Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud today said BNP leaders are now talking perplexed after boycotting the last general elections. “The BNP leaders are now realising what is the pain of not joining the polls,” he said while exchanging views with journalists at the Foreign Ministry here.

Mentioning that next upazila polls will be held without party symbols, the foreign minister said the candidacy for the upazila elections will be open and this is nothing new in Bangladesh.

In the past, he said, the upazila elections were held without party symbols, while only last time, the polls were held with party symbols.

“And definitely there should not be any undue interference in the elections and the people will vote as they like. We are not giving party nomination to anyone,” he said.

About Nobel Peace Laureate Dr Mohammad Yunus’s statement – “there is no rule of law in the country”, Dr Hasan said as the rule of law is prevailing in the country, Dr Yunus remains free on bail despite being convicted in court.

Replying to a query, he said during Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira’s visit to Dhaka on April 7-8, there are the possibility of signing an agreement on technical assistance and three memorandums of understanding (MoUs) on sports, agriculture and defense.

Mentioning that the visit of the Brazil foreign minister will be significant one, Hasan said a large business delegation of 24 people is coming to Bangladesh.

“Our FBCCI will meet them. We import edible oil and other products from Brazil. Our exports to South America remain largely ‘unexplored. Brazil is a big country and its purchasing power is also high. So there is a great opportunity to increase trade relations with them,” he said.

During the visit, the Brazilian foreign minister will pay a courtesy call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and hold a bilateral meeting with the Bangladesh Foreign Minister.

Earlier, Portugal Ambassador in Dhaka Joao Manuel Mendes Ribeiro de Almeida, Bahrain Ambassador to Bangladesh Abdulrahman Mohamed Ahmed Al Qaoud and New Zealand High Commissioner in Dhaka David Pine paid a courtesy on Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud.