Bangladesh–Egypt relations

Bangladesh–Egypt relations refer to the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Egypt. Bangladesh and Egypt enjoy friendly relations.^[1] Egypt has a resident ambassador, Mahmoud Ezzat, in Dhaka, Bangladesh.^[2][3] Bangladesh maintains a resident ambassador, Samina Naz, in Egypt.^[4][5]

Bangladesh-Egypt relations

Bangladesh	Egypt

History

Medieval

The Mamluk sultan Barsbay had good ties with other Muslim rulers of his time, in particular Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah, the Sultan of Bengal.^[6] According to Al-Sakhawi's Al-Daw al-lami` li ahli al-Qarni al-Tasi,^[7] the Mamluk sultan was once gifted by the Bengali sultan with investiture, a robe of honour and a letter of recognition.^[8][9] The Bengali ruler had died before his gifts could be dispatched to Barsbay. His son and successor, Shamsuddin Ahmad Shah, had slightly delayed the dispatching but nevertheless sending the initial gifts of his father off whilst also adding more gifts of his own. In total, the package was worth over 12,000 red tankas and included clothes, cotton, ginger, myrobalan and other spices. The envoy, travelling from Bengal to Cairo via the Indian Ocean, sank whilst at Jeddah's coast. In 1436, the Governor of Jeddah sent some men to search the Red Sea for the gifts and they came back with the textiles although the spices were damaged by the water. After Barsbay was informed of this by the governor, he ordered for the arrest of all members of the Bengali embassy, the confiscation of their envoy's merchandise, and banned them from ever travelling to Cairo again.^[10]

Modern

Bangladesh sent medical teams and supplies to Egypt for the Yom Kippur War.^[11][12] In 1974 Egypt led by President Anwar Sadat donated 30 tanks to Bangladesh which was led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. These were the first tanks received by the Bangladesh Army after Bangladesh became an independent country in 1971.^[13][14][15] These same tanks were used in the Assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.^[16] Bangladesh and Egypt are both members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Islamic Military Coalition.^[17]

Economic relations

Both Egypt and Bangladesh are members of the Developing-8.^[18] Bangladesh imports cotton from Egypt for its Ready-made garment industry.^[19] In 2005 Egyptian telecommunication company Orascom acquired Sheba Telecom the holding company of cellular company Banglalink.^[20] In 2013 there were 15 thousand Bangladeshis in Egypt according to the Bangladeshi embassy in Egypt.^[21]

References

1. "Egypt-Bangladesh relations: Exploring trade opportunities". theindependentbd.com. The Independent. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
2. "Egypt envoy assures good relations". The Daily Star. 10 June 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
3. "Egypt urged to import Bangladeshi goods". The Daily Star. 19 September 2007. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
4. "Imtiaz, Sorcar made ambassadors to Germany, Egypt". The Daily Star. 27 September 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
5. "Govt appoints Ambassador Samina Naz as the next ambassador of Bangladesh to Egypt". The Business Standard. 2023-07-06. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
6. MA Taher (2012). "Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah". In Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
7. Abdul Karim (1960). Corpus of the Muslim Coins of Bengal: (down to A. D. 1538). Asiatic Society of Pakistan.
8. Al-Sakhawi. Al-Daw al-lami' li ahli al-Qarni al-Tasi (in Arabic).
9. ʻAbdallāh Muḥammad Ibn-ʻUmar al-Makkī al-Āṣafī al-Ulughkhānī Hajjī ad-Dabir. Zafar ul wālih bi Muzaffar wa ālihi (in Arabic).
10. Behrens-Abouseif, Doris (16 May 2014). Practising Diplomacy in the Mamluk Sultanate: Gifts and Material Culture in the Medieval Islamic World. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 9, 29, 46.
11. Avery, Martin (2010). Love in the Time of Terrorism: The Mother of All Female Suicide Bombers and the Holocaust Survivors' Daughter. Lulu.com. ISBN 9780557541560. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
12. "Global political Islam in Bangladesh: past, present and future". Mubashar Hasan. openDemocracy. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
13. Heitzman, James; Library of Congress, Federal Research Division; Nyrop, Richard F.; Worden, Robert L. (1989). Bangladesh : a country study. Washington, D.C: Library of Congress. p. 226.
14. "The Way an Egyptian Tank Was Used in Mujib's Assassination". Shampratik Deshkal English. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
15. "Trade Registers". armstrade.sipri.org. Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
16. Gupta, Jyoti Sen (1981). Bangladesh, in Blood and Tears. Naya Prokash. p. 62. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
17. "Bangladesh in 34-state Islamic military alliance". The Daily Star. Reuters. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
18. "D-8 trade agreement to take effect in July". The Daily Star. 23 February 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
19. "Bangladesh seeks more cooperation in RMG trade". The Daily Star. 10 October 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
20. "The tale of telecom". The Daily Star. 22 January 2010. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
21. "Stay in safer places". The Daily Star. 17 August 2013. Retrieved 28 December 2017.