Bangladesh strives to strengthen ties with Korea
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Spring festival
Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali Foreign Minister
On the occasion of the 43rd anniversary of the Independence and National Day, I convey my heartfelt greetings and felicitations to my compatriots living at home and abroad. On this memorable day, I recall with profound respect the greatest Bangalee of all times and Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who proclaimed independence in the early hours of March 26, 1971. Responding to his clarion call, people from all walks of life participated in the War of Liberation and achieved victory on the 16th December, 1971. On this day, I pay my deep homage to the three million martyrs who laid down their lives in the War of Liberation in 1971. I pray to the Almighty Allah for the salvation of those departed souls. I also remember the quarter of a million mothers and sisters who sacrificed their honour for the sake of freedom for Bangladesh.
It all began with the assertion of a national identity in the face of systematic denial, discrimination and deprivation of an identity rooted in a millennia-old heritage of language, culture and customs. It evolved through the shaping of political demands for inclusion and equal access to opportunities, against all forms of exploitation of the Bangalee people. It was crystallized into the 6-point programme put forward by Bangabandhu for the emancipation of our people. Then landslide victory of the Awami League in the general elections of December 1970 and the Pakistani military government’s refusal to hand over power led to the non-co-operation movement culminating in the declaration of independence by Bangabandhu. After the tragic events of 15 August, 1975, when Bangabandhu was killed along with most members of his family, Bangladesh lapsed into a long period of military dictatorships and the people under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina had to wage another battle for the restoration of democracy.
After restoration of democracy, Sheikh Hasina was elected to office in 1996. She started from where Bangabandhu had left, and once again the country was restored to a place of honour among the comity of nations. During her first term (1996-2001), Bangladesh marched ahead in many fields. The country witnessed remarkable progress at home and earned global recognition as well. Following her landslide victory in the December 2008 elections, Bangladesh made major strides during the second term (2009-2013) specially in the social sector such as reduction of maternity and child mortality rate, revolution in the education sector particularly at the primary level, empowerment of women, development of infrastructure and power generation. The impressive performance of the Government helped earn international recognition and Bangladesh was cited as a role model in many fields. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s tremendous success in the betterment of the lives of the common people led to her re-election in the last elections held on 5 January, 2014.
Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina aims at a middle-income, digital knowledge based Vision of Bangladesh by 2021. On the international front, we have demonstrated our goal and ability to forge partnerships with our neighbours and beyond. We are deeply involved in the process of multilateralism, through global and regional commitments. But the defeated anti-liberation, communal and irredentist forces are trying to destabilize the democratic and development process. We are however determined to end the culture of impunity. The government remains pledge-bound to bring to justice all the crimes committed against humanity during the War of Liberation in 1971. We urge the international community to extend their support and cooperation for this just cause.
On this very day, I take this opportunity to thank all our officers and staff at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and our Missions abroad who have devoted themselves to achieving our foreign policy objectives. I also congratulate the Bangladesh Diaspora who have contributed greatly to the buoyancy of the economy of their country of origin as well as to further development of their host countries.
Today, Bangladesh is marching ahead in all fields under the leadership of our dear leader, Bangabandhu’s daughter, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
On this great Day, I urge all to work unitedly imbued with the spirit of War of Liberation to expedite economic self-reliance and democratic advancement of the country for the realisation of Bangabandhu’s dream of Sonar Bangla-Golden Bengal.
Joy Bangla
Joy Bangabandhu.