Dipu Moni attends conference on Afghanistan in Japan and meeting of the ARF in Cambodia; Myanmar President postpones his visit to Bangladesh; Growth in inward remittances and FDI; UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon: Bangladesh is rapidly advancing towards
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    • (JULY 2-8)

    Reports noted that Foreign Minister Dipu Moni left Dhaka on July 7, 2012 for a week to attend the second International Conference on Afghanistan in Japan and the Nineteenth Meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Cambodia. 1

    However, according to reports, Myanmar President Thein Sein's visit to Bangladesh has been deferred to a later date after Ramadan due to sectarian violence in the northern Rakhine state. 2

    Reports noted that Bangladesh’s Inward remittances grew 10.26 percent to $12.85 billion as of June 30, 2012 from a year ago, according to data from the central bank. A strong dollar and transfer of money through formal channels helped the country attain good growth of remittance in fiscal 2011-12 despite the global financial crisis, bankers said. In June, the last month of the concluded fiscal year, inward remittances stood at $1.07 billion, down by 7.2 percent from $1.16 billion in May. 3 Further, Foreign direct investment in Bangladesh in 2011 rose by 24.42 percent to $1.13 billion, the highest in its history, according to Unctad's World Investment Report-2012. The country received $1.08 billion as its second highest FDI in 2008. 4

    Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has said Bangladesh is rapidly advancing towards development with successes in several sectors. “In overall consideration, Bangladesh is marching towards development in women's empowerment, women's development, unemployment mitigation, employment generation and rural development,” the UN chief said adding that the recent appointment of Bangladeshi citizen Ameerah Haq as the Under-Secretary-General bore the testimony of another success of the South Asian country. Ban made these remarks on July 5, 2012 while addressing a reception accorded to Ameerah Haq at the Permanent Mission of Bangladesh to the UN in New York. 5

    In other developments, according to Mizanur Rahman, chairman of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of Bangladesh, the human rights situation of the country has improved significantly though it is yet to reach a satisfactory level. 6

    According to reports, former Indian president Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam visited Bangladesh on July 4, 2012 on a two-day visit during which he delivered a lecture on rural development and met Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Dr. Kalam shared his ideas of rural development coinciding with the 33rd founding anniversary of Dhaka-based Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific. 7

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