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February, 2008 fvlv knx`‡`i cÖwZ kÖ×vÄjx Dedicated to the memory of language martyrs [Issue 02]

MESSAGE FROM AMBASSADOR M.HUMAYUN KABIR

Welcome to our web journal‘Vibrant Bangladesh’. This thesecond issue of the Journal andit is dedicated to the memory ofour language martyrs.

The Journal aims at highlightingthe positive developmentsrelating to Bangladesh and purports to work as abridge between the Embassy, the Bangladeshcommunity and friends of Bangladesh in the USA.

We are truly encouraged by the response from thereaders. Your comments and suggestions have beenmost useful in bringing further improvements in thejournal. We look forward to receiving your inputs infuture as well.

SOCIAL CHANGES UNDERWAY INBANGLADESH: CHIEF ADVISER TELLSWORLD LEADERS IN DAVOS

hief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed apprised WorldEconomic Forum in Davos, Switzerland of a quiet

social change underway in Bangladesh to attaineconomic stability through microcredit and non-formaleducation to address the issue of poverty alleviationand extremism.

"Bangladesh is a peaceful country--society must beinclusive in economic and political terms and sense ofbelonging must be generated for ensuring peaceagainst extremism," he said during a plenary sessionon "The quest of Peace and Stability" of the WorldEconomic Forum at the Congress Centre in the Swisscity.

Chief Adviser, who was one of five panelists, said thecaretaker government nabbed extremist elements,opened suicide-bombing cases and punished theculprits.

“Not a single bullet was fired, not a single bomb wentoff during this government," he told the gathering of

H I G H L I G H T S

Ongoing reforms make investment inBangladesh attractive: AmbassadorInternational Community recognizesBangladesh’s Contribution in promoting motherlanguage: AmbassadorVisit of Chief of Army Staff to IndiaSupreme Judicial Commission set upBangladeshi cuisine promotes BangladeshcultureBangladeshi wins OSCAR in technologyBangladeshi gets Earth Award 2008Business and DevelopmentScience and TechnologyPHOTO GALLERY

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global leaders, adding that people want a change inBangladesh.

Dispelling misperception against his government, hesaid the present government is a constitutionalgovernment with "a major aim to hold free, fair andcredible elections. He said that the caretakergovernment has decided to talk to political parties tohave a unified vision of democracy and politicalstability in Bangladesh. He also said as the electionwould be getting closer the state of emergency wouldbe lifted allowing all political parties to take part in thepolls. Besides, the government strengthened thelocal-government system, which is important forsustaining democracy, he added.

The Chief Adviser said after assuming power, thegovernment recast the Election Commission toprepare a credible voter list for fair polls. It alsoreformed the Anti-corruption Commission, PublicService Commission and accomplished separation ofthe judiciary from the executive. He also told the meetthat Bangladesh has already achieved severalMillennium Development Goals.

Chief Adviser drew the attention of the participants atDavos by highlighting the two major concernsBangladesh constantly fights against; the effects ofclimate change and lack of duty-free access to theEuropean Union and American markets.

Tony Blair, co-chairman of the forum, voiced strongsupport for Bangladesh in these two areas.

Asian Development Bank president H. Kuroda said toDr. Fakruddin Ahmed: "I'm greatly impressed withyour government's performance, particularly thereforms brought about in governance and economicsectors." He assured the Bank's continued support forinfrastructure and power and energy sectordevelopment.

Chief Adviser’s address provided food for thought tothe participants who, this year, put emphasis onalleviation of poverty and hunger.

ONGOING REFORMS MAKE INVESTMENT INBANGLADESH ATTRACTIVE: AMBASSADORKABIR.

angladesh Ambassador to the United States Mr.M. Humayun Kabir in his keynote address at an

Investment Seminar titled "Untapped InvestmentOpportunities in Bangladesh: Investment Climate,Capital Market and Growth in Bangladesh" at the AsiaSociety in New York underscored the fundamentalstrength of Bangladesh economy and described how ithas been moving in positive direction over the years

He also catalogued reform initiatives and the benefitthat were emerging from better economic governance

[Ambassador in the Investment Seminar in New York]

implemented by the present government. Hesuggested that the articulation of a consistent,coherent and credible message about brandBangladesh by forming a compact amonggovernment, business and diplomacy so thatBangladesh could be presented as a new andattractive investment destination. He also noted thatdiplomacy could play the role of vanguard in attractingforeign investment.

