Bangladesh's next polls to be inclusive, hopes UK minister

The United Kingdom yesterday expressed the hope that Bangladesh's next general election would be inclusive.

"We hope that Bangladesh's next general election would be inclusive," Tariq Mahmood Ahmad, the Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and UK Minister of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Offce, said this when he paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her official Ganabhaban residence here last afternoon.

Tariq Mahmood is also the British Prime Minister's Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict.

After the meeting, PM's Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed reporters.

While talking about the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union, known as Brexit, the UK state minister said it won't affect Bangladesh and it would continue to get trade benefits.

The UK state minister urged the Bangladesh prime minister to take the leadership on girl education and women empowerment in the Commonwealth Summit to be held next year.

Tariq Mahmood highly praised Bangladesh's stunning socioeconomic development under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

"Bangladesh has an incredible story to tell ... and under your dynamic leadership Bangladesh is going to be a middle income country," he told the PM.

On terrorism issue, the UK state minister said the world will have to act together to contain terrorism and stop human trafficking.

He appreciated the Bangladesh government's steps for integration of qaumi madrasa education with mainstream education.

The UK state minister termed his current visit to Bangladesh as constructive and said he had productive meetings with ministers and government officials here.

The prime minister said that after the War of Liberation, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman gave priority to promoting girl's education.

"In line with that our government created mass awareness and ensured facilities in this regard," she said.

Sheikh Hasina said that at the primary level education, about 60 percent of the teachers are being recruited from the women.

Regarding girl's education and women empowerment, she said that the Father of the Nation had said that when a woman earns money, her status gets raised in the family.

The prime minister said that her government has been collaborating with the neighboring countries to check human trafficking in the bordering areas. Reiterating her government's 'zero tolerance' policy against the twin menace of terrorism and militancy, Sheikh Hasina reaffirmed that none would be allowed to use Bangladesh's soil to carry out any terrorist and militant act.

In this connection, she said that the present government has successfully created awareness against terrorism and militancy by involving the cross section of people.

The prime minister told the UK state minister that even the villagers inform the law enforcement agencies whenever they find anything wrong.

PM's International Affairs Adviser Dr. Gowher Rizvi and PMO Senior Secretary Suraiya Begum were present on the occasion.

Source: bss