Bangladesh
Hasina, Modi jointly open five projects
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday jointly inaugurated five projects.
They inaugurated the projects virtually after bilateral talks between Bangladesh and India that took place at the Prime Minister’s Office.
The projects are Ground-breaking ceremony for Infrastructure Development for Power Evacuation Facilities of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, introduction of a new passenger train service, ‘Mitali Express’, between Dhaka and New Jalpaiguri and extended development work at Rabindra Bhawan Kuthibari in Shilaidaha, Kushtia.
Also read: Bangladesh, India for progress of whole world: Modi
The other projects are laying the foundation stone of a monument at Ashuganj in memory of martyred members of Indian Allied Forces in Ashuganj and three new Border haats along the India-Bangladesh border.
Bangladesh-India bilateral talks begin at PMO
The bilateral talks between Bangladesh and India have started at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is leading the Bangladesh delegation at the meeting while visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi leading his side. The meeting began around 5:40 pm.
Also read: Hasina-Modi Talks: Focus on connectivity, trade, health
Before the formal talks, the two leaders also had a tête-à-tête for some time.
Earlier, on his arrival at the PMO, the Indian Prime Minister was received by his Bangladeshi counterpart at the Tiger Gate of the Prime Minister’s Office.
Meanwhile, at least five MoUs are likely to be signed after the bilateral meeting, according to Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen. He said the MoUs are aimed at strengthening cooperation in various sectors of the two neighbouring countries.
Also read: FM discusses bilateral, connectivity issues with Modi
They will inaugurate some joint projects virtually and witness the signing of the MoUs between the two countries after the talks.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived here on Friday morning on a two-day official visit to attend the celebrations of the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the golden jubilee of the country’s independence.
Also read: Ideologies, forces behind inhuman acts remains active: Modi
Golden Jubilee: US Senate Foreign Relations Committee greets Bangladesh
US Senator Bob Menendez, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has greeted Bangladesh and its people marking the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh’s independence.
Extending best wishes to the people of Bangladesh, Senator Menendez said the members of Congress have a proud history of support for Bangladesh’s freedom.
“Senator Ted Kennedy’s 1971 visit drew international attention to the repression the people of Bangladesh faced, and Kennedy became a champion for the importance of Bangladesh’s independence,” the Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee said in the statement.
Also read: Curtain falls on 10-day celebration marking golden jubilee, Bangabandhu’s birth centenary
He looks forward to strengthening the Bangladesh-US relationship on the basis of those values to address major issues including climate change, human rights, and humanitarian challenges.
Also read: PM releases commemorative stamp marking Golden Jubilee
Senator Menendez expressed gratefulness for the contributions made by Bangladeshi-Americans to the United States.
Int’l community lauds Bangladesh’s remarkable progress
Representatives of the UN and its member states have lauded the remarkable progress of Bangladesh saying it has made tremendous strides over the past five decades and become a development miracle.
They came up with the recognition during the celebration of the Golden Jubilee of Bangladesh’s Independence on Friday.
The event was organised by the Permanent Mission of Bangladesh to the United Nations in a virtual platform.
High-level representatives of the United Nations Headquarters, Permanent Missions of different countries and UN agencies along with other dignitaries of the international community attended the virtual reception.
In his video message, UN Secretary-General António Guterres recognised the tremendous strides made by Bangladesh over the past five decades, particularly on issues of social development and disaster preparedness.
He acknowledged Bangladesh’s valuable role on the world stage as the largest troop contributor to United Nations peacekeeping operations, as Chair of the Climate Vulnerable Forum and also as a host to hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar.
“We’ll continue to stand with Bangladesh in tackling the climate crisis and working for the Sustainable Development Goals,” said the UN chief.
Hefazat calls countrywide hartal for Sunday
Hefazat-e-Islam has called a dawn-to-dusk countrywide hartal for Sunday protesting against police action on their anti-Modi rally in Dhaka, Chattogram and other districts.
The Qawmi madrasa-based organisation will also organise nationwide demonstrations on Saturday, Abdur Rob Eusufi, nayeb-e-ameer of Hefazat, announced the programmes at a press briefing in Purana Paltan on Friday night.
Hefazat chief Junaid Babungari published a video message in this regard.
A clash involving Hefazat supporters and police left four people dead and at least 15 others injured at Hathazari in Chattogram on Friday.