David Fernandez of JP Morgan, an Investment Firm inWall Street, remarked that Bangladesh is a good storyto sell before the global investors and the ongoingeconomic reforms need to be intensified.

Dr. Ahsan Mansur of the International Monetary Fund(IMF) highlighted macroeconomic stability inBangladesh, which could be a major attraction forforeign investment.

Mamun Rashid of Citibank in Dhaka termedBangladesh a new frontier for investment and urgedmore policy flexibility and the need for Bangladesh toget connected to the global network.

Arif Dowla of ACI in Bangladesh, Munawar M Moin,Rahim Afroz Group of Bangladesh and IftekharulIslam of Asian Tiger Capital Partners, Dhaka notedthe disconnect between the global capital market andthe opportunities available in Bangladesh andsuggested for quick learning which could helpBangladesh benefit from the huge capital available inthe global market.

The prestigious seminar was sponsored by the AsiaSociety and network of Bangladesh Americanprofessionals in the US. It was indeed a befittingarrangement as a follow up to the Chief Adviser'sentreaty during his visit to New York in September lastyear attended by about 200 investors, economicexperts, financial analysts and economists.

For more details, please click here.

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INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY INCREASINGLYRECOGNIZES BANGLADESH’S CONTRIBUTIONIN PROMOTING MOTHER LANGUAGES:AMBASSADOR

nternational Community increasingly recognizesBangladesh’s contribution in promoting mother

languages, Mr. M. Humayun Kabir, Ambassador ofBangladesh to the United States made this assertionin his speech on the occasion of Shaheed andInternational Mother Language Day organized by theBangladesh Embassy in Washington DC incooperation with ‘Dristipat’.

In his speech, the Ambassador while acknowledgingthe contributionof valiantBangladeshis inprotectingmother tonguehighlighted thesignificance ofthe Day. Apartfrom itshistorical role ofinspiringindependencemovement in Bangladesh, the Day has now becomethe global icon of fundamental respect to others as therespect to one’s language is the prima facie of humanrights. Observance of International Mother LanguageDay means recognition of linguistic diversity couldbuild connectivity and network for peaceful andinclusive world. He urged expatriate Bangladeshis toproject the spirit of the Day and share with differentcultures around the world. Recalling the recentpublication of a commemorative stamp on the day, hethanked the US Postal Department and appealed tothe Washington DC Mayor to build a statuette inmemory of the supreme sacrifices by the heros ofBangladesh.

Mrs. Judith Terra, Washington DC commissioner forArts and Culture thanked the Embassy of Bangladeshfor organizing such an inclusive multicultural eventand sharing the message and spirit of the Day withthe diverse communities in DC. She informed that thecity hosts people who speak about 140 differentlanguages. He hoped that through InternationalMother Language Day, it would be possible for all ofthem to come closer to each other’s culture bygenerating respect and care among themselves.

‘I am proud to be here with you’ emotionallypronounced by Virginia Williams, mother of ex mayorof DC, who takes keen interest in languages. She said

that the sacrifice of martyrs of Bangladesh will nevergo in vain.

Messages from Hon’ble President, Hon’ble ChiefAdviser and Hon’ble Foreign Adviser and relevantinformation on the Day and Bangladesh as well werepresented.

Songs anddances byartists fromBangladesh andsome othercountriesfeatured theculturalsegment of theprogram.Representativesfrom Embassies of Nepal, China, Sri Lanka, Egypt,Indonesia, India, Colombia, Philippines, Ethiopia,Zambia, and from a number of non-governmentorganizations also participated in the event. Amongthose renowned band Bluegrass from USA, SouthAmerican song, Bahasa song of Indonesia, Flamencosong, Andean song of Peru and dances from Nepal,Indonesia and Egypt were enjoyed by the largenumbers of holiday crowd. The Bangladesh Embassyfor the first time arranged the International MotherLanguage Program as an open air event with an aimto disseminate to wider audience the historical fact ofsacrificing the lives to protect the right to mothertongue.

Hundreds of people of different languages andcultures living in DC areas, local American elites andBangladeshi expatriates enjoyed the event despitefreezing cold and inclement weather.

For more details please click here.

