Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Saturday said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s recent official visits to Malaysia and China had opened a new chapter in Bangladesh’s bilateral relations, founded on mutual respect and shared interests.
He made the remarks while moving a thanksgiving motion in the Jatiya Sangsad to recognise what he described as the “remarkable success” of the prime minister’s visits to the two countries between June 21 and 26.
“The visits of Prime Minister and Leader of the House Tarique Rahman, as the head of a democratic government formed through a long anti-fascist movement, have an immense significance for Bangladesh,” the minister said.
He added: “Through these visits, Bangladesh’s relations with Malaysia and China have become stronger, and a new horizon of bilateral cooperation has been opened based on mutual respect and mutual interests.”
The minister said Bangladesh and China signed 17 Memorandums of Understanding during the visit. He said high-level meetings between the two countries had created a foundation for further progress in economic cooperation, investment, trade expansion and efforts to resolve the Rohingya crisis.
He also said the prime minister had set a positive example in the country’s political culture by ending the long-standing practice of organising colourful public receptions before departing on, and after returning from, official overseas visits.
“Our leader has already established a strong position both nationally and internationally. The people of Bangladesh believe that he is working firmly for the welfare of the people and creating new precedents by abandoning old negative political practices,” he said.
Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury and Leader of the Opposition Dr Shafiqur Rahman also took part in the discussion on the thanksgiving motion.
At the end of the debate, Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad, Bir Bikram, put the motion to a voice vote, and it was unanimously adopted by the House.
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