wagons for freight trains for use on major lines of the rail network. The rolling stock will introduce auxiliary power units (APU) to Bangladesh Railway to significantly reduce diesel consumption when the locomotives are idling, said the ADB.
Chinese companies are going to construct three more coal-based power plants in Bangladesh with a total capacity of 3,960 megawatts. Two of the plants will be set up by Bangladesh-China joint venture companies while another by a consortium of China and Hong Kong-based firms. The power plants, with a capacity of 1,320MW each, will be built in Maheshkhali of Cox's Bazar, Kalapara of Patuakhali and Mirsarai of Chittagong.
SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EQUITY
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Works are underway to rehabilitate 50,000 homeless families across the country. Under second phase of the Guchhagram Project (Climate Victims Rehabilitation), the said number of families who are landless, homeless, address less and affected by river erosion would be given an opportunity to turn around their lives. Under an earlier scheme, 5,400 landless families are rehabilitated 11,854 families under Char Development and Settlement Project-4.
The government has taken a special project to help create more women entrepreneurs in the country's thriving ICT sector, providing them with necessary training and some other initial supports. Initially a total of 10,500 women will be provided with necessary trainings to achieve three primary goals of the project. The goals include creating 4000 women entrepreneurs, developing skill of another 4000 women in providing internet-based services and engaging 2500 women in call centres. Women aged between 18 and 40, have basic knowledge in ICT and can read and write English, will be eligible for participate in the project. Trainings will be given in 21 upazillas across the country.
INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL COOPERATION
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Bangladesh and Morocco have signed an agreement on avoidance of double taxation and a protocol on foreign office consultations. Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali and his Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita signed the two instruments at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Rabat on Wednesday. This followed a bilateral meeting where they discussed the bilateral issues. Both sides agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in economic development, trade and investment, agriculture and tourism cooperation.
The Green Climate Fund (GCF) has approved around $25 million in grant to support a project designed to build the adaptive capacities of women and adolescent girls living in the southwestern districts of Bangladesh. With a focus on women and adolescent girls, the new 6-year project - 'Enhancing adaptive capacities of coastal communities, especially women, to cope with climate change induced salinity' - will benefit 700,000 people living in disaster-prone areas. The project will provide assistance to 39,000 women and girls in Satkhira and Khulna to adopt resilient livelihoods, while ensuring reliable, safe drinking water for 130,000 people through community-managed rainwater harvesting solutions.
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