By Major General Md. Ashikuzzaman, ndc, afwc, psc, G.
Ambassador of Bangladesh
On the auspicious occasion of the Golden Jubilee of Independence and National Day of Bangladesh, I on my own behalf and on behalf of all my colleagues in this Embassy wish to convey our heartiest greetings and warm felicitations to our nationals living in Kuwait. I would also like to express our sincere gratitude to the Amir, His Highness Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Crown Prince, His Highness Sheikh Mishaal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Prime Minister, His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah and the Foreign Minister, His Excellency Sheikh Dr. Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah, and to the brotherly people of the State of Kuwait for their continued support towards further strengthening of the friendly and time-tested relationship between Bangladesh and Kuwait. I also convey my deepest appreciation to all the well-wishers and friends of Bangladesh in Kuwait for their contribution in enhancing the bilateral relations between the two friendly countries.
On this day, 50 years back, the greatest Bengali of all times and Father of our Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman proclaimed independence of Bangladesh in the early hours of 26 March, 1971. People from all walks of life responded to his clarion call, participated in the Liberation war and achieved victory on the 16 December, 1971 to give us an independent Bangladesh. The 26 March is a glorious day in our national life and the day of earning self-identity. On this historic day, I remember with profound respect the architect of our independent Bangladesh, Father of our Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. I pay my deep homage to our four national leaders, all the valiant freedom fighters, the three million martyrs, the 200,000 women who made supreme sacrifices and presented us with independent Bangladesh. My sympathy goes to those families who lost their near and dear ones during the Liberation War. I would also like to extend my sincere appreciation to all those foreign nationals who contributed to our War of Liberation particularly India for their moral and physical support in achieving our victory. I also deeply acknowledge the supreme sacrifice made by the members of Indian Armed Forces. Their contribution to the history of our Independence would be written in golden letters forever.
Kuwait is the first Gulf country that recognized Bangladesh after its independence in 1971. Bangladesh and Kuwait are enjoying an excellent bilateral relationship since its recognition of Bangladesh as an independent country. Bangladesh started its Mission in Kuwait in April 1974. With the passage of time, the relation has been further developed and strengthened by the prudent leadership of the former Amir His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and visionary leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister of Bangladesh Her Excellency Sheikh Hasina. I firmly believe that with the prudent and dynamic leadership of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah and present leadership of Bangladesh, the bilateral relationship between our two friendly countries will reach new heights.
The Government of Bangladesh is committed to further strengthening bilateral relations with Kuwait in every domain including political, economic, export and import, trade and investment, manpower, agriculture, education, tourism and defence sector. The State of Kuwait is a development partner of Bangladesh in the Gulf region through the Kuwait Fund and other agencies. Government of Bangladesh and State of Kuwait have signed a number of Agreements/ MoUs in various fields including air transport, education and culture, trade and economy, technical cooperation in manpower, defence cooperation, cooperation in tourism sector, establishment of joint commission for bilateral cooperation, agreement on avoidance of double taxation and agreement on mutual exemption of prior entry visa.
The military cooperation between Bangladesh and the State of Kuwait is very distinctive. The bilateral military ties date back to 1990 when members of Bangladesh Armed Forces took part in the war to liberate Kuwait from Iraqi invasion. The Bangladeshi Forces efforts during the post-gulf war period in 1991 were so memorable, especially their effective participation in inspecting and clearing the landmines that the Iraqi army had planted inside Kuwait during their invasion. Bangladeshi military personnel are rebuilding Kuwait by risking their lives for the past 30 years.
Following the guided path of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is determined to build a prosperous, knowledge-based and happy country. Under direct supervision of Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the government is working relentlessly to establish fundamental rights for all, as well as ensuring economic emancipation for the common people and raising their standards of living. The present government continues to work with utmost sincerity to turn Bangladesh into a developed country by the year 2041. Poverty alleviation, sustainable development, protection of the environment, women empowerment and human resources are some of the key features of Bangladesh’s development strategy. Today this country is often cited by the international community as a ‘Role Model for Development’. We are proud to announce that the United Nation has declared the graduation of Bangladesh from ‘Least Developed Country’ to ‘Developing Country’ in this year.
