Hasina govt will continue upholding secular values: Bangladesh minister

Bangladesh State Minister for Foreign Affairs Mohammed Shahriar Alam on Saturday asserted that the Sheikh Hasina government will continue upholding secular values, which are the bedrock of the countrys constitution.Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a programme commemorating the golden jubilee of Bangladeshs independence at Sister Nivedita University here, Alam said, Secularism is one of the main principles for which we had fought the war of liberation against Pakistan in 1971.

Bangladesh State Minister for Foreign Affairs Mohammed Shahriar Alam on Saturday asserted that the Sheikh Hasina government will continue upholding secular values, which are the bedrock of the country's constitution.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a programme commemorating the golden jubilee of Bangladesh's independence at Sister Nivedita University here, Alam said, ''Secularism is one of the main principles for which we had fought the war of liberation against Pakistan in 1971. It is our constitutional obligation. We will continue to uphold its spirit.'' The minister said that the governments of India and Bangladesh are working in tandem to simplify people-to-people exchanges.

''We are aiming to reach the situation before the 1965 India-Pakistan War, when visiting present-day Bangladesh was easier. We are opening new offices in several parts of India. A new deputy high commission is coming up in Chennai. We want to facilitate more people-to-people and business exchanges with strict adherence to COVID-19 guidelines,'' he said.

In his speech, Alam listed the strides made by Bangladesh under the Hasina government in the last decade, and citing studies, said that the country will be among the top 30 economies by 2040.

He said that the per capita income in Bangladesh has increased from USD 100 in 1972 to USD 2,500 now, and it is expected to rise to USD 5,734 by 2030.

Bangladesh registered an 8.2 per cent growth in GDP in 2019, which went down to 5 per cent in 2020 due to the pandemic, but is expected to rise to 6 per cent by the end of this current fiscal, Alam said.

He said that 10 major projects worth billions of dollars, including the 6.5-km-long Padma Setu, 2,400 MW Rooppur nuclear power plant, Chattogram-Cox's Bazaar railway link and Paira deep sea port, will boost the country's economy.

The minister said that the Padma Setu will boost connectivity with Kolkata and southern West Bengal, and cut down travel time between the two countries.

Alam said that the country has succeeded in providing drinking water to every citizen, and though its population increased to 16 crore, its crop output has also grown by four times. ''But still some western countries underestimate us and look down upon us. They say that our economic development is a paradox. It's not a paradox, it's a miracle, a success story,'' the minister said.

He thanked India for being by the side of Bangladesh in all these years.

''The Pakistani leadership, which had deprived East Pakistan in every sphere from representation in governance to primary education and agriculture, was defeated by 7.5 crore Bengalis under the leadership of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and active support from India.

''December is considered a month of victory, and we have completed 50 years of that victory,'' he added.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)