Foreign minister AK Abdul Momen, home affairs minister Asaduzzaman Khan, and many other invited ruling Awami League leaders on Monday refrained from attending an international conference in Dhaka city.
Momen was scheduled to address the inaugural session as chief guest at the three-day Bay of Bengal Conversation being hosted by the Centre for Governance Studies, a non-government think tank.
The absence of electronic media was also conspicuous in the event, where at least four foreign diplomats, including the United States ambassador to Bangladesh and the Japanese ambassador, spoke.
About 600 participants, including 200 delegates from 70 countries, are attending the event.
Foreign minister Momen told reporters later on the day that he was surprised to see his name as the ‘chief guest’ at the inaugural session of the Bay of Bengal Conversation 2022.
‘It’s very unfortunate,’ Momen was quoted by the United News of Bangladesh as saying while responding to a question at a press briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The foreign minister said that he attended a programme marking 7,000 episodes of the television talk show ‘Tritiyo Matra’ where CGS Executive Director Zillur Rahman verbally informed him about the event, UNB reported.
‘We didn’t give him any date,’ Momen said.
CGS chairman Manjur A Chowdhury, however, told New Age that the foreign minister had confirmed his participation in the conference and also given a written message published in the conversation booklet.
He said that the foreign minister informed them he would join the afternoon session in case he failed to join the inaugural session.
Politicians, members of civil society, policymakers, and researchers from home and abroad are participating in the event.
News Courtesy:
https://www.newagebd.net/article/187108/ministers-senior-al-leaders-avoid-intl-conference