Hannan made envoy to Switzerland

20 June 2010, 18:00 PM

Diplomatic Correspondent

The government has appointed Md Abdul Hannan, currently serving as Bangladesh Ambassador and Permanent Representative (PR) to the UN Office in Geneva, as the new Ambassador of Bangladesh to Switzerland with residence in Geneva, says a foreign ministry announcement yesterday. A career diplomat, Hannan belongs to the 1984 batch of BCS (Foreign Affairs) Cadre and joined the service in 1986. During his diplomatic career, he has served in Bangladesh missions in Muscat, Moscow, Kolkata, Ottawa and Karachi before taking up his assignment in the Bangladesh Permanent Mission in Geneva. Hannan obtained his BA (Honors) and Masters degrees in Economics from Chittagong University. He also completed his masters in Diplomacy from the University of Lancaster in the United Kingdom in 1989. Earlier, Hannan was appointed ambassador and Permanent Representative at Bangladesh Mission to the UN offices in Geneva in June 2009. Before Geneva, he was ambassador in Oman. Switzerland and Bangladesh always have had excellent relations based on mutual understanding and trust. Switzerland has provided development assistance in key sectors of rural development in Bangladesh. Switzerland contributed to the reconstruction of Bangladesh after its independence in 1971. Switzerland has investments in Bangladesh in the chemicals, pharmaceuticals, technical services, cement, IT and food sectors. Large multinational companies such as Nestlé, Novartis and Holcim have productions in Bangladesh. Swiss share of total investment in Bangladesh remains small but focused on specific sectors. Total Swiss investment so far is 62 million US dollar. Trade between Bangladesh and Switzerland has been increasing over the years. In 2006, Bangladesh export to Switzerland was 118 million dollar and Swiss export to Bangladesh 107 million dollar, according to official Swiss figures.