In the `Evening of MICE Promotion’ Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner Professor Sudharshan Seneviratne highlighted the emergence of Bangladesh as a key target market in the South Asian region with its palpable presence.

He said, Bangladesh has proven its self-determination, economic development and resilience within a very limited time frame while broadening its horizons especially in the fields of trade, investment and tourism.

He also said, 50 years of reflection of the two nations will undoubtedly maximize its collective potential in the coming years and the `Evening of MICE Promotion’ will be the first of many in unleashing centuries of solidarity and fraternal ties between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

The event was held on 1 September at the High Commission of Sri Lanka in Dhaka Bangladesh. The Sri Lanka Convention Bureau (SLCB) in collaboration with the High Commission of Sri Lanka in Bangladesh and SriLankan Airlines convened the program. The event included a Media Briefing, Business Match Making Program between the Sri Lankan Delegation and the invited Bangladesh MICE buyers, followed by a Business Forum and Dinner Reception held at the High Commission premises. 

The main objective of this exclusive event was the positioning of Sri Lanka as a preferred MICE Destination and showcasing the opportunities to Bangladesh Travel Trade, Professional Conference Organizers (PCO) and MICE organizations.

More than 80 participants from Bangladesh representing Outbound MICE Agents, Corporates, Association Heads and Incentive Houses and 12 Sri Lankan MICE Industry Companies, the National Flag Carrier SriLankan Airlines and the Sri Lanka Convention Bureau (SLCB) collaborated and engaged in exploring the MICE industry potential of the two countries.

The Association of Travel Agents Bangladesh (ATAB), The Bangladesh Outbound Tour Operators Association (BOTOA), The Tour Operators Association in Bangladesh (TOAB) and the Bangladesh Travel Writers Association (BDTWA) were also partnered with the High Commission of Sri Lanka in organizing the event.

Chairman Sri Lanka Convention Bureau Thisum Jayasuriya said, Bangladesh is a key source market in the South Asian Region for MICE and has shown a positive trend in its increase in the MICE traffic over the past years. The SriLankan Airlines direct air connectivity has positively encouraged to develop the sector. Sri Lanka is working towards catering to the Bangladesh MICE visitors in coordination with the Sri Lankan MICE stakeholders to sustain and increase the volume of Business by adding special experiential features.

In addressing the gathering, Manager SriLankan Airlines in Bangladesh Sharuka Wickrama Adittiya said, SriLankan Airlines will endeavor to provide its best services from departure to the inflight experience and return journey to all its passengers, which will be especially extended to the MICE groups along with a warm welcome on board Sri Lanka’s national carrier. SriLankan Airlines presently operates daily flights on the Colombo-Dhaka sector being an added advantage for all travellers.

Both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh hold great fortitude in sectoral cooperation particularly in the areas of tourism, trade and commerce, shipping and people to people contact whilst being significant members of SAARC, BIMSTEC and the Commonwealth of Nations. Sri Lanka shares a great deal of comfort in doing business with Bangladesh and has been able to maintain a symbiotic relationship which entails the future growth of both countries.

This year, the two countries are celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations and together will forge ahead in friendship and solidarity.

Sri Lanka Convention Bureau (SLCB):

The Sri Lanka Convention Bureau (SLCB) functions under the Ministry of Tourism and Lands of Sri Lanka. The main mandate of the Bureau is to promote MICE tourism and thereby increase the Sri Lanka’s destination appeal in international markets as a preferred destination for MICE.  

SLCB identified Bangladesh as an important market within the South Asian (SAARC) Region. As per the outbound travel trends in Bangladesh, it was projected that there have been approximately 2.6 million trips in 2021.

About Sri Lanka:

A landmark destination in the ancient Spice Trail, Sri Lanka is bursting with wonder. This tropical island is famous for its diverse landscape: from the blue seaside belt to green mountains, and the island's lavish greenery ranging from coconut palm groves to paddy fields and tea plantations, adorned by over 200 natural waterfalls. One must explore Sri Lanka's pristine beaches and visit the `Ramayana trail' sites, the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Sigiriya and the fascinating history of Dambulla. Be it family and leisure getaways, adventure and rejuvenation, Sri Lanka has so much to explore.

India's Chandrayaan-3 successfully landed on the South Pole of the Moon for the first time in its history on August 23 evening. But, the Chinese scientist Wang Xiaoyuan made an explosive comment on such information. He claimed that India's Chandrayaan-3 did not land on the moon. His comments caused uproar. Criticism and controversy have started.

The country's scientist Wang Xiaoyuan gave this information in an interview with the Chinese language newspaper Science Times. The Indian magazine Business Today gave such news citing Science Times.

Wang Xiaoyuan said the place where the rover landed was at 69 degrees south latitude, not near the South Pole. The South Pole is defined between 88.5 degrees and 90 degrees.

