Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud today said three new memorandums of understanding (MoUs) will be signed between Bangladesh and Bhutan while another MoU will be renewed during the visit of Bhutanese King Jigme Singye Wangchuck in Bangladesh.
"We have multifaceted relations with Bhutan," he said this at a curtain raiser briefing at the foreign ministry here ahead of Bhutanese King four-day visit in Bangladesh beginning from tomorrow.
The MoUs are, Establishment of a Burn and Plastic Surgery Unit in Thimphu, Bhutan; Establishment of Special Economic Zone for Bhutan in Kurigram, Bangladesh, and Technical cooperation in consumer protection.
KSRM authorities, owner of the hijacked Bangladesh-flagged cargo ship MV Abdullah, have initiated informal talks with Somali pirates through third party as part of their move to begin formal negotiation to rescue the 23 crew members as well as the ship.
Somali pirates hijacked the ship with 23 crew member on board on March 12 when it was sailing from Maputo in Mozambique to Al Hamriyah in the UAE with 58,000 tonnes of coal.
"Informal talk is going on . . . it will take time to begin formal negotiation with the pirates," said Mizanul Islam, media advisor of KSRM Group that owns the ship MV Abdullah.
The minimum Fitra, a charitable donation by well-off Muslims at the end of Ramadan, has been set at Tk 115 per person this year, while the maximum amount is Tk 2,970.
The National Committee on Fitra fixation today set the rate at a meeting at the Islamic Foundation here with its Chairman and the National Baitul Mukarram Mosque Khatib Mawlana Mohammad Ruhul Amin.
Fitra, also known as Zakat al-Fitr or Fitrana, is a form of compulsory charity that Muslims pay at the end of Ramadan.
According to Islamic tradition, Fitra was set by the committee based on the prices of a basket of essential items, including wheat and flour.
Fitra can also be paid to the needy persons by giving 1.65kg of high-quality wheat or flour, or 3.3 kg of dates, raisins, cheese, or barley.
The minimum and maximum Fitra are set by taking the price of the essential goods into consideration across the country.
Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, serving as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) since 2023, visited Khulna and Chattogram today to witness firsthand the impact of climate change and UNDP initiatives on climate change adaptation in Bangladesh.
With a focus on climate change adaptation and sustainable development, Crown Princess engaged with community members including climate displaced population particularly women, who have undergone transformational changes to become active change-makers in their communities.
By immersing herself in locally-driven solutions, the Crown Princess gained invaluable insights into the development of comprehensive resilience models, a UNDP press release said.
Throughout the day, the Crown Princess observed UNDP interventions undertaken in partnership with other UN agencies and the governments of Bangladesh with support from the government of Sweden and other development partners.