Art and and culture can strengthen people-to-people relations between Vietnam and Bangladesh, said Vietnamese Ambassador to Bangladesh Pham Viet Chien on 30 January 2021.

"People-to-people relation is the most important because it'll last longer. Relations between the two governments and countries can change but the ties between the people of two countries like Bangladesh and Vietnam will last forever," he said.

Ambassador Viet Chien put emphasis on promoting art and culture of the two friendly countries while visiting the ongoing two-month long group art exhibition titled "Sheikh Hasina: On the Right Side of History" at Cosmos Centre in the city.

Deputy Managing Director of Cosmos Group Masud Jamil Khan welcomed the Ambassador and briefed him on the exhibition.

"During my stay here as Ambassador, I'll try to strengthen this type of [people-to-people] relations. So, I'll try to consolidate the relations between the artists of Vietnam and Bangladesh to this end," he said.

Viet Chien said very few people in Vietnam know about the art and culture of Bangladesh while the people in Bangladesh also do not know that much about Vietnam's culture.

"Why can't we present each other and know each other and get closer to each other? This relationship between us will be strengthened and we'll get closer and be friends to each other and will grow together. This very important and I'll try my best to make it happen," the Ambassador said.

He thanked Gallery Cosmos for organising a wonderful exhibition featuring Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and providing him with the chance to know about her. Ambassador Viet Chien highly appreciated Sheikh Hasina's contributions to Bangladesh's tremendous development.

Ambassador Viet Chien also praised UNB, a sister concern of Cosmos Group, saying he regularly visits its site for news and information about Bangladesh.

'Art is vital in the long run'

Masud Khan said the exhibition is part of the year-long programme to celebrate the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

"Art is what sparks our imagination and makes everything in our society more beautiful. The artworks here are very unique and different in their own way," said Masud Khan, noting that the exhibition would be moved to another location to continue as the organisers are receiving a lot of requests to keep it going.

"We're very happy for that," Masud Khan said.

He thanked the artists of the Gallery Cosmos team for all the support to keep this exhibition going since December. "Art may not be vital for our everyday survival but I think in the long run it'll very important for us to survive," he said.

Later, the Ambassador visited different wings of the Cosmos Group at Cosmos Centre, including Cosmos Atelier71, UNB newsroom and WildTeam office.

Sheikh Hasina: On the Right Side of History

Information Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud formally inaugurated the group art exhibition on December 15, 2020.

Gallery Cosmos, in collaboration with the Cosmos Atelier71, previously hosted an art camp supported by the Cosmos Foundation on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the eldest daughter of Bangabandhu.

Artists Alakesh Ghosh, Ahmed Shamshuddoha, Sheikh Afzal, Nasir Ali Mamun, Bishwajit Goswami, Ratneshwar Shutradhar, Rasel Kanti, Monjur Rashid, Sourav Chowdhury, Maneek Bonik, Jayanta Sarkar, Azmol Hossain, Fida Hossain, Amit Nandi, Didarul Limon, Tamanna Afroz, Fahim Chowdhury, Miskatul Abir, Proshun Halder, Hasura Akter Rumky and Surovi Akter had participated in the camp.

The artworks produced in the camp are being showcased at the exhibition which will remain open till February 12, 2021, at Cosmos Centre. But due to the Covid-19 outbreak, only receive 20 visitors at any one time will be served.

Earlier, Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Vikram K Doraiswami, British High Robert Chatterton Dickson, Turkish Ambassador Mustafa Osman Turan, US Ambassador Earl R Miller and Iranian Ambassador Mohammad Reza Nafar visited the art exhibition.

Visitors have been advised to wear masks all the time while visiting the exhibition and maintain an appropriate physical distance from each other.