Bangladesh will not lose its way again: HPM Sheikh Hasina

Bangladesh has reached a ‘dignified position’ on the global stage and will continue to prosper while maintaining it, says Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The holistic plans initiated by her government will never allow Bangladesh to ‘divert from its road to development’, Hasina said during a reception organised by the expatriate Bangladeshi community in the United Kingdom via video conference on Sunday.

“Bangladesh has reached a dignified position in the world and we must keep it. We need to move forward,” she said.

Sheikh Hasina highlighted how the Awami League government has organised the development of Bangladesh as it has ruled for the past decade.

After the Awami League formed the government in 2009, it prepared a Perspective Plan until 2021 and then designed a five-year plan based on it to propel the development of the country, she said. Now the government has designed a new Perspective Plan until 2041 and is implementing the eighth five-year plan accordingly.

“No one can stop Bangladesh from moving forward if we follow this plan.”

Highlighting the hundred year ‘Delta Plan’, the prime minister said the next generation in Bangladesh, a delta, should have a good life.

“We’re preparing the framework for it and also implementing it.”

As many as 80 projects under the Delta Plan have started work, she noted.

“We’re working to create a connectivity network between the capital and the rest of Bangladesh. Therefore, the planning, management of the overall development will ensure that Bangladesh never diverts from its road to development,” Hasina said.

“Bangladesh will progress further to reach its goal while nurturing the spirit of the liberation war and the ideology of the Father of the Nation.”

‘INVEST IN BANGLADESH’

Noting that her government has created a hundred economic zones, Sheikh Hasina urged expatriates to come and invest in Bangladesh.

“You have been there for a long time. Now come to Bangladesh and invest,” she said.

Those running restaurants in Britain need to import food products from Bangladesh, Hasina said.

The prime minister told restaurateurs that they can produce the vegetables, meat and fish they use as ingredients in Bangladesh and then export them as value-added ‘ready to cook’ or ‘ready to eat’ products.

“We have bought new airplanes. In the future, we’ll buy new cargo planes as well. We’ll make a cargo village to ensure specific temperatures for specific vegetables or meat so the nutritional value is not lost. You’ll face no issues in receiving these products,” Hasina said, highlighting the measures taken by her government.

She also mentioned that special incentives will be given to those expatriates investing in the economic zones.