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◈ Dhaka awaits New Delhi’s reply on Teesta note verbal: spokeswoman ◈ Quader urges children to abhor communalism and militancy ◈ AL sees power as scope to serve people: PM ◈ Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said Bangladesh should formulate a roadmap considering its geo-strategic advantage to make the country an aviation hub. “Reaping on the dividend of our geo-strategic advantage, we should create a roadmap as to how we can make our country as an Aviation Hub,” she said in a video statement aired in the inaugural session of the first edition of Aviation Summit in Dhaka. The Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry, in collaboration with the UK and France, organised the “Bangladesh Aviation Summit-2023” at a city hotel. The prime minister described the summit as very significant for Bangladesh as it has aspiration to become an aviation hub in the region. She said Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman undertook measures to turn the country into an ‘Aviation Hub’ to connect the East and the West capitalizing the advantage of Bangladesh’s geographical location, just after achieving the membership of ICAO in 1973. The premier said the move was halted immediately after the assassination of the Father of the Nation in 1975. “We have undertaken several measures to support the development of an aviation hub. During the last one decade, we implemented a host of projects to upgrade our airports, airport security and ground handling,” she said. As part of the move to make Bangladesh as an aviation hub, Sheikh Hasina asked the concerned government organisations, the airlines and other stakeholders to carry out their responsibility to create conducive environment for the development and sustaining market both for passengers and cargo. “The government is going to introduce e-visa system which will also facilitate and expedite the flow of passengers visiting Bangladesh for business or tourism,” she said. Promising aviation industry requires skilled manpower, she said, adding, “Our youth must have the opportunities to be trained to become pilots, aeronautics engineers, mechanics, crew members and much more.” The premier hoped that Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Aviation and Aerospace University, established by her government, would be able to cater the demand of skilled manpower in the country’s aviation and aerospace industry. She said the aviation industry has to lead by example in tackling climate change and strive to meet SDGs. De-carbonation and sustainable aviation fuel are topics which will require investments, concrete actions and the support from developed aviation nations, she also said. “The aviation partnership proposed by the UK and France, through Airbus, to support us in our journey is very crucial,” she opined. Besides, a number of projects are running which include HSIA Expansion Project (Phase-I), Construction of General Aviation Hangar, Hangar Apron and Apron at North side of Fire Station at HSIA; Strengthening of Existing Runway and Taxiway at Shah Amanat International Airport, Chattogram; Development of Cox’s Bazar Airport (Phase-I), Cox’s Bazar Airport Runway Extension Project; Strengthening of Existing Runway and Taxiway at Osmani International Airport, Sylhet; and Enhancement of Capacity of Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh on Public Security at HSIA, she added. The third terminal being constructed under HSIA Expansion Project (Phase-I), will create handling capacity of additional 12 million passengers and 4 million ton cargos, she said. Sheikh Hasina said, “The transformation of our economy helped boost the travel opportunities for our people and open up new routes and markets for our airlines”. When Bangladesh will turn into an Upper Middle Income Country by 2031 and a developed country by 2041, the aviation market will be further expanded, she said. The premier said as the economy of Bangladesh has grown, so has the importance of air cargo. “The air cargo market of Bangladesh is rapidly growing at 8 percent per year – three times the world average. This underlines the strong demand for a dedicated national cargo operation in our country. With all of this in mind, there are areas where aviation actors need to do more,” she said. PM’s Private Industry and Investment Affairs Adviser Salman Fazlur Rahman, State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism M Mahbub Ali and British MP Rushanara Ali, among others, spoke at the summit. ◈ Roadmap needed to make Bangladesh an aviation hub: PM
   
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Dhaka, Delhi agree to strengthen cooperation in areas of common rivers, cyber-security

19 June 2022, 11:33:46

Bangladesh and India have agreed to work closely to further strengthen cooperation in the areas of common rivers, water management, cyber-security, energy, agriculture, food security and climate change.

The agreement came at the 7th round of Bangladesh-India Joint Consultative Commission (JCC) meeting concluded here this evening with issuing a joint statement on the outcome of the meeting.

Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr. A.K. Abdul Momen and Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar co-chaired the meeting held at the city’s Hyderabad House, according to the joint statement issued after the meeting.

It was a first physical meeting held since the onset of Covid-19 pandemic. The previous edition was held virtually in 2020.

During the meeting, the two ministers recalled the warmth shared by both sides, borne out of the shared sacrifices of the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh, that have forged close historical and friendly relations that transcend the traditional notion of a strategic partnership.

They expressed satisfaction that despite challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, both countries have worked closer than ever before in every sector, from security and border management to mutually beneficial trade and investment flows.

“A role model for bilateral and regional cooperation, the ministers appreciated that the trust and mutual respect shared between the two countries has only strengthened in the last decade,” the statement said.

In this connection, they referred the launch of the trailer of ‘Mujib – making of a nation’, the jointly produced biopic on Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2022.

Both the ministers appreciated that in addition to the high-level visits, there has been intensive engagements through various bilateral mechanisms and agreed to further enhance partnership-building efforts with renewed vigour and regularity.

In this regard, both Ministers tasked their officials to accelerate cooperation, with further attention paid to addressing issues and finding durable solutions for the mutual benefit of both the peoples.

Referring to Rohingya issue, both sides reiterated the importance of safe, speedy and sustainable return of the forcibly displaced persons from Rakhine State of Myanmar, who took shelters in deferent camps in Bangladesh.

Acknowledging the excellent bilateral ties shared between the two countries, they reiterated the importance of closer cooperation to expeditiously implement the Leaders’ decisions and to further deepen and strengthen mutual engagement across all sectors of bilateral cooperation.

During his visit in New Delhi, Foreign Minister Momen will also pay courtesy call on Indian Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu and other dignitaries of the government of India.

The meeting also decided that the 8th round of India-Bangladesh JCC will be held in Bangladesh next year, the statement added.

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