Economy
Brazilian Foreign Minister Arrives in Dhaka for Bilateral Talks
Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira arrived in Dhaka on Sunday morning to discuss bilateral issues and enhance trade and investment ties with Bangladesh.
South America’s most influential country’s foreign minister will hold a bilateral meeting with his Bangladeshi counterpart Hasan Mahmud this afternoon, along with engaging with business leaders during his two-day official visit. He is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday.
Upon his arrival at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, Mauro Vieira was received by Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen. Vieira will pay tribute to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Bangabandhu Memorial Museum in Dhanmondi 32 before his meeting with Hasan Mahmud.
The bilateral meeting between the two foreign ministers is set to take place at the state guesthouse Jamuna, beginning at 4:20 pm on Sunday. An agreement on technical cooperation between the two countries is expected to be signed after the meeting.
A joint media briefing by the two foreign ministers will follow the bilateral discussions. State Minister for Commerce Ahsanul Islam Titu will also meet with the Brazilian Foreign Minister at his residence. In honor of his Brazilian counterpart, Hasan Mahmud will host an iftar and dinner on Sunday evening.
On Monday, Mauro Vieira will meet with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at Ganabhaban, with the meeting scheduled to start at 10 am. Following his meeting with PM Hasina, Vieira will visit Square Pharmaceuticals facilities and Beximco Industrial Park in Gazipur.
The Brazilian Foreign Minister is scheduled to deliver a lecture on Brazil’s priority areas at the G20 as the current chair at the Foreign Service Academy at 3 pm on Monday afternoon. Accompanied by a business delegation, he will meet with business leaders in Dhaka. The apex trade body, FBCCI, will host an iftar and dinner in honor of the Brazilian Foreign Minister and members of the business delegation on Monday evening.
Brazil aims to export beef to Bangladesh at a cost of around Tk 500 per kg. Brazilian Foreign Minister’s visit is deemed highly significant by Foreign Minister Hasan. “Brazil is a significant country, and there is ample opportunity to enhance trade relations,” Hasan commented. Brazil had previously expressed its willingness to deepen relations with Bangladesh for mutual development, South-South cooperation, and tackling poverty, hunger, and climate crises.
Diplomatic relations between Brazil and Bangladesh, established in 1972, have strengthened over the years. In 2023, President Lula and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina met during the BRICS Summit in South Africa. Bilateral trade between Bangladesh and Brazil reached the US$2.3 billion mark last year. Mauro Vieira is scheduled to depart Dhaka at 11:55 pm on Monday, with Additional Foreign Secretary (Bilateral) Dr. Nazrul Islam seeing him off at the Dhaka airport.
Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus on Thursday paid tribute to the Armed Forces Division by placing a floral wreath at its headquarters.
Prof Yunus, who visited the division as part of his official duties, laid the wreath to honor the sacrifices and dedication of the members of the Armed Forces.
Following the wreath-laying ceremony, he signed the visitor’s book.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal, along with four other election commissioners, announced their resignation during a press conference today at the Election Commission (EC) building. The resignation follows growing speculation and pressure.
CEC Awal stated, “In this changed situation, I and other commissioners have decided to step down. We’re handing over our resignation letters to the EC Secretary to send it to the President.” After submitting the letters, the CEC and some commissioners quickly left the premises, with no clear explanation for the absence of two election commissioners.
The resignations come amid increasing unrest tied to the registration of political parties such as Nagarik Oikya and Gono Odhikar Parishad. Sources revealed the CEC felt unsafe due to aggressive behavior from activists, prompting the decision to step down.
Protesters outside the EC building hurled shoes at vehicles carrying Election Commissioners Rashida Sultana, Md Alamgir, and Anisur Rahman as they left. Meanwhile, preparations for their exit had already been underway, with the commissioners reportedly relocating personal belongings from their offices.
The commission, appointed in February 2022 for a five-year term, had previously expressed confusion over demands for their resignation, maintaining they had conducted fair elections. However, internal discussions led to the collective decision to resign earlier than expected.
The government will now purchase LNG from the international spot market through open tender instead of negotiation.
Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) in a meeting on Wednesday in principle approved a proposal in this regard.
Adviser of the interim government for Finance Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed, who presided over the meeting, said that the government will procure LNG through open tender.
The Energy and Mineral Division of the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources placed the proposal where it sought approval to import LNG from 23 listed companies in the international spot market.
The adviser said that though such 23 companies were enlisted by the previous Awami League government and signed Master Sales and Purchase Agreement, they will remain unchanged.
He said that instead of applying the Speedy Increase of Energy and Power Supply (Special) Act 2010, the interim government will follow the Public Procurement Rules 2008 to ensure the competitive bidding process.
“We don’t want to change them as we wanted to import LNG quickly, ensuring proper competition among the suppliers,” he told reporters.
Committee also approved another proposal in principle to sign a contract to import urea fertiliser for the 2024-25 fiscal year from Fertiglobe Distribution Limited, UAE, on a G-to-G basis.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet Committee on Government Procurement (CCGP) in a meeting, presided over by the Adviser for Finance, approved 3 proposals for import of lentil and fertiliser.
As per the proposal, the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh will procure 10,000 metric tons (MT) of lentil from local firm Sahara Enterprise at a cost of Tk 98.20 crore with each kg priced at Tk 98.20.
The Commerce Ministry which moved the proposal on behalf of the TCB in the meeting mentioned in the proposal that the supplier firm was selected through open tender.
The CCGP approved two separate proposals of the Industries Ministry under which Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation will import 30,000 MT of bulk granular urea fertiliser from Fertiglobe Distribution Limited, UAE, under state to state contract at a cost of Tk 121.48 crore.
Each metric ton of fertiliser will cost $343.17.
Another 30,000 MT of bagged granular urea fertiliser will be procured from the local Karnaphuli Fertilizer Company Limited (Kafco) at a cost of Tk 116.99 crore with each metric ton costing $330.50.
