Momen hosts dinner for new and outgoing ambassadors

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen hosted a dinner last night in honour of newly arrived and outgoing diplomats.

"It was a farewell and welcome for outgoing and newly arrived ambassadors," one of the diplomats familiar with the event told UNB.

However, it could not be known whether the current political situation came up for discussion.

Meanwhile, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Bangladesh Anne Gerard van Leeuwen paid a farewell call on Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen yesterday afternoon at the State Guest House Padma.

Recognising the Dutch-Bangladesh bilateral relations as solid, the foreign secretary thanked the ambassador for his contributions towards building it and keeping it on an upward trajectory.

He stated that the Netherlands is an important country for Bangladesh and underscored that the partnership and investment in the areas of agriculture and agro-processing, supply chain management, IT and ITES, climate change and renewable energy would be beneficial for both the economies.

The foreign secretary praised the Dutch leadership in the circular economy, modern sustainable agriculture, green energy and delta plan for a sustainable future and sought Dutch support for skill development in these sectors.

He thanked the Dutch government for humanitarian assistance to the forcibly displaced Rohingyas, temporarily sheltered in Bangladesh, and urged more support of the Netherlands towards sustainable repatriation to their homeland Myanmar.

Ambassador Leeuwen expressed satisfaction for receiving all-out support of the Bangladesh government during his tour of duty in Bangladesh. He underscored the need for more knowledge-to-knowledge (K2K) and business-to-business (B2B) connections for the prosperity of both countries and highlighted 'Orange Corners' established by the Dutch government to promote start-ups, skill development and private sector cooperation.

The ambassador thanked Bangladesh for hosting 1.1 million Rohingyas and hoped for a peaceful solution to the crisis.

The foreign secretary also hosted a lunch in honour of the departing ambassador at the end of the meeting and handed over a gift as memento.