Newly appointed Ambassador of Brazil to Bangladesh Joao Tabajara de Oliveira Junior on Thursday stressed exploring more potential and finding out new areas of cooperation between Bangladesh and his country.
“I’ve come here to further develop relations with Bangladesh and make it deeper…we can explore our more potential and find out new areas of cooperation,” he said during a courtesy call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her office here.
PM’s press secretary Ihsanul Karim said the Prime Minister laid importance on strengthening economic cooperation between the two countries. After coming to power, Sheikh Hasina said, her government has reopened the Embassy of Bangladesh in Brazil, which was closed during the BNP regime. The Brazilian envoy praised the huge number of Brazilian football fans in Bangladesh and their overwhelming support to Brazil during last World Cup football.
He shared his experience of visiting Bangladesh Krira Shikka Parishad (BKSP) and offered giving football coaching and training to Bangladeshi football players.
The Prime Minister also pointed out her government’s stride to promote football, saying nationwide school football tournament for boys and girls were introduced to groom up new players.
“Our family was a football family as my grandfather, father and brothers all were football players,” the Prime Minister said, adding that three pioneer football teams of Bangladesh are now named after her three brothers. The Brazilian envoy informed the Prime Minister that cattle-heads first came in his country from Bangladesh about 500 years back, which now tuned into an important resource for his country’s economy. “A cow in Brazil now gives about 100 litres milk every day,” he said. Tabajara praised the football loving people of Bangladesh, saying Bangladesh is very familiar to Brazilians because of their support to Brazil’s World Cup football team.
“A private television channel of Brazil during the last World Cup football documented the Bangladeshi fans,” he said, adding that the television channel would visit Bangladesh next year for documentation of magnificent celebration of Pahela Boishak.
The Brazilian envoy said he likes juicy mango fruits of Bangladesh very much and preserved the fruits in a large number in the deep fridge. Principal Secretary Md Najibur Rahman and PMO Secretary Sazzadul Hassan were present.
