Bangladesh will turn into a developed country by 2041

Terming her recent UAE visit as a very successful one, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said the visit is a step toward further boosting ties with countries of the Middle East in the areas of trade, investment and businesses.”The visit has created new hope to open up labour market for Bangladeshis as well as strengthen ties with the Middle East counties in the areas of trade, investment and business,” she said at a press conference at her official residence Gonobhaban here this afternoon.

Sheikh Hasina said she had a very constructive discussion with leaders of the UAE on various bilateral, regional and international issues which has created opportunities for the two countries to work together on those issues.

“In all consideration, the visit was a very successful one and I hope the visit would have a critical and enduring role to further build up relations in various areas between the two countries,” the Prime Minister said.

The press conference was convened to inform the media of the Prime Minister’s three-day official visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from October 25 to 27 at the invitation of Vice President and Prime Minister of that country Sheikh Mohamamd Bin Rashid al Maktum.

Rejecting the remarks of BNP leaders who termed the visit as a ‘futile one’, the Prime Minister said, “They look at everything out of their own viewpoint. BNP made Bangladesh a failed state when the party was in power. As an opposition they failed in their movement to unseat the government. So they certainly see no success in our stride,” she said.

Sheikh Hasina said the UAE attaches special importance to the role of Bangladesh in establishing global peace and stability. UAE leader hailed the success of Bangladesh in the socio-economic areas during the tenure of present government.

The UAE specially praised Bangladesh for taking the decision of implementing the Padma Bridge project with its own resources, the Prime Minister said adding the project has led the UAE leaders to look at our capacity very positively”.

The Prime Minister said she had discussed with UAE leaders on international peace and security and Middle-east crisis and expressed concern over increasing militant and terrorist activities in the Middle East and other areas. The two countries agreed to work together more closely to combat terrorism, she said.

The Prime Minister said the decision of the UAE to recruit 1,000 female workers from Bangladesh is the beginning of the process of resuming manpower export to UAE. The process would get momentum after appointment of a labour attache to the UAE embassy in Dhaka at the beginning of the next year.

The female workers would be given training by the Bangladesh Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) Bureau and sent entirely at the cost of the government, she said urging all remain carefully about unscrupulous practice of any section in the name extending help in this regard.

In the press briefing, Sheikh Hasina highlighted her meetings and discussions with UAE leaders during the visit which was her third tour to UAE as the Prime Minister but first in term of official and bilateral visit.

She pointed out the formal bilateral talks with her counterpart, issuance of first ever ‘Joint Statement’ of the two countries, her interview with leading dailies ‘Khalis Times’ and ‘Gulf News’ and signing of three agreements for cooperation in different areas.

The Prime Minister said under the Agreement on Security Cooperation Bangladesh and UAE will cooperate with each other in containing terrorism, terror financing, corruption, human trafficking, smuggling of arms and drugs, money laundering, cyber crime and forgery.

Under the Agreement on Transfer of Sentenced Persons, the Prime Minister said, the convicted persons would get facilities to suffer their punishment in their respective countries and expenses of the transfer of the convicted persons would be borne by the sending country.

Under the third agreement Bangladesh will hand over a plot to the UAE to construct their embassy building in Dhaka, the prime minister said.

Sheikh Hasina said in the Joint Statement the two countries agreed to explore opportunities to identify new areas of cooperation and strengthen existing cooperation in the areas of trade, investment, higher education, tourism, infrastructure development, culture and energy particularly renewable energy, climate change and ocean based blue-economy.

The prime minister said both Bangladesh and UAE got independence in 1971 and relations between the two countries were founded with the visit of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s visit to UAE in 1974, which got multidimensional shape over the last four decades.

Sheikh Hasina said in the meeting with the UAE leaders she informed them of her government’s vision and long term perspective plan to turn Bangladesh into a middle income country by 2021 and into a developed country by 2041, seeking their continued support in this regard.

She said her meetings with the UAE leaders were held in a very cordial and sincere atmosphere which reflected the long term friendship between the two countries. They also gratefully recalled the role of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in cementing foundation of the relations of the two countries.

Sheikh Hasina said, during the meeting with Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, she requested the UAE government to import skilled and semi-skilled manpower from Bangladesh in different fields especially for Dubai Expo- 2020.

Terming UAE as the second largest manpower market, Sheikh Hasina said, she discussed with UAE authorities various problems of Bangladeshi manpower and they assured her to solve the problems. The two countries agreed to further discuss mobilization of finance and other supports of the UAE to undertake different projects in Bangladesh.

About her request to Dubai Port World to conduct a feasibility study for construction of a deep seaport at Paira, Patuakhali and 150 kilometer marine driveway from Mirersarai in Chittagong to Teknaf of Cox’s Bazaar, she said the DP World would send a team very soon to Bangladesh. Sheikh Hasina also welcomed a proposal of the DP World to construct a special economic zone at a pace adjacent to the Paira Seaport. Source: BSS