PM Sheikh Hasina visits Russia; Bangladesh divides its border area into four zones; European Parliament backed a call to encourage tougher safety laws and proper inspections in Bangladesh
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Whatsapp
  • Linkedin
  • Print

    • According to reports, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visited Russia from January 14-17, 2013. This was the second highest level visit from Dhaka to Moscow after a span of 40 years since Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman first visited the then Soviet Union in 1972. Ms. Hasina led a 54-member delegation, which includes the foreign minister and State Minister for Science and Technology Yeafesh Osman. 1 During the visit, both the countries signed a $1 billion deal under which Bangladesh would procure military equipment and arms from Russia. The arms purchase agreement includes orders for armoured vehicles and infantry weapons, air defence systems and Mi-17 transport helicopters. The two countries also signed two other agreements and six memoranda of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in different fields like agriculture, public health, medical science, education, counterterrorism, culture, law, justice and parliamentary affairs. A part of the agreements saw Russia assign $500 million to finance the construction of Bangladesh's first nuclear power plant to be built at Rooppur. 2

    In another development, reports noted that Bangladesh has over 4,427 kilometres of border with India and the total area has been divided into four regional headquarters in Rangpur, Jessore, Sarail and Chittagong for better border management. This was noted by Director General of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) Major General Aziz Ahmed on Jnaury 14, 2013. 3
    In other developments, the European Parliament backed a call to encourage tougher safety laws and proper inspections in Bangladesh and Pakistan on January 17, 2013, following deadly fires in garment factories in Dhaka and Karachi. 4

    Top