ARMY CHIEF GEN MOEEN U AHMED’S VISIT TOINDIA MAKES BILATERAL RELATIONSHIPSTRONGER

rmy chief Gen Moeen U Ahmed during hisrecently concluded visit met a number of India's

top political and military leaders to find specific waysto boost defence, transport and trade ties between thetwo neighbors. He also met Indian External AffairsMinister Pranab Mukherjee discussing ways to takebilateral relations forward for mutual benefit.A top official of the Indian foreign ministry saidbilateral talks between the Bangladesh Army chief andtop Indian political and military leaders would build upthe momentum for better relations between the twocountries.

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[Gen Moeen U Ahmed, (left) and Gen Kapoor,]

General Moeen also met India's Minister of State forCommerce Jairam Ramesh and discussed variouspossibilities to further improve trade and commercebetween Bangladesh and India. He was informed thatthe final notification on the duty-free export of 8 millionpieces of readymade garments from Bangladeshwould be issued soon.

Gen Moeen and Gen Kapoor held extensivediscussions on the possible ways for further promotingcooperation between the armed forces of the twocountries in areas including training, sharing ofexperience in disaster management, advancedinformation sharing on floods and tsunami andparticipation of troops of the two countries in theUnited Nations Peacekeeping Operations.

Gen Moeen also held discussions with the IndianMinister of State for Defence MM Pallam Raju whereideas regarding training of armed forces personnel ateach other's training institutions, capacity building inthe area of specialized treatment at medicalinstitutions, sharing of experience on disastermanagement and greater interaction on mattersrelating to participation of the troops of the twocountries in UN Peacekeeping Operations came up.

SUPREME JUDICIAL COMMISSION WILLREINFORCE THE PRINCIPLE OF JUDICIALINDEPENDENCE

he decision by the government to set in motion aSupreme Judicial Commission certainly promises

to bring about some fundamental and welcomechanges in the way judges to the higher judiciary havebeen appointed so far. Under the terms of theproposed measure, the nine-member commission,headed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court,will recommend the appointment of judges to the HighCourt and Appellate Divisions, which appointmentswill take effect once they receive the approval of thePresident. That will be quite a sea change, seeing thatthough the recommendations will be placed before thePresident through the office of the Prime Minister, the

head of government or the party in power will not anymore possess the authority to influence suchappointments.

It is a development that will provide added impetus tothe principle of judicial independence in Bangladesh,given the dismal experience we have so long had ofpolitics coming in the way of a proper functioning ofthe judicial system.

The coming into being of the Supreme Judicial Com-mission should go a long way towards ending suchparochial attitudes in the matter of appointments tothe higher judiciary. With authority for recommendingpanels of judges for appointment vesting in the com-mission, it is patently a significant improvement on thepractice having been followed in the past. In point offact, the constitution of the commission, evenlybalanced as it is through a presence of luminariesfrom the government and those outside it, willconsiderably reinforce the principle of judicialindependence that has been in place since Novemberlast year. Overall, it will be a shot in the arm fordemocracy and rule of law in Bangladesh.

Off late, President Iajuddin Ahmed yesterdaypromulgated an ordinance to set up a SupremeJudicial Commission. The Daily Star.

BANGLADESH PARTICIPATES IN ASAP SHOWAND MAGIC SHOW IN LAS VEGAS

wenty six garments manufacturers fromBangladesh took part in two different apparel

shows, Apparel Sourcing Association Pavilion (ASAP)& Men’s Apparel Guild in California (MAGIC), in LasVegas in USA.

[Bangladesh Ambassador to USA M. Humayun Kabir andConsul General Mr. Abu Zafar with some of the organizersof ASAP Show in Las Vegas]

The ASAP Show opened on 11th of February in theVenetian Hotel in the City of Las Vegas while MAGICstarted on the 12th in the Las Vegas ConventionCenter. Both the Shows focused on sourcing ofapparel and textile products from various countries

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around the world. A total number of 726 exhibitorsfrom as many as 37 apparel sourcing countries aretaking part in these two shows.

Bangladesh Ambassador to the USA M. HumayunKabir and Bangladesh Consul General in Los AngelesMd. Abu Zafar visited both the shows. TheAmbassador spent some time in the BangladeshPavilions of both the shows and shared ideas withBangladesh exhibitors on how to promote Bangladeshapparel sector in US market. He enquired of themabout the responses they'd been receiving frombuyers. He encouraged them to continue to participatein such global shows.