In that interview, he also said that the landing site of Chandrayaan-3 is not at the south pole of the moon and it is not near the south pole of the moon. The information about Moon landing at the South Pole is incorrect, as the distance from the Chandrayaan-3 landing site to the Moon's South Pole region is 619 km.

Xiaoyuan is not the first Chinese scientist to question Chandrayaan-3's achievements.

Earlier, Beijing-based space expert Pang Zhihao told state media Global Times that China is far more advanced in many fields. Since the launch of Chang-2 in 2010, China has been able to send orbiters and landers directly into Earth-Moon transition orbits.

Pang Zhihao also said that the engine used by China is also very advanced. India's lander Pragyan has a lifespan of one lunar day and cannot withstand lunar nights, but China's nuclear-powered UTU-2 rover holds the record for longest operation on the lunar surface.

We all know that 24 hours day and night. After the tiredness of the whole day, we sleep at night, waiting for a new dawn. But think once, where the sun does not set, how will the new dawn come? Or where there is no night, when the people will sleep to remove the tiredness of the day? Do you think there is a place? Not unreal, there are places on earth where the sun never sets. After a long sleep where people do not see the dawn.

In today's discussion, we will know some places in the world, where the sun does not set even at night!

Norway: Norway is called the land of the shining sun. The country's geographical location makes it different from other countries in the world. From May until the end of July, the sun does not set in the Norwegian sky. As a result, Norwegian people do not see the night for two and a half months! Another specialty of the country is that the sun can be seen on the horizon even at night from the port of Hammerfest, Norway, as it is located in the Arctic region.

Nunavut, Canada: The Canadian territory of Nunavut is located 2 degrees above the Arctic Circle. The sun does not set here for about two months of the year. Not only that, the sun cannot be seen for 30 consecutive days in this place during winter. That is, the people here live under the shadow of the sun for two months on the one hand, in the same way they have to live in a long night for a month.

Iceland: Iceland is famous for its absence of snakes and mosquitoes. After Great Britain, Iceland is the largest island in Europe. The sun can be seen in this island even at night in June.

Barrow, Alaska: The sun is visible in the night sky from late May to late July (summer) in this area of Alaska. There is the reverse side of the coin! Not only does the sun never set, there are continuous nights here from early November to early December. That's why this place is also known as 'Polar Nights'.

Finland: Finland is called the land of thousand lakes and islands. The sun does not set for 73 consecutive days during summer in this European country. Similarly, the sun does not appear here for 32 consecutive days in winter. Because of this strange natural disparity, most people in that country believe that people sleep more in winter and less in summer.

Sweden: We all know that 365 days make up a year. But Sweden's year ends in one day! Because half of the year is day here, the other half is night. Even pulled again! So taking the day and night as the sun, it can be said that the year in Sweden is spent in one day! And people here spend half of the year in the dark and the other half in the light.

Diplomatic relations between India and Canada are on the verge of ending over the death of Indian pro-Khalistan leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Both countries have expelled each other's diplomats.

In this situation, the New York Times report claimed that the United States had provided information to Canada about the killing of Nijjar. Through that information, Canada found India's link in Nijjar's murder.

The New York Times report, quoting an official from the 'Five Eyes Partners', an alliance of intelligence agencies from the US, Britain, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, claimed that US intelligence provided information to Canada immediately after the assassination. However, at that time the US was not aware of the possibility of India's involvement in the killings.

Meanwhile, Trudeau claimed on Saturday that Canada had sent information to New Delhi about the killing of Nijjar a few weeks ago. However, India said that Canada could not provide India with any evidence against the information.

On the other hand, Canadian intelligence claimed that Nijjar was a cleric. In response, New Delhi said Nijjar was not a religious guru, but a murderer.

According to India, Nijjar became the head of the Gurdwara by scaring his brother Raghbir.

Hindustan Times reported that pro-Khalistan leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot dead inside the Gurdwara on June 18. Hardeep was shot more than 20 times.

According to reports, Nijjar lived in the Punjabi-dominated Sari region of British Columbia, Canada. Hardeep was behind the Khalistani protests in front of the Indian High Commission in Vancouver, Canada in the past few years.

The Russian government has allowed the country's banks and financial institutions to transact in Russian currency.

This information was reported on the official Facebook page of the Russian Embassy in Bangladesh on Saturday (September 23).

According to the information given on the Facebook page, Russia has allowed 30 other countries to trade in ruble currency except Bangladesh. The countries are - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Algeria and Bahrain.

Also included are Brazil, China, Cuba, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Qatar, Malaysia, Mongolia, Morocco, Oman and Pakistan.

Saudi Arabia, Serbia, South Korea, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela and Vietnam are also allowed to trade in ruble. However, Argentina, Hong Kong, Israel, Mexico and Moldova have been excluded from the list.

Recently, before Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's visit to Dhaka, Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said that the discussions on commercial transactions in the country's single currency have been going on for quite some time.