PM stresses having accommodative attitude among neighbours

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday stressed the need for having an accommodative attitude towards relations among neighboring countries for the sake of mutual development.

“It’s very natural to have problems among neighboring countries.  If there’s a supportive attitude towards the relations among them, it’ll be very easy to achieve prosperity in the countries,” she said.

The Prime Minister made the remarks when she received the Dr. Kalam Smriti International Excellence Awards-2019.

Chief Adviser of the Dr. Kalam Smriti International Advisory Council ambassador T.P. Sreenivasan handed over the award at a ceremony at the Prime Minister’s Office in the afternoon.

The award constituted to disseminate the ideas and teachings of aerospace scientist and former Indian President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, was conferred upon Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in recognition of her commitment to a close and mutually satisfying India-Bangladesh relation, welfare of her people, particularly women and children, and international peace and cooperation.

Sheikh Hasina said bilateral problems can be solved through negotiations, and the countries can work together so that the people of the neighboring nations can be benefited.

“We always take measures so that people can get benefits as well,” she added.

Hasina said Bangladesh always gives importance towards building friendly relations with neighboring countries.

About Bangladesh-India ties, she said, “The relations of Bangladesh and India have reached a height that is marked by mutual trust and goodwill over the last decade.” 

Recalling the contributions of India to Bangladesh’s 1971 Liberation War, Hasina said India had provided shelter to over 10 million people from Bangladesh and helped it emerge as an independent country and building the war-ravaged nation as well.

The Prime Minister said Bangladesh and India solved land boundary problem peacefully as the Indian Parliament unanimously passed a historic bill to implement the Land Boundary Agreement.

“Bangladesh and India have set an example for the world exchanging enclaves between the two countries in a festive mood,” she said.

Hasina said Bangladesh has adopted the Agenda 2030, along with the international community, after experiencing a high degree of success in achieving the MDGs.  “We’ve been taking measures in such a way that we can attain the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as well.” 

Alongside taking plans in line with the SDGs, Bangladesh also adopted some specific plans for the uplift of its people’s socio-economic status before the celebration of the birth centenary of the Father of the Nation and the Golden Jubilee of the country’s independence, she said.

Referring to her government’s development activities, the Prime Minister said the per capita income in Bangladesh has surged to US$ 1909 in 2019 from US$ 543 in 2006.

“Over the last decade, our GDP has been growing at a rate of over 6.5 percent per annum, and it is 8.1 percent in 2018-2019,” she said.

“Our commitment is to achieve a growth rate of 10 percent by Fiscal Year 2023-24,” she said adding that the poverty has dropped to 21 percent in 2019 from 41.5 percent in 2006.

Hasina said Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had told journalists on many occasions that he loves the people of Bangladesh more than his family members. 

“I’m really proud of hearing this as my father dedicated his entire life to the people of Bangladesh,” Hasina said.

Foreign Minister Dr. AK Abdul Momen was present at the dais.