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Regional Director visiting Dhaka, Bangladesh Office
Regional Director in Dhaka, Bangladesh for Maiden Visit

Planning Sessions
1.3 Minutes
Najmul Hossain
Dr.
  Najmul Hossain
Dr. Hossain (left), Country Representative of FNF Bangladesh and Dr Meinardus (middle), Regional Director of FNF South Asia meeting with Ambassador (retired) Mohammed Farooq (right), Chief Information Commissioner at Information Commission of Bangladesh office.
Dr. Hossain (left), Country Representative of FNF Bangladesh and Dr Meinardus (middle), Regional Director of FNF South Asia meeting with Ambassador (retired) Mohammed Farooq (right), Chief Information Commissioner at Information Commission of Bangladesh office. © FNF Bangladesh

Planning Sessions

The Regional Director of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF South Asia), Dr. Ronald Meinardus, was in Dhaka, Bangladesh from 02nd February through 04th February, 2015. Meeting the colleagues at the Dhaka office of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF Bangladesh) and discussing programming activities for 2015 and beyond was one of the the main goals of this maiden visit. In spite of the ongoing political strike, with threats of road side violence, a formal meeting took place at the Information Commission of Bangladesh office, one of the Foundation’s key partners. On the occasion, Ambassador (retired) Mohammed Farooq, Chief Information Commissioner, Mr. Nepal Chandra Sarker, Information Commissioner, and Mr. Farhad Hossain, Secretary, Information Commission of Bangladesh provided a detailed overview of Information Commission’s efforts to effectively implement the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2009. The Chief Information Commissioner appreciated FNF Bangladesh’s contributions in this endeavor. The possibility of an international or regional conference for exchange of information and ideas on the RTI implementation experience in India, Bangladesh and other countries was one of the topics discussed.

Dr. Meinardus also met the Deputy Mission Chief of the German Embassy. Dr. Ferdinand von Weyhe at a luncheon organized by Dr. Najmul Hossain, FNF Bangladesh’s Country Representative. This was also attended by local friends of the Foundation from the media and the business community.

Much time was spent for internal discussions with the Dhaka team of FNF Bangladesh. Issues covered included program planning for 2015 with objectives and goals; experiences with the partners; accounting and audit reporting and documentation. Also high on the agenda was the upcoming regional meeting of program staff in late March which will be held in Dhaka and for which senior officials from Germany and the region are expected to come to Bangladesh.