Former Ambassador to France, South Korea, and the USA ; Former PR to UNESCO; Former SecGen of BIMSTEC
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Joined January 2021
- Tweets715
- Following144
- Followers3.3K
- Likes2.9K
সদ্যপ্রয়াত গুণী চিত্রশিল্পী যোগেন চৌধুরির স্মৃতি হিসেবে এই চিত্রকর্মটি আমার কাছে রয়ে গেছে। তিনি এই চিত্রকর্মটি পূর্ববঙ্গের মা-মাসিদের আলপনার অনুকরণে এঁকেছিলেন।
M Shahidul Islam retweeted
There is unfortunately a mindset in Bangladesh that if we make too much noise about worker rights that this will backfire and only lead to the closing of the doors, something we can ill afford.
But this fear is misplaced and fundamentally misunderstands how the world works. When you stand up for your citizens you earn respect. It doesn’t close doors, it opens them.
If national pride and dignity mean anything it means abandoning the craven posture and belief that we are a supplicant nation that must accept what other countries offer without demur.
Whether it is trade deals, or the rights of overseas workers, or private terms of trade with garment buyers, prostrating ourselves before the other side in a race to the bottom only ensures that we will remain there. It is not a sustainable strategy.
The sustainable strategy is to stand up for ourselves and our people and demand basic respect.
If we don’t have respect for ourselves and our own people, how can we expect the rest of the world to?
Let the tragedy of the executions of Nazrul and Sweety be the impetus that transforms our policy towards our overseas workers.
The time is long past overdue that we put their rights and welfare at the heart of our foreign policy.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T counterpointbd.com/r-e-s-p-e…
M Shahidul Islam retweeted
Narendra Modi has been accused of striking millions of Muslims from the electoral roll, triggering widespread protests against his government.
Our correspondent in the region explains everything going on ⤵️
telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2…
M Shahidul Islam retweeted
In TV show in Gujarat, India, Hindutva leader is giving sharpen knives to women TV anchors and women tv anchors demonstrating live how to cut throats of Muslims.
M Shahidul Islam retweeted
This is a small report tucked away on an inside page of Prothom Alo. It is a remarkable story of job creation, industrial revival and export growth.
Abul Khair Group has reopened four closed private jute mills in Faridpur and Kushtia, creating employment for around 15,000 workers. The revived mills have already begun exporting to markets such as Turkey and China, and the group has set a target of exporting 80,000 tonnes of jute yarn and jute products annually.
There is a bigger story here as well, the company did not simply build four new factories. Because the jute business is capital-intensive and so many private mills stand idle, it chose to bring existing capacity back into production by taking over closed mills. It has now applied to lease three or four closed state-owned mills as well, and says it intends to move into higher-value jute products.
There is no shortage of discussion and disinformation about factory closures, job losses and economic decline on social media and television talk shows. On the other hand stories like this rarely get the same attention: closed factories reopening, 15,000 people employed, production restarting and products being exported.
I strongly believe Bangladesh will keep moving forward, creating businesses, jobs, investment and export opportunities. Stories like this show that a real economic story is unfolding beneath the noise. The challenge is to identify these stories, present the facts accurately and bring them to a much wider audience.
And those in the @bdbnp78 responsible for highlighting such successes are failing miserably.
prothomalo.com/business/indu…
Bangladesh Government should not only discourage but also impose procedural restrictions on visiting India. Visits other than for business and official reasons drain foreign currency and encourage money laundering.
If they are so cruel to their own citizens think about what they can do to Bangladeshi visitors in distress. Bangladesh Government should discourage our citizens from visiting India.
Biman Bangladesh airlines is an inefficient and loss making organization. Biman’s privatization is overdue not just today; it was overdue even during the interim government. Looks like none is prepared to bell the cat !
