2024-02-14 06:01:52
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has commented that the people of Bangladesh are enjoying democracy now that Awami League has come to power for the fourth time in a row.
He made this comment when he went to meet Secretary General of Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multisectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Indra Mani Pandey at the Prime Minister’s office on Tuesday (February 13).
After the meeting, Prime Minister’s Deputy Press Secretary KM Sakhawat Moon briefed the journalists.
Citing the people of the country as one of its strengths, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said there was a time when the country was submerged under military rule. The government has always given importance to rural development.
He said he visited numerous villages and encouraged people not to leave an inch of arable land except for food production. I urged everyone to get involved in food production in any way possible.
Referring to India as a friendly country of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina said, India has helped Bangladesh a lot in 1971. At that time, the country also sheltered about 1 crore people. After the assassination of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, he and his sister Sheikh Rehana took refuge in India.
The BIMSTEC Secretary General congratulated the Prime Minister on his re-election. At this time, he expressed satisfaction with the activities of Bangladesh with BIMSTEC. Stating that Bangladesh and BIMSTEC will work together to achieve common goals, the Prime Minister said that BIMSTEC’s excellent relations with Bangladesh will continue.
Bangladesh plans to complete the construction of the proposed BIMSTEC Secretariat building within the next three years. He also mentioned that the areas of cooperation under BIMSTEC have been restructured, bringing it down to seven sectors with one lead country for each sector.
Trade, Investment and Development is one of the most important sectors of BIMSTEC cooperation and Bangladesh is leading in this sector. After the next summit, when Bangladesh takes over the presidency, he hoped to strengthen the activities of the next BIMSTEC summit forum.
The Prime Minister hoped to take the BIMSTEC process to new heights, as the new Secretary-General and Chairmanship will be held by two very friendly countries – India and Bangladesh, and the secretariat formalities will be held in Dhaka.
Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh is ready to take on more responsibilities in the BIMSTEC process after assuming the chairmanship of this group after the 6th summit.
The Secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office Mohammad Salahuddin was present at this time.
live