The coronavirus (COVID-19), which has emerged as a global pandemic, poses a major risk to the global economy. Economic growth of Bangladesh is also slowed to 5.24 percent in FY2019-20. To keep the country’s economy afloat in the face of the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, extra spending on healthcare, emergency humanitarian assistance has been made. The government of Bangladesh announced a stimulus package of about 1.2 lakh crore taka for economic recovery. Some of the notable activities of this package are: create special funds for export oriented industries; provide working capital facilities to the affected industry and service sector organisations; provide working capital facilities to small (including cottage industries) and medium industrial enterprises; increase the benefits of the Export Development Fund; increase coverage of social security; direct cash transfer to the targeted people, formulate various funds for the agricultural sector. As well as financial incentives, various activities including policy support such as reduction of import duty on COVID-19 related products, policy support to increase liquidity in the banking sector have been provided. As a result of these actions taken by the government, the economy is expected to turn around. Now, Bangladesh is successfully coping with the pandemic under the dynamic leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and tireless effort of all concerned. The Government of Bangladesh sent an armed forces medical team, along with necessary healthcare logistics, in order to help fight the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the State of Kuwait as a good gesture of friendship between the two countries.
I am very much grateful to the Government of Kuwait for providing support to the Bangladeshi people living in Kuwait during the hard time of Covid-19 pandemic. I would like to thank the members of Bangladesh community and different social organizations who individually and in group provide assistance toward our brothers and sisters in the most difficult time of Corona. The pandemic is still going on and I request all my fellow countrymen to strictly follow the health instructions and to have patience. On behalf of all my people here I express our sincere gratitude for taking all of us in the vaccination program.
Bangladesh is one of the major manpower exporting countries in the world. More than ten million Bangladeshis are working in various parts of the globe. Of this more than 60 percent are in the Gulf countries. As per the statistics of the Government of State of Kuwait, around 300,000 Bangladeshi nationals are living in Kuwait. To provide this huge number of expatriates with friendly services, the Embassy has taken several people-oriented initiatives, including introduction of an online complaint register and suggestion box, creating awareness of consular services, 24-hour helpline, organizing sports tournaments, various motivational programmes and others. The Embassy has been continuously trying to offer better services to the Bangladeshi community in Kuwait. Our efforts for rendering better services to the community will continue in the days to come.
On this special day, I request all my Bangladeshi people to continue their efforts unitedly and sincerely for the betterment of the country, for achieving the ‘Sonar Bangla’ dreamt by the Father of the Nation and strengthen the hands of Hon’ble prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for implementing her vision 2021 and 2041 and to establish a hunger- and poverty-free developed Bangladesh. By being a citizen of Bangladesh, each one of you is a goodwill ambassador for your motherland. The people of Kuwait will come to know Bangladesh through your behaviour, discipline, sincerity, honesty and dedication. They will be encouraged to employ more of your compatriots only when they find you dutiful, trustworthy, courteous and respectful to local customs and values. For the sake of our beloved motherland that we have achieved through a bloody war prolonged over nine months and through the supreme sacrifices of three million martyrs, I earnestly urge all of you to be sincere and dedicated to your services, respectful to your employer and to abide by the rules, regulations and customs of Kuwait. May Allah bless all of you with good health, safety in the workplace and security in life. May the Bangladesh community in Kuwait live in peace and harmony. I sincerely believe that with your continued support, Bangladesh will find its place as a dignified, democratic and secular country in the world.
On this historic day, once again, I express my deep gratitude to the Amir, His Highness Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Crown Prince, His Highness Sheikh Mishaal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Prime Minister, His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah and the Foreign Minister, His Excellency Sheikh Dr. Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah for their continued support to me and the Embassy for smooth discharge of our responsibilities.
May Bangladesh-Kuwait friendship live forever.