Bangladesh Ambassador joined Mr. Frank Yuan,Chairman of ASAP Show at a dinner and Mr. DavidPennes, Director Sourcing of MAGIC Show at a lunchand sought their support for promotion of Bangladeshigarments products in the US. Both Mr. Yuan and Mr.Pennes thanked the Ambassador for havingBangladesh exhibitors in their shows and alsopromised to extend right kind of support forBangladesh to grow its business inside USA. They, inthis connection, suggested that Bangladesh garmentssector would greatly benefit if they can make extraefforts to refine their reputation and improvecompliance issues.

BANGLADESHI CUISINE HELPS PROMOTEBANGLADESH CULTURE: AMBASSADOR

he Bangladesh Center for CommunityDevelopment Inc. (BCCDI) organized its 3

rdPitha

Uthsob (Home made cake festival) which wasinaugurated by the Ambassador of Bangladesh to theUSA Mr. M. Humayun Kabir. Many expatriateBangladeshis and organizations including the

[The Embassy team in Pitha Uthshob]Embassy of Bangladesh in Washington DCparticipated in the program with wide varieties ofpithas which complemented BCCDI’s effort ofpromoting one of the traditional events of Bangladesh.The fair drew a large numbers of weekend crowdswho visited the place to taste the natural and homemade pitahs of Bangladeshi heritage. TheBangladesh Embassy ladies led by the lady wife of

the Ambassador, Mrs. Rokeya Kabir participated inthe fair with 22 different types of homemade pithas.

Ambassador said in his opening remark thatBangladesh is rich with wide varieties of delicaciesthat has universal appeal. Food being the importantelement of our culture can very easily be used toproject rich culture and heritage of Bangladesh tolocal community. He thanked organizers of the eventand expressed hope that the event would encourageexpatriate Bangladeshi organizations all over theUnited States to continue to organize such events topromote the Bangladeshi culture and heritage in USA.

At the end of the event, the organizers honored threebest participants. Bangladesh Embassy won the goldas first prize. There was also a cultural presentationthat portrayed Bangladeshi heritage.

BANGLADESH EMBASSY WOMEN ASSOCIATIONORGANIZED PRESENTATION ON BANGLADESH

angladesh Embassy Women Association (BEWA)in cooperation with The Hospitality Information

and Service (THIS) organized a presentation onBangladesh culture and heritage with particularemphasis on sari, an attire of country’s women folk, atthe Bangladesh House. Mrs. Rokeya Kabir, lady wifeof Ambassador Mr. M. Humayun Kabir welcomed theguests and introduced different types of saris inBangladesh before them. Dr. Dilruba Nasrin, wife ofDeputy Chief of Mission made a PowerPointpresentation on the basic facts of Bangladesh andsocial progress with special reference to womenempowerment.

[Madame Rokeya Kabir (M) and Dr. Nasrin (R) with a localadmirer of sari]The program marked by fashion parade with differenttypes of spectacular colorful saris, practicaldemonstration on how to wear sari, mediapresentation on tourism in Bangladesh, tribal folkdance and song performed by Tisha. The program

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ended with serving lunch with traditional Bangladeshidelicacies.

The program generated enormous attention andinterest in colorful Bangladeshi saris. Wives ofdiplomatic corps, high officials and local elites enjoyedthe program.

It may be mentioned that BEWA works closely withTHIS a non-profit organization committed tointernational understanding through educational,informational and cultural exchange with members ofthe diplomatic community based in Washington, DC.

BUSINESS AND DEVELOPMENT

FIRST BIOMASS PLANT IN BANGLADESHGENERATES RURAL ELECTRICITY FROMRICE HUSKS

he facility, located in an unelectrified town namedKapashia is part of a rural electrification project

that aims to reach about 700,000 citizens throughrenewable energy.

The green power plant, the first ever of its kind inBangladesh, is a 250 kW biomass gasification facilitythat generates renewable electricity from abundantagricultural residues such as rice husks.

Infrastructure Development Company Limited IDCOLprovided concessionary loans and grants, sourcedfrom IDA and the Global Environmental Facility(GEF), for a total project cost of 25 million taka(€250,000) of which the World Bank provided 60%.

The plant is now supplying environmentally friendlygrid quality power to about 500 households andcommercial entities for the first time. The unique plantin the town supplies all the required energy in adecentralized manner, without the need for backupfrom other sources.

The lessons learnt from installing this plant could beeffectively used while preparing other biomass plants.This will certainly reduce the challenges for the nextentrants and can attract new entrepreneurs to installbiomass power plants in rural Bangladesh to meetthe electricity demand. This will also create

employment opportunities in rural Bangladesh.

