Indian Ocean Conference: Rise of India and Bangladesh



News Desk, Barta24.com
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The two-day Indian Ocean Conference on May 12 and 13 is a landmark get-together of Nation-states with a singular goal. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar just came close enough to advise the world about the purpose and intent of the conference, but not saying everything. It was an undeclared coincidence.

Congress of Vienna was a meeting of the European Nations from 1814-1815. The congress set out a strategy to maintain ‘peace and stability’ throughout the European continent. It gathered following the first defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte. Europe was never the same again.

The India Foundation, a Delhi-based Think Tank, organized the first regional meeting in Singapore in 2016. The last and the largest one took place in Dhaka on May 12 and 13, 2023. Heads of government, foreign ministers and ministries all gathered in Dhaka with only one goal: how to make sure the free passage of goods and services where the region’s oceans and seas account for 90% of world trade and 60% of oil transportation. The real value of the maritime trade has tripled in the past 15 years. The time has come for Bangladesh as a major regional power to join forces like India to build a peaceful, stable and inclusive Indian Ocean region.

The prime minister said despite many challenges, Bangladesh provided temporary shelter to more than 1.1 million forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals. “This gesture avoided a major humanitarian catastrophe in the region. Now, we seek active support of the global community to repatriate the Rohingya people to their homeland in a safe and sustainable manner.”

Bangladesh has been a hub of maritime activities for centuries and it is active in many regional platforms, she said, adding that the country is the current chair of the Indian Ocean Rim Association and it is also the current president of the Council of the International Seabed Authority.

The Dhaka Forum provided a platform for delegates to place their requirement for the Indo-Pacific really meaningful. The United Arab Emirates Assistant Minister for Economic and Trade Affairs Saeed Mubarak Al Hajeri reiterated the need for such a forum to ensure peace and security. The Vietnam Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Do Hung Viet boldly pointed out fingers at a country defying the UNCLOS regulations! The Cambodian Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Soeung Rathchavy found Dhaka a safe forum for sharing Cambodian dynamics with the Conference. The Minister’s entire family was murdered by POL POT of the Khmer Rouge. She survived with another child. The Russians came to their rescue.

Every team leader had a story to tell, and they felt comfortable sharing their thoughts. Even the American participant got a forum to put forward their perception in preparation for the Indian Ocean Conference. The US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman in her virtual presence reiterated the well-known American position.

The Indian team co-hosted with their Bangladesh counterpart the process seamlessly. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina set the conference theme in motion; Jaishankar and State Minister Shahriar Alam carried on the theme successfully towards the end.

The G7 summit being held in Hiroshima demonstrates both symbolism and substance. The venue represented an emphatic no to ‘Russian nuclear blackmail’ albeit tactical. Zelensky’s attendance added a new shine to the gathering. It seems that Ukraine may after all obtain the F-16 support and other sophisticated paraphernalia in the long run to deliver a decisive blow to the Russians. Besides shortening the tour has not gone unnoticed. Papua New Guinea ‘is a case in point: years ago, when I attended the CHOGM summit, the Papua New Guinea Prime Minister gifted a Tong used by the Prime Minister to the Australian Prime Minister Fraser, a TONG used by the Papua PM’s predecessors to pick human brains!
Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit instead to sign an agreement to assure the Pacific nation of security concerns.

The Tokyo summitries have already swung up agreement on Ukraine and strengthened the Western anti-Russian phalanx. Attendance by some developing countries is an essential part of the present international country's position in the face of the Russian violation of Ukraine's sovereignty as an independent United Nations member-state. By this, a fresh attempt is being made to denounce the unilateral violation of international borders recognized by the United Nations.

Writer: Waliur Rahman, Researcher and Columnist

Source: Daily Sun

   

India's Foreign Secretary's visit to Dhaka postponed



Staff Correspondent, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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India's Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra's visit to Bangladesh has been postponed.

A diplomatic source confirmed the matter on Thursday (April 18).

According to sources, the visit will take place on a mutually convenient new date. This is part of the high-level exchange between Bangladesh and India and the review of the progress of the bilateral cooperation agenda of the two countries.

A message in this regard has also been given to the guests invited to attend the dinner with the Indian Foreign Secretary on April 20. It said, "The trip has been postponed."

Although no official announcement was made from Dhaka and New Delhi regarding the visit, he was scheduled to arrive in Dhaka on Saturday for a brief visit.

In addition to the meeting with Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen, the Indian Foreign Secretary was supposed to have a meeting with Foreign Minister Dr. Hasan Mahmud.

