As part of celebration to mark the 52nd anniversary of Independence and National Day on 26 March, the Bangladesh Embassy hosted a grand reception at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on 11 May. A large gathering of ambassadors, high-ranking officials and dignitaries, as well as officers from the Bangladesh Military Contingent in Kuwait and members of the Bangladesh community attended the event.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Mansour Ayyad Al-Otaibi, as the chief guest for the evening was welcomed by Bangladesh Ambassador H.E. Major General Md. Ashikuzzaman, ndc,afwc,psc, and his spouse Nahid Niaz Shilu and other officers of the embassy and their spouses.
In his address on the occasion, Ambassador Ashikuzzaman stated that the Independence of Bangladesh was achieved through a long political struggle that lasted for 23 years and ended with the War of Independence in 1971. “The war started on 26 March 1971 and after 9 months we achieved our glorious victory on 16 December 1971. This year we are celebrating 52nd anniversary of our Independence and National Day
“On this occasion, I remember with profound respect the architect of our independent Bangladesh, Father of our Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, under whose firm and far-sighted leadership, we became an independent nation. I also pay deep homage to the freedom fighters, three million martyrs, and two hundred thousand women who made their supreme sacrifices during our Liberation War.
“We are grateful to all the friendly countries, organizations, institutions, and individuals for their generous support during our Liberation War. Our special gratitude is to our time-tested friend India for their moral and physical support. Our deep homage to those brave Indian soldiers who also made supreme sacrifices during our Liberation War. All of their contributions to the history of our Independence are written in golden letters forever.
“Today, under the visionary leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Her Excellency Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh has graduated from Least Developing Country to Developing Country. We express our sincere thanks and gratefulness to all the countries across the globe for their various support during our journey of the last 52 years.
“I would also like to recall the deep and historic tie of friendship and brotherhood between Bangladesh and the State of Kuwait. The people of Bangladesh will remain ever grateful to Kuwait, as Kuwait was the first Gulf country to recognize Bangladesh after its independence. On this occasion, I express my deep gratitude to the Amir, His Highness Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Crown Prince, His Highness Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Prime Minister, His Highness Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Foreign Minister H.E. Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and the people of the State of Kuwait for their continued support toward us and our nationals living in Kuwait.
‘Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1974, Bangladesh and Kuwait are enjoying excellent bilateral cooperation in a wide range of areas including political, economic, export and import, trade and investment, manpower, agriculture, education, tourism and defense sector. The Government of Bangladesh is committed to further strengthening bilateral cooperation with Kuwait in every domain. Both countries have also vowed to identify new areas of mutual cooperation such as food security, health security, climate change, renewable energy, green technology, ICT and digitalization among others. We will be celebrating the golden jubilee of our diplomatic relations in 2024.
“The military cooperation between Bangladesh and Kuwait is very special. Being a part of Coalition Forces, after the Liberation of Kuwait, from 1991 till to date, the Bangladesh Military Contingent (BMC) have been working here under Kuwait Armed Forces on a project named Operation Kuwait Punargathan (OKP). At present around 5,000 Bangladesh Armed Forces personnel are deployed with Kuwait Armed Forces. Our achievements in the international arena, including the establishment of world peace, is also commendable. We are happy to inform you that Bangladesh has been the largest troop-contributing country in the world under the Blue Helmet initiative in the United Nations Peacekeeping mission since 2020.
“Despite being a densely populated country, Bangladesh has set a unique example of humanity by sheltering millions of Rohingyas, the forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals in Bangladesh. Bangladesh believes in a peaceful solution to this problem. We are thankful to Kuwait and UNHCR Kuwait and other organizations for their continued support in this humanitarian issue. We call upon the United Nations and the international community, including Myanmar, to take early and effective measures for a permanent solution to this problem and return all to their home land Myanmar with dignity, safety and security.
“Bangladesh is the second largest economy in South Asia. According to a report published in December 2021, the UK based Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) said that if the current economic progress continues, Bangladesh would become the 24th largest economy in the world by 2036. According to Vision 2041 of Bangladesh, we want to become a developed nation and a ‘smart nation in the world. We call it ‘Sonar Bangla’ or ‘Golden Bengal’. Building Smart Bangladesh by 2041, will be achieved by establishing Smart Citizen, Smart Economy, Smart Society, and Smart Government.
“To materialize our dream, the government has established 100 Special Economic Zones to attract the potential investors. The main objectives of this initiative is to act as a change agent for faster economic growth by creating an investment friendly environment and attracting foreign direct investment. Besides local and international investors in different categories, so far, Bangladesh has reserved two economic zones for India and one economic zone for Japan and one economic zone for China on G2G Basis.
“In Bangladesh, major potential sectors of investment are garments and textiles, pharmaceuticals, ship building, light engineering, ceramic, leather, agri-business and ICT. To facilitate the investment environment, the government has also undertaken a number of mega projects to improve or develop the communications network both internally, regionally and globally. On behalf of the government of Bangladesh, I invite Kuwait and all the friendly countries of the world to invest in economic zones and share benefits of mutual growth and prosperity.
“Bangladesh is a land of natural beauty. Each part of the country offers distinctly different topography, flavors and food. Bangladesh offers the world’s longest natural sea beach at Cox’s Bazar and world’s largest mangrove forest – Sundarban, the home of Royal Bengal Tigers. I welcome you all to visit Bangladesh and enjoy the beauty and hospitality of Bangladeshi People.
‘Before I conclude, I thank all my embassy colleagues for making this event a successful one. I thank all the Bangladeshi living in Kuwait for their continuous support for our motherland. I also call upon all my Bangladeshi to contribute to their maximum in making Bangladesh ‘Sonar Bangla’ as dreamt by our Father of the Nation. With the joint efforts of all, may our beloved motherland become a developed country free from hunger and poverty — this is my expectation on this 52nd anniversary of Independence and National Day.”