Also read: Four killed in clashes with cops in Chattogram
The clash took place when policed opened fire after a group of protestors attacked Hathazari thana compound and Hathazari land office and set fire to a vehicle
Meanwhile in Dhaka, at least 50 people, including several journalists, were injured in a clash between Muslim devotees and police in the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque area in the afternoon.
Clashes erupted when police barred people from bringing out a procession after Jum’a prayers protesting against the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Voice for genocide’s global recognition rings throughout Bangladesh
More than 1,500 anti-war crimes campaigners in Bangladesh took to the streets to press home their demand for getting the recognition of March 25 as the international genocide day by the United Nations.
Professionals, including university teachers, journalists, lawyers, writers, doctors, engineers among others, took part in as many as 34 different protest rallies simultaneously on Thursday evening on university campuses, in front of press clubs, and at the bases of shaheed Minars across the country.
Also read: PM urges global leaders to take action to prevent recurrence of any future genocide
Under the banner of One Bangladesh, a platform consisting of pro-liberation professionals, the protesters carried posters that read “UN should recognise March 25 as international genocide day”, “We demand an official apology from Pakistan”, and “Dear Pakistan, stop spreading smears against 1971 war crimes”.
Wearing masks and maintaining health protocols amid the coronavirus pandemic, the demonstrators also lit candles commemorating 3 million martyrs and hundreds of thousands of women violated by Pakistani occupation forces during the nine-month Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971.
Read Mission in New Delhi observes Genocide Day
Covid-19: Bangladesh reports highest daily cases in 9 months
Bangladesh on Friday reported its highest daily coronavirus cases since July last year.
The health authorities confirmed 3,737 cases in the last 24 hours, highest since July 2 last year when the country reported 4,019 cases.
On Friday, the daily infection rate rose to 13.69% from 13.26% on Thursday.
Meanwhile, 33 deaths reported today pushed the country’s tally to 8,830. Twenty-six of the deaths were reported from Dhaka, six from Chattogram and one from Rajshahi.
Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh records 3-month high 34 deaths; 3,587 fresh cases
The death rate is currently 1.5 percent, the Directorate General of Health Services said in a handout.
So far, the government has confirmed 588,132 cases but 531,951 (90.45%) of them have recovered, including 2,057 new recoveries.
The country has so far tested 4,542,030 samples – 27,299 in the last 24 hours.
Bangladesh reported its first coronavirus cases on March 8 last year and the first death on the 18th of that month.
The country launched a countrywide vaccination drive on Feb 7. As the daily infection rate rose, the government extended the ongoing shutdown of educational institutions and announced to reopen them in May.
US recognises Bangladesh’s remarkable contributions to global development
The United States has recognised the remarkable contributions that Bangladesh has made to global development.
"As we work together toward a safe and secure region and a healthy and prosperous future, we recognise the remarkable contributions Bangladesh has made to global development," said US Secretary of State Antony J Blinken in a statement on Bangladesh National Day.
On behalf of the Government of the United States, he warmly congratulated the people of Bangladesh on the momentous occasion of your 50th National Day and Golden Jubilee.
"The United States and Bangladesh both undertook courageous struggles for independence. Over the last 50 years, we have cooperated on issues ranging from economic development to peacekeeping, and we have fostered strong people-to-people ties," said the US Secretary of State.
Also read: US Secretary of State Pompeo greets Bangladeshis
As a result, he said, the friendship between Bangladesh and the US has grown ever stronger.
"Today, our people are partnering to promote human rights, address climate change, and combat the COVID-19 pandemic," he said.
Also read: Dhaka rejects US Secretary of State Pompeo's ‘baseless’ remarks
Blinken said just as in the earliest days of their relationship, they appreciate a shared commitment to democratic values and the prosperity and welfare of our people, who are joined in their aspirations to create a better world for our children over the next 50 years.
"I wish all Bangladeshis a joyous celebration of your milestone Golden Jubilee," he said.
UK PM hails Bangladesh’s growth
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has hailed Bangladesh as “one of the fastest-growing economies in the world” and emphasised that the UK and Bangladesh share the ambition to create an even more prosperous and environmentally-sustainable future.
He congratulated the people of Bangladesh on their Golden Jubilee and said he looks forward to the two countries working together to create an environmentally-sustainable future.
“It’s amazing to reflect on how much your nation has achieved since the circumstance of its birth," said the UK Prime Minister.
In a video message, Johnson remembered the historic visit of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to Downing Street in London in 1972, describing the visit as “instrumental in forging the friendship” between the UK and Bangladesh.
Prime Minister Johnson recalled fondly his visit to Bangladesh in 2018, when he was welcomed “with a great deal of warmth and generosity”.
