The Ambassador of the government of Bangladesh, Major General K M Mominur Rahman, congratulates the community on the occasion of its Independence Day.
“On this day, in 1971, Bangladesh proclaimed her independence and through a nine-month struggle, emerged as a sovereign nation on December 16.
“This is a rare happy coincidence in the history of Bahrain and Bangladesh that these two brotherly nations came out on the world map as independent nations on the same day and in the same year, December 16, 1971.
“This unique commonality has great symbolic importance and provides an extra thread further strengthening the special bond of friendship between our two countries.
“Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1983, Bangladesh and Bahrain have enjoyed an excellent bilateral relationship based on our common values, shared perceptions, common customs and traditions.
“Based on the strong foundation of friendship, we have continuously endeavoured to exploit immense potentials for its further expansion in various sectors.
“On this happy occasion, I would like to convey my sincere greetings to the friendly and brotherly people of Bahrain and beloved Bangladeshi compatriots.
“We pray for the salvation of the departed souls of valiant freedom fighters who dedicated their lives for our freedom.
‘The father of our nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the martyrs, the freedom fighters – all dreamt of a prosperous country.
“Bangladesh was recognised as a lower middle income country back in 2015. Today, it is the 43rd country in the world in terms of size of economy, and 32nd country in terms of purchasing power parity. Our GDP today is $300 billion. According to IMF, Bangladesh will be within the top 20 economies by 2040.
“We are the second-largest ready-made garments’ exporter of the world, the second-largest troop contributor to the UN peace-keeping operation, second-largest jute producer, third freshwater fish producer, third vegetable producer, fourth global rice producer, seventh largest producer of natural gas in Asia, and ninth in the global production of tea.
“Today Bangladesh takes pride in building the massive 6.15 metre-long Padma bridge worth $1.2 billion, completely from its own domestic resource.
“Bangladesh is the 57th country to own a satellite. We export medicines to 145 countries.
“It is also a matter of pride that in Bangladesh, about 33.5 per cent of women work in the productive sector. Currently, the contribution of women workforce in our GDP is 34pc. According to the gender gap index of 2017 by World Economic Forum, Bangladesh stands 47th out of 144 countries and is first among SAARC nations.
“One major achievement of our country is the inclusion of backward and vulnerable sections of society in the economy. It may be noted that the social protection system of Bangladesh accounts for 02pc of our national budget.
“At present 80pc of the country enjoy electricity facilities, with plans to ensure electricity for all by 2021.
“With the help of modern healthcare and improved nutrition available at an affordable cost, Bangladesh has made remarkable progress in the health sector. In non-urban localities, 18,500 community clinics have been established to provide affordable healthcare that covers about 8,000 people per clinic.
“Bangladesh has provided temporary shelter to more than one million forcibly displaced Rohingya populations who fled their homeland Myanmar.
“Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has personally extended her hand in support to these helpless people when they started fleeing atrocities in the Rakhine State in 2017. We are continuing to provide them with shelter and basic services in co-ordination with the UN and other partners.
“I convey my sincere thanks and gratitude, on behalf of the government and people of Bangladesh, to His Majesty King Hamad, Prime Minister His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa and Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa for extending their generous support and co-operation to me, to my mission and to our community.”