DIPLOMATS TO INDIA EMPIRE
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BANGLADESH
APRIL 2021
Fifty years ago, on 26 March 1971, our Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declared Bangladesh an independent and sovereign state. The country became free on 16 December 1971 after a nine months' war that saw huge blood-bath and enormous sacrifice of the people. A new nation was born soaked in blood and tears.
Bangabandhu, the architect, dreamer and creator of a free and sovereign Bangladesh inspired and prepared the entire nation to achieve independence. With his uncompromising leadership characterized by strong political will and vision, he steered the nation towards independence and taught us to live with our heads held high in the comity of nations. This year is also very special for us as we are observing Mujib Borsho or Mujib year - the birth centenary of our Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and 50th year of establishment of diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and India. On this very day, we pay our homage to our great leader.
-H.E. Mr Muhammad Imran, High Commissioner of Bangladesh to India
JUNE 2019
The landslide victory of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the earlier landslide victory of our Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is a clear endorsement of the people of our two countries to deepen and broaden Bangladesh-India friendship and cooperation. I hope, during their renewed mandates, they would take our current state of cooperation to newer heights, which in turn, would eradicate poverty, disease and underdevelopment and bring in peace, progress and prosperity in our region
-H.E. Mr Syed Muazzem Ali, High Commissioner of Bangladesh to India
MAY 2019
"Our mission is extremely happy with the India Empire magazine for its excellent production of "Indomitable Bangladesh", a coffee table book dedicated to our Independence and National Day 2019. The CT book has been exactly the same as we have wanted. Colourful, attractive with glossy cover and layout. It has been truly very professional reflecting the mood of our national day celebration. We appreciate Mr. Sayantan Chakravarty, the editor of India Empire, for a job well done. We look forward to continuing our partnership with his publishing company"
-Farid Hossain, Minister (Press), High Commission of the People's Republic of Bangladesh
FEBRUARY 2019
The landslide victory of our Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her party Awami League at the 11th Parliamentary Elections of Bangladesh is a clear demonstration of the whole-hearted support that she enjoys among our people for the continuation of her policy of peace, stability and development in Bangladesh and beyond. This victory will also enable us to further consolidate and expand the ever-increasing bilateral ties with our closest neighbor India, based on shared vision and mutuality of interest.
-H.E. Mr Syed Muazzem Ali, High Commissioner of Bangladesh to India
OCTOBER 2018
People-to-people contact between Bangladesh and India has increased manifold during recent years and the highest number of tourists coming to India last year were Bangladeshis. Likewise, a large number of technically qualified Indian nationals are currently engaged in Bangladesh's health, IT, banking and other service sectors. Cultural teams from both the countries do participate in various cultural programmes, book fairs, film festivals in each other's capital. A good number of Bangladeshi students are also studying in India.
-H.E. Mr Syed Muazzem Ali, High Commissioner of Bangladesh to India
SEPTEMBER 2018
The Foreign Policy initiatives under the current Government of Bangladesh led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina always manifest unwavering commitment toward stronger regional ties. BIMSTEC forum as a tool for economic development through regional integration bears great meaning and significance for Bangladesh. We draw inspiration for peace and development from the Father of our Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who in his speech on 6 February 1972 in Kolkata had said, "Let there be an end, once for all, to the sterile policy of confrontation between neighbours. Let us not fritter away our national resources but use them to lift the standard of living of our people... We will be wanting to cooperate with all concerned for creating an area of peace in South Asia." Our Hon'ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was one of the four founding leaders who had inspired the launching of the BIMSTEC in 1997. Her government attaches high priority to transform the BIMSTEC process more dynamic, effective and to strengthening the institutional mechanism for bringing out more results. Hosting the BIMSTEC Secretariat since 2014 in Dhaka is a testimony of our commitment to the BIMSTEC process.
-H.E. Mr Syed Muazzem Ali, High Commissioner of Bangladesh to India
JANUARY 2018
Water is life. In the context of today's ever growing world economy, water, perhaps, is the most precious wealth. In a riverine country like Bangladesh and indeed in the whole South Asia, our people largely depend on rivers for agriculture, communication and all aspects of life. Rivers are virtually our life blood and, naturally, water conservation is highly critical for overall socio-economic development in the region. Bangladesh and India share 54 common rivers. We also share rivers with other countries in the region and beyond. Therefore, sustainable development of water resources calls for sharing and management of the trans-boundary rivers on a comprehensive joint basin management basis, so that water can flow freely through our rivers. To that end, the 'Bangladesh-India Joint River Commission' should be strengthened and it should undertake more frequent consultations for sustainable water management between our two countries, which would open up newer opportunities for cooperation in the areas of trade, connectivity and tourism.
-H.E. Mr Syed Muazzem Ali, High Commissioner of Bangladesh to India
DECEMBER 2017
As we celebrate our 46th Victory Day on 16 December, I, as a freedom fighter diplomat posted in Washington DC in 1971, recall with deep appreciation and gratitude, the whole-hearted support and cooperation that we received from the Government and people of India during the critical period of our Liberation War. The emotional bonds stemming from the invaluable contributions of the Government and the people of India during Bangladesh's War of Liberation remain a dominant factor in the country's political, cultural and social wave. It is indeed most appropriate that our current multifaceted relations are rooted in our shared history, geographical proximity and commonality in our culture and heritage. There is now a greater recognition from the political leaderships on both sides that the destinies of our two neighboring countries are inescapably intertwined and we must grow together. I am indeed happy to note that Bangladesh and India during the past three years have been able to further strengthen and consolidate the friendly bilateral relations, under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. And we are confident to take this forward for the benefit of our two countries and for the entire region. Long live Bangladesh-India friendship and cooperation.
-H.E. Mr Syed Muazzem Ali, High Commissioner of Bangladesh to India
MARCH 2017
You will agree that in this age of globalization, greater economic integration is the call of the day worldwide. It is necessary to view trade and investment together. Bangladesh has to get large Indian investments to develop various industrialized goods on "buy-back" basis as it already exists between the USA and Canada. Indian investors should take advantage of our cheaper labour costs and closer proximity to North-East markets. To this end, several Indian mega companies like Hero-Honda, Tata group or CEAT Tire companies have set up such projects in Bangladesh. These are small projects but they mark the beginning of this process. In order to balance the huge trade gap, we need bigger projects.
-H.E. Mr Syed Muazzem Ali, High Commissioner of Bangladesh to India