DHAKA: Foreign Minister of Brazil, Russian Ambassador and the Secretary General of SAARC congratulated the new State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam of his assuming of office.

Luiz Alberto Figueiredo Machado, Minister of External Relations of Brazil congratulated Shahriar Alam, State Minister for Foreign Affairs for his new assignment.

In the message, he expressed his desire to deepen and broaden co-operation between Bangladesh and Brazil and strengthen co-ordination of mutual positions in the international fora.

In a separate message, Alexander Nikolaev, Russian Ambassador to Bangladesh felicitated the new State Minister.

The Ambassador hoped that under his energetic leadership, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will make fresh achievements in furthering mutually beneficial relations between the two countries.

In a related development, Ahmed Saleem, Secretary General of SAARC has also congratulated the State Minister for his new appointment.

While conveying his sentiment, Saleem expressed his hope of receiving his continued support and guidance in advancing the cause of regional cooperation under the auspices of SAARC.

BDST: 2012 HRS, JAN 22, 2013