He emphasised the bond between the UK and Bangladesh, “incarnated by the 600,000 strong British-Bangladeshi community who contribute so much to the United Kingdom every day”.
The British Prime Minister said, “I think particularly of the fantastic doctor and nurses in our NHS, many of whom are helping to treat and vaccinate people in our battle against COVID-19”.
“I look forward to working with Prime Minister [Sheikh] Hasina and to seeing her again at COP26 in Glasgow. But for now, as we look ahead to the next 50 years of British and Bangladeshi friendship, I wish everyone the very best for your Golden Jubilee.”
‘Bangladesh on the cusp of a second liberation’
C. Raja Mohan, director of the National University of Singapore’s Institute of South Asian Studies, has said Bangladesh has shown increasing agency in playing on the geopolitical chess board and taking advantage of its external environment.
“Today, Bangladesh is on the cusp of a second liberation—one that would end its relative isolation and allow Dhaka to play a stronger role in the region and beyond, seeking new maritime possibilities in the Indo-Pacific,” he mentioned in his latest article titled “50 Years After Independence, Bangladesh Bursts Into Geopolitics” published by Foreign Policy.
The former member of India’s National Security Advisory Board, said the country is on the cusp of a second liberation - one that would end its relative isolation.
At the end of the article, he mentioned that Bangladesh knows that stronger ties with the United States and Japan would reduce excessive reliance on either India or China and widen its choices.
“Unlike many other countries in Asia, it did not blindly embrace China’s Belt and Road Initiative, but sought to engage multiple partners. It now has similar opportunities in the maritime rivalry between China and the Quad,” the article reads.
Raja Mohan said the country is on a firm trajectory to graduate out of the category of least developed countries by 2026 and likely to jump into the 25 largest economies worldwide by 2030.
Also read: Don’t allow development and democratic progress to be disrupted: PM
International development institutions praise Dhaka’s success in reducing poverty, improving life expectancy, enhancing literacy rates, and empowering women.
Relations with India
Over the last decade, he said, under the stewardship of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh has transformed the difficult relationship with India into a productive partnership.
Working with successive Indian prime ministers, Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi, she pressed for a grand bargain: cooperation to combat terrorism, better Bangladeshi access to India’s market, resolution of disputes over river-water sharing and land borders, and restoring trans-border connectivity cut off since Partition.
“The forward movement on this broad range of issues has generated an unprecedented depth to the bilateral relationship. Dhaka now sees itself not as landlocked, but as land-linked and river-linked to India and the other countries in the region. The deepening India-Bangladesh cooperation helps the subcontinent transcend the negative consequences of Partition—at least in the east,” Raja Mohan wrote.
As Bangladesh marks the 50th anniversary of its declaration of independence from Pakistan, there is widespread admiration for its remarkably successful economic and social transformation, he mentioned.
Also read: Modi lauds Bangladesh’s remarkable growth under Hasina's leadership
“Less noted are the profound geopolitical consequences of Bangladesh’s economic rise, including a shift in South Asia’s center of economic gravity to the east and the reintegration of an eastern subcontinent that was once divided by animosities and barely penetrable borders,” he said.
The recognition of Bangladesh’s economic transformation is not, however, accompanied by an appreciation of its growing geopolitical significance.
“For far too long, when we think about South Asian geopolitics, the focus has been entirely on India and Pakistan. The India-Pakistan academic establishment, media commentariat, and think-tank industry—myopically focused on the tick-tock between New Delhi and Islamabad over Kashmir, nuclear weapons, terrorism, and Afghanistan—sucks attention away from the rest of the region,” Raja Mohan wrote.
He said Bangladesh’s geopolitical significance is not least a function of its size. “Its population of nearly 170 million is the eighth-largest in the world. The Bangladeshi diaspora is growing as well, currently standing at about 8 million. Besides a large community in the Gulf Arab states, the diaspora is also growing in the English-speaking world.”
Also read: India committed to deepening ties with Bangladesh: Modi
He said Bangladesh’s special location and political character would not have amounted to much if the nation had not made itself an economic success.
“As Bangladesh grows faster than Pakistan, raises its education standards, and controls its once-rapid population growth, it has begun to tilt the region’s economic center of gravity towards the east.
That shift has been accelerated by the uselessness of SAARC due to Pakistan’s reluctance to engage India economically, which has changed the focus to subregional economic cooperation between India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal—as well as transregional cooperation with Myanmar and Thailand,” Raja Mohan wrote.