A football match became a diplomatic meeting point in Dhaka as diplomats from Norway, Sweden, Malaysia and Vietnam joined colleagues from several other countries for a friendly match against a Bangladeshi team on Thursday evening, Daily Sun reports.
The event was organised by Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in cooperation with the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Bangladesh Football Federation at Dhaka Army Stadium.
The diplomatic team included representatives from Brunei Darussalam, China, Indonesia, Italy, Iran, Malaysia, Norway, South Korea, Sweden and Vietnam. They faced a team made up of officials from the Bangladeshi government and former national football players.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the match was held under the ministry’s newly established Cultural and Sports Diplomacy Wing. The aim was to promote friendship, strengthen people-to-people contacts and support diplomatic relations through sport.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obayed Islam and State Minister for Youth and Sports Aminul Haque attended the opening ceremony together with ambassadors, diplomats and senior government officials.
The event concluded with the presentation of commemorative mementos to members of the diplomatic team.
