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DHAKA: Bangladesh and Oman have signed an agreement to increase diplomatic cooperation following a meeting between their foreign ministers on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York this week, the Bangladeshi foreign ministry said on Friday.

Bangladesh’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain and Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Al-Busaidi signed a memorandum of understanding on diplomatic studies and training, which is expected to boost collaboration in capacity-building, training and exchange of expertise.

“Under this MoU, foreign service officials from both countries will get opportunities for academic training and education. This will offer a master degree-equivalent program for foreign service officials,” Mostofa Jamil Khan, West Asia director at the Bangladeshi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Arab News.

“Oman (places great importance) on career diplomats for maintaining international relations. They are (more highly) trained … It will be a good thing for our foreign service officials. We hope that, in the coming days, this agreement will also expand for other civil service officials.”

During their meeting in New York, Hossain and his counterpart also “reaffirmed their commitment to further deepen bilateral cooperation in areas of mutual interest,” according to the Bangladeshi foreign ministry.

Around 700,000 Bangladeshis live and work in Oman — one of the largest populations of Bangladeshi migrant workers abroad.

Bangladesh is optimistic about the new area of cooperation, which Khan said has the potential to further expand in the future.

“We hope that, in the first batch, we will be able to send 20 to 25 students to Oman. This is just the beginning, and there are opportunities to increase,” he said.

“In the long run, it will help our foreign service officials to have a better understanding (of) Oman, which will eventually boost the bilateral relationship.”

GENEVA: The United Nations has added nearly 70 more companies to a blacklist of companies from 11 countries that it says are complicit in violating Palestinian human rights through their business ties to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The new list spotlights companies that do business that’s deemed supportive of the settlements, which are considered by many to be illegal under international law. It includes an array of companies like vendors of construction materials and earth-movers, as well as providers of security, travel and financial services.
The list, formally known as a “database of companies,” now contains 158 companies — the vast majority Israeli. The others are from the United States, Canada, China, Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
Newcomers to the list include German building-materials company Heidelberg Materials, Portuguese rail systems provider Steconfer, and Spanish transportation engineering firm Ineco. Among those still on the list are travel-sector companies US-based Expedia Group, Booking Holdings Inc. and Airbnb, Inc.
While 68 new companies were added Friday, seven were taken off. A total of 215 business enterprises were assessed in this round, but hundreds more could get a look in the future.
The UN’s main human rights body passed a resolution nearly a decade ago to create the list, and Israel has sharply criticized it since. The revision could further isolate Israel at a time when some of its European allies have recognized an independent Palestinian state over Israel’s conduct of its war against Hamas in Gaza.