Italian envoy cites Holey Artisan cafe attack a 'sad moment'

Outgoing Italian Ambassador Mario Palma on Tuesday termed the sensational Holey Artisan cafe attack a 'sad moment' of his tenure in Bangladesh and expressed satisfaction as its trial has begun to ensure justice for the victims, reports UNB.

He highly appreciated Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's "sympathetic but strong" leadership role in taking the terrorists into task, including combating of scourge of terrorism in Bangladesh.

The Italian Ambassador made the remarks during his farewell meetings with Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali and State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam at the Ministry.

Ambassador Palma presented his credentials to the President on January 14, 2015 and is expected to leave Dhaka, on completion of his tour of duty, in early January 2019, according to the Foreign Ministry in the city.

The formal trial in the sensational Holey Artisan cafe attack case began on Monday with the deposition of a prosecution witness before a tribunal. Both ministers deeply appreciated Ambassador Palma's compassionate and constructive approach to tackle the situation in the aftermath of July 01, 2016 terrorist attack, at one restaurant in the city, when nine Italian citizens were killed.

They also discussed the ever-growing trade and investment relations and hoped that both the countries would continue to accrue more benefits out of the strong understanding that exists between the two peoples, while referring to the second largest Bangladeshi expatriate community in Italy, in whole Europe, after the UK.