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‘Amrita Sagar’ variety banana of Narsingdi gets GI recognition



Sharif Iqbal Russel, District Correspondent, Barta24.com
Amrita Sagar

Amrita Sagar

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Narshingdi: Narsingdi's ‘Amrita Sagar’ variety banana has received Geographical Indication or GI (Geographical Indication) product recognition. Farmers are happy to get this recognition. The Deputy Commissioner said that Narsingdi's position has been taken higher.

In the context of the soil, water, and weather of a specific territory of a country, if the culture of the people there plays the most important role in the production of a product, it is recognized as a GI product of that country.

Recognition of GI is very significant in domestic and international trade. Now in the list of GI products Narsingdi’s ‘Amrita Sagar’ banana. On February 8, the Department of Patents, Designs and Trademarks, an institution under the Ministry of Industries, granted the Geographical Indication or GI product recognition to Amrita Sagar banana of Narsingdi. The GI certificate was handed over to the Prime Minister on February 11. Banana cultivators are happy with this recognition.

According to the sources of Narsingdi Agricultural Extension Department, because of loam and sandy loam soil in Narsingdi, cultivation of Amrita Sagar banana is high here. Amrita Sagar banana is supplied to the surrounding districts and the capital to meet the local market demand.

Not only that, this banana is also being exported outside the country. In this context, an application was made by the district administration to include Narsingdi’s latkon and Amrita Sagar banana as geographical indication products in collaboration with e-commerce development center. Following the application, the authority recognized Sagar banana as a GI product after vetting the application.

Narsingdi Deputy Commissioner Dr. Badiul Alam said, due to recognition as a GI product, Amrita Sagar banana will have a huge response in commercial exports in the country and abroad.

According to the information of the District Agriculture Department, Amrita Sagar banana has been cultivated in 580 hectares of land in the district this year. In this recognition, its cultivation will increase further next year, and there is optimism in the conscious community.

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242 metric tons of Indian sugar seized in Pabna, 23 detained



Staff Correspondent, Barta24.com
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Pabna district police seized 12 trucks with 242 metric tons of Indian sugar smuggled from India by evading customs duty. At this time, 23 people including the truck driver and helper were arrested.

They were arrested in a special operation by the District Intelligence Police on Thursday (April 18) afternoon.

Pabna Additional Superintendent of Police Masood Alam confirmed the matter.

He said that for a long time a gang was bringing illegally imported Indian sugar to the country and selling it in different districts. Based on such news, the police entered the field. Later they were arrested in a raid in the Kazirhat Ghat area. At that time they could not show the valid documents of the goods. They were later seized and 23 people were arrested.

Additional Superintendent of Police Masood Alam also said that the case is under process. Details will be given after the investigation.

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Parimoni has been summoned to appear in court



Special Correspondent, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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The court has issued a summons to the plaintiff businessman Nasiruddin Mahmud to appear in the court in the case of attempted murder in the case against the popular and criticized actress Parimani. At the same time the accused Junaid Bogdadi Jimmy asked to appear in court.

Dhaka Senior Judicial Magistrate M Saiful Islam gave this order on Thursday (April 18). Nasiruddin, the plaintiff in the case, had applied for the issuance of an arrest warrant against Parimoni.

The plaintiff's lawyer Abul Kalam Mohammad Sohail gave this information.

Earlier, the investigation officer of the case, police inspector Monir Hossain filed a report in the Dhaka Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court stating that the allegation of beating and intimidation against Parimoni and her costume designer Junaid Bogdadi Jimmy alias Jim was found to be true.

However, the report mentions that the allegations against another accused, Fatema Tuz Jannat Boni, were found to be true.

Businessman Nasiruddin filed the case in court on July 6, 2022.

In the statement of the case, it is said that Parimoni and her associates are alcoholics. Taking advantage of the opportunity, they entered various famous clubs and drink alcohol and do not pay the price with the parcel. Parimoni threatened harassment by filing false cases with police officials she knew. On June 9, 2021, after 12 midnight, the accused entered Savar's Boat Club and used the washroom on the second floor.

Later they sat inside the club and drank alcohol. When the plaintiff and his accomplice Shah Shahidul Alam were leaving the club at around 1.30 am, Parimoni purposefully called the plaintiff Nasiruddin and requested him to sit with them for some time. At one point Parimoni tried to lure Nasiruddin through obscene gestures and pressured the plaintiff to give the parcel a bottle of Blue Label alcohol free of charge.

As the plaintiff did not agree to this, Parimoni insulted the plaintiff. During an altercation between the plaintiff and the accused, Paramoni threw a serving glass at the plaintiff and also threw the mobile phone in his hand. Nasiruddin was injured in the head and chest. Parimoni and her accomplices beat up and threatened to kill Nasiruddin and vandalized him. 

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