Besides supporting the conventional grid basedelectricity sector, Bangladesh’s comparativeadvantage in the renewable energy resources isappreciated and the World Bank says it is willing tosupport Bangladesh’s future needs to develop itsrenewable energy sector if the government sorequests.

GOVERNMENT APPROVED TWO MORENEW EXPORT PROCESSING ZONES

he care taker government approved two newexport-processing zones (EPZ) at Munshiganj

and Feni to accommodate around 250 foreigninvestors.

The decision was taken at a meeting of theBangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority(BEPZA) board of governors chaired by Chief AdviserDr. Fakhruddin Ahmed.

During the past few months more than 50 foreigninvestors from Japan, Malaysia, Canada, China,Taiwan, Korea and Singapore have asked thegovernment for industrial plots to relocate some oftheir factories to Bangladesh and to establish newenterprises.

"Some of the foreign investors went back as we failedto accommodate them on any industrial plots. Nowwe will invite them again and I hope we will be able to

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allocate all the plots in the new EPZs," Ashraf Yussuf,BEPZA executive chairman, said.

He said that the EPZs will be developed throughpublic-private partnership. In this way the governmentwill limit the amount of money it has to invest for theEPZ's development. "We will ask the interestedinvestors to develop the plots, roads and other thingsand the amount will be deducted from their futurerent," he said.

Some Japanese electronics and shoe and leatherproducts textile accessories entrepreneurs fromChina were among those that had expressed interestin investing.WORLD'S BIGGEST SHOE FACTORYPROPOSED IN BANGLADESH

outh Korean company YoungOne Corp. will buildthe world's largest shoe manufacturing plant near

the southeastern Bangladesh city of Chittagong, acompany director revealed this recently.

The 100-million-dollar plant will employ 30,000people and produce 100,000 pairs of shoes a dayonce it starts in the middle of next year, operationsdirector of the company Shikder MeshbahuddinAhmed said. "It will be the biggest footwear factory inthe world. We have already prepared the site andconstruction work will begin within the next two-threemonths," according to him.

YoungOne was one of the first foreign companies toenter Bangladesh and is the leading private textileexporter. Last year it exported over 300 milliondollars of garments from the country.

The company also has operations in Vietnam andChina with annual sales of 800 million dollars.

It also owns Bangladesh's first private exportprocessing zone, which was approved by thecountry's caretaker government last year. The exportzone is designed to accommodate 500 factories.

Bangladeshi factories exported footwear worth 76million dollars in the first half of the current financialyear ending June 2007, a gain of 18.6 percent overthe same period a year ago. The Economic Times.

US NRBs LAUNCH VENTURE CAPITALINVESTMENT SERVICES COMPANY

group of non-resident Bangladeshi (NRB)investors from USA has taken an initiative to set

up a specialized SME-focused venture capitalinvestment services company in the private sector inBangladesh.

The company with the name of Venture InvestmentPartners Bangladesh (VIPB) Ltd has been registeredas a public limited company and formally launched onJanuary 29, 2008 at a function in Dhaka, says apress release. VIPB is a joint venture between US-based NRB institutional investors -- US-BangladeshInvestment Group, Inc and Terra ResourcesInternational, Inc -- and Bangladeshi institutionalsponsors The City Bank Ltd, Southeast Bank Ltd,NCC Bank Ltd, National Life Insurance Company Ltdand TRIIMS Consultants Ltd.

The company was formally launched on January 29at a function in Dhaka where M Haider Choudhury,chairman of National Life Insurance Company,Alamgir Kabir, chairman of Southeast Bank, ManiRahman, director of US-Bangladesh InvestmentGroup Inc (USA), and Dr Zia U Ahmed, chairman ofVIPB, among others, were present.

Zia U Ahmed said VIPB will introduce innovativeequity and quasi-equity (non-interest based)investment products and services to meet the specificneeds of the SMEs (small and medium enterprises)in Bangladesh, particularly for the low-end small andcottage industry segments.

Haider Chowdhury said venture capital investmentcan be a new instrument for insurance companies toinvest in the growth and development of SMEs.Alamgir Kabir emphasised the role of banks insupporting venture capital operations for theexpansion of SMEs

The NRBs formed the US-Bangladesh InvestmentGroup Inc in USA to provide a formal andprofessional platform for NRBs to invest inBangladesh. The Daily Star.

