The ceremony took place at the Presidential Palace of Bangabhaban in Dhaka on 3 October 2024. Following the ceremony, President and the Ambassador discussed enhancing collaborations in areas, such as democracy and human rights, women empowerment, climate change, renewable energy and stronger economic ties between the two countries through trade and investment for the benefit of both nations.
Following his meeting with the President, Ambassador Håkon Arald Gulbrandsen said, “I thanked the Hon’ble President for the memorable Credence ceremony, and offered my sincere condolences for the loss of lives during the July Movement. It is a privilege to be the Norwegian Ambassador to Bangladesh in such an important time for the country, and I look forward to exploring existing and new fields of cooperation between our two nations”.
Norway and Bangladesh share close but flexible bilateral relationship which have expanded in line with the country’s own development over the decades. Norway is proud to be one of the first countries to recognize Bangladesh as an independent and sovereign state on 4 February 1972. The engagement which started with humanitarian aid from Norway, then moved into development cooperation, creating long-lasting results covering areas such as education, human rights, women empowerment and gender equality, environment and climate change. In 2022, Norway and Bangladesh celebrated 50 years of diplomatic relation in Dhaka.
Norway appreciates the generosity of Bangladesh in hosting more than one million Rohingya refugees since August 2017 and remains fully committed to support Bangladesh by providing humanitarian support to address this ongoing crisis.
Ambassador Håkon has held several relevant positions in the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and abroad, including the assistant director positions and Deputy Head of Mission in the Norwegian Embassy. While working as Norwegian State Secretary of International Development he visited Bangladesh in 2009 on prevention of natural disasters. He was also election observer for OSCE during the Parliamentary Election in June 1996.