M Shahidul Islam retweeted
বাংলাদেশ সরকার @trahmanbnp আর @BDMOFA একটা কাউন্টার মিজার নিতে পারে যে - ফরেন মিনিস্ট্রিতে একটা ডেডিকেটেড উইং থাকবে প্রপাগান্ডা কাউন্টার করা নিয়ে,
যারা ভাইরাল প্রপাগান্ডা যেগুলো একটা সাইজেবল কমিউনিটি পর্যন্ত রিচ করেছে সেগুলো নোট করবে এবং তার সাথে প্রকৃত ঘটনা কী,
সরকার এ বিষয়ে কী করছে এইরকম একটা লিখিত রিপোর্ট প্রতি মাসে একবার করে সব দূতাবাসে পাঠাবে, ভারতের দূতাবাস সহ এবং সেই রিপোর্টটা প্রতিমাসে অনলাইনে পাবলিশ করবে।
সরকারের যদি লোক লাগে সাময়িক চুক্তিভিত্তিক @Sohan_RSB এর টিমকেই বা এসব খোঁজ রাখে এমন লোককে নিয়োগ দিতে পারে।
Both incidents were communalized by Hindutva accounts and media, fugitive Awami Leaguers and the Hindutva puppet @salah_shoaib.
This is how false narratives of Hindu persecution built against Bangladesh.
And let me mention another recent incident. In a gas leak incident in Chattogram, 9 workers were killed. Hindutva accounts portrayed it as a bomb attack targeting Hindus. Of the 9 victims, 7 were Muslim and only 2 were Hindu. Yet the incident was still communalized.
In 2025, I had favored Bangladesh exploring the possibility of joining the Saudi-Pakistan mutual defense agreement - the forerunner of Mecca Pact. There is no reason to retreat from that position. However, we need to optimize our interest while making a foreign policy decision. Hopefully, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s Riyadh visit will provide that opportunity.
Bangladesh is to make its foreign policy decisions based on its interest, and not to please others. Bangladesh can certainly join Mecca Pact, should the opportunity comes with benefit. The same goes for Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership(RCEP).
Indeed, we need a cost-benefit assessment of joining the Mecca pact. The cost is fairly clear: Bangladesh may be dragged into conflicts that are not necessarily in line with its own national interest. Benefits are not clear enough. Saudi Arabia being the pivot of the pact, Bangladesh’s natural expectation should be to benefit by way of more overseas employment, more investment and enhanced energy security. Have we conveyed our expectations to Saudi Arabia?
The Mecca Pact looks good on optics. #Bangladesh will still rigorously evaluate the real contributions, the offers on the table, and the underlying dynamics before drawing any conclusions. theprint.in/diplomacy/bangla… via @theprintindia
Ms Sikri herself was very rude and arrogant when she was posted in Dhaka. Looks like black will take no other hue. She is a non starter in Bangladesh-India relations.
Says who?
Former Indian diplomat was one of the architects who destabilised Bangladesh and fought tooth & nail to keep Sk Hasina by hook or crook. She was arrogant, bad mouthed, ill informed, hypocrite & intellectually corrupt. A hardline #hindutva poster girl!
Realpolitik: In a bilateral setting, Bangladesh-China relation will continue to grow stronger. However, in a triangular setting involving Bangladesh, China and Myanmar, Bangladesh will be ditched mercilessly.
Realpolitik: In a bilateral setting, Bangladesh-US relation will continue to grow stronger. However, in a triangular setting with Bangladesh-India-US, Bangladesh will always risk being thrown under the bus.
M Shahidul Islam retweeted
ফেলানীর লাশের মুখ হয়তো আপনারা অনেকেই কখনো দেখেননি। ২০১১ সালের ৭ জানুয়ারি @BSF_India সদস্য অমিয় ঘোষের গুলিতে নিহত ১৫ বছর বয়সী এই বাংলাদেশি কিশোরীর লাশের কফিন তাঁর পরিবার যেভাবে গ্রহণ করেছিল, সেই ছবি আজ আপনাদের জ্ঞাতার্থে প্রকাশ করা হলো।
পতিত স্বৈরাচার গোষ্ঠী গত দেড় যুগ ধরে ভারতের সহায়তায় কীভাবে দানবে পরিণত হয়েছিল, তা নিশ্চয়ই বলার অপেক্ষা রাখে না।
কিন্তু প্রশ্ন হলো, জুলাই স্মৃতি জাদুঘর থেকে ফেলানীর প্রতি সম্মান ও সীমান্তে ভারতের নির্বিচার হত্যার বিভিন্ন দালিলিক প্রমাণ কাদের মদদে সরিয়ে ফেলা হয়েছে?
অনতিবিলম্বে ফেলানী ও সীমান্ত হত্যার শিকার অন্যান্য বাংলাদেশিদের স্মৃতির সম্মানে স্থাপন করা সকল চিহ্ন পুনঃস্থাপনের দাবি জানাচ্ছি।
