Tuesday, March 09, 2010

Deutsche Welle and Bangladesh Betar sign Comprehensive Partnership Agreement

Press Release

Representatives of Bangladesh Betar (BB) and Deutsche Welle (DW) have signed a new partnership agreement on 9 March 2010 in Dhaka that will allow DW to broadcast Bengali Radio Programs two times daily from Bangladesh.

The agreement was signed by Bangladesh Betar Director General, Mr. Md. Mahbubul Alam, and Managing Director of DW-AKADEMIE, Ms. Gerda Meuer, in the presence of the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, Holger Michael, the Minister of Information, Mr. Abdul Kalam Azad, MP, and the Ministry’s Secretary, Dr. Kamal Abdul Nasser Chowdhury.

According to this agreement, BB will air DW Bengali Radio Service between 8:00 am and 8:30 am as well as 8:00 pm and 8:30 pm using six transmitters in Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet,Khulna, Rajshahi and Rangpur. Deutsche Welle will set up satellite equipment in these locations to make reception and rebroadcasting possible. This agreement marks just another milestone in the excellent German Bangladesh bilateral relations and will help Germany’s international broadcaster to expand its Bengali radio services in Bangladesh via FM. Radio in Bangladesh is a very important form of media, reaching a large percentage of Bangladesh citizens on a daily basis.

In addition, the two partners agreed to extend their successful training program for journalists with DW-AKADEMIE, continuing their journalist exchange program that was established in 1975.

“We are excited to continue our partnership with BB,” says Gerda Meuer, Managing Director DW-Akademie at Deutsche Welle. “We have worked together in many areas for more than 30 years and are sure that this new agreement will be beneficial to both parties.”
(Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, India)