PM for carrying out research on saving arable land

She remarked this while visiting Vice President of the German Parliament Claudia Roth, MP, who she met with at her Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban office on Tuesday.

Prime Minister's Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim has briefed reporters regarding the meeting.

The premier said more research needs to be conducted on the energy sector of Bangladesh; especially when setting up big power plants, including by foreign companies, in order to decrease the use of cultivable land in their construction.

Referring to the government's success in power generation, she said Bangladesh's production capacity has now reached over 20,000 MW and solar power plants have been installed in remote areas that the national grid cannot reach.

The prime minister said the government considers the impact of natural disasters as it works to develop the country.

As a part of the move, she said, the government is dredging the rivers of the country.

Pointing out the issue of climate change, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh is its worst victim although the country itself is not responsible for the impacts of climate change.

The premier also mentioned that Bangladesh was the first country in the world to constitute a climate resilient trust fund, with its own resources, to combat the adverse impacts of climate change and global warming.

The Prime Minister said the government has put great emphasis on food and agriculture development-related research and now various vegetables can be cultivated and consumed throughout the country, year-round.

Additionally, steps have been taken to create jobs for the youth, while the government is building houses for the poor people so that no one is homeless.

At the meeting, German Parliament Vice President Claudia Roth thanked the Bangladeshi prime minister for attending the recent Munich Security Conference that was held in Germany.

She also praised the government of Sheikh Hasina for its historical initiative over climate change issues, saying Bangladesh has achieved huge development despite facing many challenges.

Later, Unicef Executive Director Henrietta H Fore met with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban office.

During the meeting, the Prime Minister said that Unicef has been cooperating in the development of various sectors in Bangladesh since its independence.

She hoped that such cooperation will continue in the future, particularly in the health sector.

In response, the Unicef executive director said continued cooperation with Bangladesh would take the shape of providing vocational training as well as continuing assistance in the health sector.