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Switzerland celebrates friendship with Bangladesh with music


Published : 13 Dec 2019 09:02 PM | Updated : 29 Aug 2020 05:32 AM

The Embassy of Switzerland celebrated the longstanding friendship between Switzerland and Bangladesh through a function titled ‘Swiss Night’ with food, friends and music together. Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmad, senior government officials, international and development partners, the business community, members of the civil society and media as well as Swiss citizens living in Bangladesh attended the event held on Thursday night.

Welcoming the guests, the Ambassador of Switzerland to Bangladesh, Dr René Holenstein, underscored the importance of the two countries working closely together to generate new ideas and approaches in order to tackle present and future challenges. Kamrul Ahsan, Secretary-Bilateral (Europe, Africa & Americas) & Consular, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh, also spoke. Renowned academic and author Dr Muhammed Zafar Iqbal also attended the event.

Both of them placed emphasis on the importance to further strengthen the deep and multifaceted bilateral relations that exist between Switzerland and Bangladesh. The announcement of the winner of the “Swiss Embassy Award 2019” was a major attraction of the evening. This year’s award was conferred to the Human Rights Forum Bangladesh, in recognition to its contribution to the defense and promotion of human rights.

Sheepa Hafiza, Barrister Sara Hossian and Zakir Hossian received the award from the Swiss Embassy on behalf of the forum. The guests also enjoyed various traditional Swiss delicacies as well as a memorable live music performance by the popular Bangladeshi musician Drockstar Shuvo. The event was organized in cooperation with a number of business partners, including KUEHNE + NAGEL Ltd, Lafarge Holcim Bangladesh Ltd and Novartis (Bangladesh) Ltd.