Handout                                                                                               Number : 1534

Prime Minister expresses sorrow at the

damage to the Notre Dame Cathedral

Dhaka, April 16 :

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has expressed her deepest sorrow at the colossal damage to the Cathedral of Notre Dame due to a catastrophic fire yesterday in France. Below is the full text of her condolence message addressed to Emmannel Macron, President of the French Republic.

“Excellency

We are terribly shocked and deeply saddened at the colossal damage to the Cathedral of Notre Dame due to a catastrophic fire yesterday. The damage to this iconic Cathedral is most tragic and heart wrenching not only for the people of France but for the entire humanity. We share the pain and grief of the French people.

With a deep sense of loss and grief I, on behalf of the people and government of Bangladesh and on my own behalf, convey our profound sadness to you and to the people of France.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of France.”

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Dewan/Mahmud/Sanjib/Salim/2019/1740 Hrs.

Handout                                                                                               Number : 1533

Slovenian Ambassador meets State Minister for Foreign Affairs

Dhaka, April 16 :

The Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia to Bangladesh with residence in New Delhi Jožef Drofenik called on the State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md. Shahriar Alam at the latter's office in Dhaka today. Recalling the support of the then Yugoslavia in the liberation war in 1971 and subsequent assistance for reconstruction of the war-torn economy of Bangladesh in the post Liberation War period (early 70s), the State Minister expressed gratitude to the Slovenian people and stressed on further enhancing the existing bilateral relations between the two time-tested friendly countries in the days ahead.

He emphasized on the importance of the high level visits by recalling the visit of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to the former Yugoslavia at the early years of the independence of Bangladesh. Mentioning the investment-friendly environment of Bangladesh, State Minister invited the Slovenian businessmen to explore enhanced trade and investment opportunities between our two countries. He also mentioned that there are ample scopes of cooperation in the field of agriculture, education, culture, trade and economic cooperation, science and technology. Ambassador Drofenik assured the State Minister to continue and explore the all possible areas of mutual cooperation between the countries to strengthen and deepen the bilateral engagements of the two countries.

During the discussion, Ambassador mentioned that the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia would like to visit Bangladesh in the first week of July 2019 for Foreign Office Consultation.

Apart from bilateral issues, views on regional and international issues of mutual concern were exchanged during the meeting. Both sides agreed to maintain cooperation in different multilateral platforms.

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Dewan/Mahmud/Sanjib/Salim/2019/1720  Hrs.