Porimol Palma

The European Union will not send election observers if the next parliamentary polls are not participatory.

An eight-member Romanian consular mission is arriving in Dhaka today for a six-month stay during which they will issue around 17,000 visas to Bangladeshis seeking employment in the East European nation.

The following year, 757,731 migrant workers left the shore. But the remittance receipt was 10.9 percent lower at $13.61 billion.

"The people of Bangladesh never forgot to show love for Argentina. So, we today humbly came here and reopened the embassy in Bangladesh as a new channel to cement our relations" Argentina Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero says

Bangladesh is seeking to expand diplomatic and trade relations with Latin American countries in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war that has disrupted the global supply chains.

Feeling the pressure from the West for fair and participatory polls and the economic stress at home, the government may go all out to get the BNP and like-minded parties to participate  in the next national election.

The USA has 5 lakh Bangladeshi migrant workers and Saudi Arabia 20 lakh

A major focus of US State Department Counsellor Derek Chollet’s recent visit to Dhaka was the Rohingya crisis, and the US believes that addressing the problem involves restoration  of Myanmar’s democracy.

Two high-level foreign officials -- US State Department Counselor Derek Chollet and Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra -- are expected to arrive in Dhaka today.

Mexico  is set to open an embassy in Dhaka this year as the Latin  American nation is eager to boost trade and diplomatic relationship in  consideration of Bangladesh’s growing economy and importance in regional  and global spheres. Mexico  is set to open an embassy in Dhaka this year as the Latin  American nation is eager to boost trade and diplomatic relationship in  consideration of Bangladesh’s growing economy and importance in regional  and global spheres

Dhaka is expecting Kuala Lumpur to adopt an open system that allows all licensed agencies to send workers to Malaysia free of cost or at minimum cost as Malaysian Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail visits Bangladesh on February 4.

Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra will visit Dhaka in mid-February to discuss the preparations for the upcoming G20 summit, which will be held in Delhi on September 9-10.

The US wants to see Bangladesh as an independent player in the Indo-Pacific region, recognising it as a significant geostrategic actor in the region’s security architecture, says US-based foreign policy expert Anu Anwar.

There was a lot of interest in US Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia Donald Lu's visit to Dhaka. Before leaving early yesterday, he held a series of meetings with the top ministers, labour rights, and civil society leaders. What were the discussions and outcomes? Lu shared with Porimol Palma in detail.

Washington will be focusing on whether there is intimidation during the next national elections due early next year and say it publicly, considering that it is important for the democracies to provide feedback and encourage each other for better democracies, said Donald Lu, US assistant secretary of State for South and Central Asia.

The US will be keeping a close watch on the situation in Bangladesh ahead of the next national election, as the superpower wants to promote democratic governance and human rights, say foreign policy analysts.

The risk of conflict in the Indo-Pacific is increasing. Australia, one of the major powers in the region, is gearing up its relations with countries including Bangladesh.

Bangladesh is one of the countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, and requires  huge funds to adapt.

Two boats carrying around 250 Rohingyas are calling for rescue after getting stranded in the Malacca Strait due to engine failures, while another boat carrying some 180 Rohingyas went missing from the Andaman Sea.

With Bangladesh rapidly improving its infrastructure and connectivity and making regulatory reforms, Japan expects massive foreign investments flowing into the country as it looks to become a regional industrial hub in a few years.