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BANGLADESHI WINS OSCARS 2007SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICALAWARDS

afees Bin Zafar , a proud Bangladeshi has won theScientific and Technical Academy Awards 2007 in

OSCARS. The award was declared at The BeverlyWilshire on Saturday, February 9, 2008. He wasawarded for the development of the fluid simulationsystem at Digital Domain. This influential and flexibleproduction-proven system incorporates innovativealgorithms and refined adaptations of publishedmethods to achieve large-scale water effects.

[Nafees addressing audience after receiving OSCAR]

COUNTRY’S SOFTWARE EXPO ENDEDWITH POTENTIALS AND PROMISES

he five-day long mega ICT exposition of the country,BASIS SoftExpo 2008, ended on Feb 18 with the

view that there is no alternative to ICT. Severalmilestones were achieved in this year’s SoftExpo. Theshow successfully drew the government’s attention tovarious key issues and industry barriers.

While inaugurating the fair, Chief Adviser FakhruddinAhmed touched on issues such as second submarinecable and internet pricing and promised that thegovernment will work on such issues.

More than 200 one-to-one matchmaking sessionsbetween local and foreign companies took place.This year the fair drew nearly 1, 00,000 visitors. They

[A stall of a local company participating in Software Expo inDhaka]

included people from different segments of the ICTindustry such as local and multinational ICT companies,mobile application development companies, IT traininginstitutes, public and private universities, IT consultants,foreign delegates, politicians and high-level governmentofficials.

Besides regular exhibition, more than 15 seminars,roundtables and workshops were organized by BASISand other organizations. Delegates from 39 Danishcompanies interacted with 120 local softwarecompanies on the first three days of SoftExpo. Localfirms have already submitted 15 pilot projects to theDanish companies. This matchmaking opened up anew window of opportunities for 20 Bangladeshicompanies to develop their partnership. Delegates fromseven Japanese companies also interacted with 41local companies during the fair in a bid to expand theirbusinesses in Bangladesh.

Main attractions at SoftExpo 2008 were “HumanoidRobot” by International Islamic University, “Scheme AgeRobot” by Khulna University of Engineering andTechnology, “Sell to Net” SMS banking software byUpload Yourself System, “Process Light” -- a paperlessoffice related software by International Office Machine(IOM), “Tally 9” by STM Vision Infotech etc.

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BANGLADESHI AMONG WINNERS OFCHAMPIONS OF THE EARTH AWARD 2008

enowned environmentalist Dr Atiq Rahman ofBangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS)

has won this year's Champions of the Earth Award forthe Asia Pacific region announced by the UnitedNations Environment Programme (UNEP) on the 10thSpecial Session of its Governing Council.

The other recipients of Champions of the Earth 2008are Helen Clark, prime minister of New Zealand, BalgisOsman-Elasha, a senior researcher at Sudan's HigherCouncil for Environment & Natural Resources, HenriettaElizabeth Thompson, former energy and environmentminister of Barbados, Prince Albert II of Monaco, former

US Senator Timothy E Wirth and Abdul-Qader Ba-Jammal, secretary general of the People's GeneralCongress of Yemen.

In the award letter, Achim Steiner, UN under-secretarygeneral and UNEP executive director, observed that DrAtiq is one of the leading specialists in the field throughhis national and international experience in sustainabledevelopment, and environment and resourcemanagement.

Dr Atiq's publications on the subjects of environmentand development in Bangladesh can be a reference forpeers, he said adding that the post-graduate coursethat Dr Atiq had designed on "Sustainable DevelopmentChallenges and North South Dialogue" is innovative.

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P H O T O G A L L E R Y

Asia Society Seminar on untapped Investment Opportunities in Bangladesh- below

A section of audience at theInvestment Seminar in New York

Ambassador Kabir with Nikhil Deogunof the Wall Street Journal

Another view of audience at theInvestment Seminar

Observance of Shaheed Dibosh and International Mother Language Day – below

Patriotic song from Bangladesh A folk dance from Indonesia Traditional dance from Indonesia

Egyptian Tannoura dance Dance from Sri Lanka A cross section of distinguishedaudience

Language Day song from Bangladesh Banjo from Blue Grass music group Nepali colorful dance

Participation of Bangladesh Embassy Women Association in Pitha Uthshob organized by BCCDI

Ambassador visits pitha stalls Bangladesh Embassy receives topaward in Pitha Uthshob

A section of audience in culturalprogram

Presentation on Bangladeshi sari and culture by Bangladesh Embassy Women Association

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