British envoy: It’s a big year for Bangladesh

This year is a big year for Bangladesh and also for the United Kingdom (UK) as a partner, British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Robert Chatterton Dickson has said, adding that they would hold a series of events to celebrate the remarkable success of Bangladesh.

“Bangladesh’s 50 years of independence is a remarkable success. It’s a big year for Bangladesh,” he said during a meeting with the leaders of Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) at his residence on Wednesday.

DCAB President Pantho Rahman and its General Secretary AKM Moinuddin were present at the meeting, among others.

The high commissioner said they would be holding some of the events virtually and some of the events in person, considering the Covid-19 situation.

Trade dialogue between the two countries, further push to resolve the Rohingya crisis, cooperation in the education sector, and events focusing on the upcoming UN Climate Summit are some of the areas that the British High Commission will focus on in 2021.

Dickson said the climate issue was incredibly important for Bangladesh, the UK and the whole world. “It’s important for everyone,” he added.

Also Read - UK to support Bangladesh economy

COP26

The UK will host the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow on November 1-12 this year, which will be a physical event.

The COP26 Summit will bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The UK says it is committed to working with all countries and joining forces with civil society, companies and people on the frontline of climate change to inspire climate action ahead of COP26.

High Commissioner Dickson said the climate issue was particularly very important for Bangladesh, and mentioned that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was leading the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) as its current president.

“Bangladesh and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina are playing a leading role in the CVF,” he added.

CVF is an international partnership of countries highly vulnerable to a warming planet.

Founded in 2009, the forum serves as a south-south cooperation platform for participating governments to act together to deal with global climate change.

Bangladesh assumed CVF presidency for 2020-22 for the second time after its successful tenure as CVF president in 2011-13.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina launched the Bangladesh regional office of Global Centre on Adaptation (GCA) for South Asia in Dhaka, which will also serve as CVF Secretariat, according to the existing MoU signed between the GCA and CVF Secretariat.

Misinformation about vaccines

On misinformation about vaccines, the British high commissioner said misinformation was the real challenge and  it poses several risks. Misinformation has reminded everyone of the role that the media can play in disseminating proper information. “We all have a collective responsibility.”

He said the vaccination program in the UK is a huge success and is in progress. 

On trade issues, the high commissioner said he encouraged British companies to invest in Bangladesh. “We see Bangladesh as a very important trading partner.”

The UK is the second largest investor in Bangladesh, and some of the biggest international investors including HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank and Unilever are based in the UK.

Companies from the UK are interested in the opportunities presented by Bangladesh’s strong track record of growth.

On the Rohingya issue, Dickson said they were strongly pushing the issue as it is important.

The UK government has been working with the government of Bangladesh and international partners to enable the Rohingya's to return home in Rakhine, Myanmar in a safe, dignified and voluntary manner, and to support them until that is possible.