A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed to launch ‘Sheikh Mujib-Bangladesh Room’ at the headquarters of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations in Rome of Italy.
The MoU signing ceremony took place on Monday (13 December 2021) at the FAO Headquarters. The move to establish the ‘Sheikh Mujib-Bangladesh Room’ was taken as a part of the on-going celebration of Mujib Year, the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Md Shameem Ahsan, Ambassador of Bangladesh to Italy and Permanent Representative to FAO, and Qu Dongyu, Director General of FAO, signed the MoU.
The signing paves the way for eventual launching of a facilitation room carrying the name of Bangabandhu and Bangladesh at the FAO Headquarters which will be used by the Member States for meeting and other official activities.
Organised in a hybrid format, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam, MP, joined virtually from Bangladesh and witnessed the ceremony.
In his speech, he thanked the Director General of FAO for his support in this regard. Terming the moment as an occasion of pride and emotion since it coincides with the on-going celebration of the 50th year of independence while the country is going to celebrate its glorious Victory Day this month, Shahriar Alam felt that the signing ushered in a new chapter in Bangladesh-FAO partnership.
In his speech, Shameem Ahsan noted that Bangladesh and FAO have been enjoying close partnership for almost 48 years. In this regard, he expressed deep satisfaction for recent election of Bangladesh to several executive bodies of Rome-based FAO and WFP.
He informed that Bangladesh, for the first time, was going to host the 36th Asia Pacific FAO Regional Conference (APRC) in Dhaka from 08-11 March 2022, which is expected to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
FAO DG Qu Dongyu lauded Bangladesh Prime Minister for the development journey of the country and for recent confirmation by the UN for its graduation from the LDC status under her dynamic leadership.
The Permanent Representatives of China and Thailand and the representative of Indonesia as Chairperson of the Asia Regional Group joined the event in person at the Sheikh Zayed Center of FAO while representatives from India, Malaysia and Philippines attended virtually. Senior Officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs including Ambassador Shabbir Ahmad Chowdhury, Secretary (West), Economic Relations Division (ERD) and Ministry of Agriculture, among others, joined the event from Bangladesh while the officials of the Mission attended in-person.
