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Sheikh Hasina said in last 30 years, Bangladesh has contributed to
international peace by deploying over 158,000 peacekeepers in 54 missions.
Around 145 peacekeepers from Bangladesh have made their supreme sacrifice in
the line of duty, she added.
Currently, the prime minister said, more than 7,000 Bangladeshi
peacekeepers, including 144 women, are deployed in 10 different missions
where they have been acclaimed for their professionalism, courage and
success.
“As the original proponent, Bangladesh expected to see a more robust and
human rights centric Global Compact on Safe, Regular and Orderly Migration,”
she said.
The prime minister said Bangladesh stands firm against terrorism and all
organised crimes. “We shall not allow our territory to be used for any
terrorist acts or any activity detrimental to the interest of our neighbours.
“Our ‘zero tolerance’ policy in countering terrorism will continue…our
‘whole of society’ approach has served us well in preventing violent
extremism, human trafficking and flow of illicit drugs. Bangladesh has
aligned itself with the Global Call to Action on the World Drug Problem
mooted by the United States,” she said.
Highlighting her government’s development policies, Sheikh Hasina said
since 2009, her government has been implementing inclusive and people-centric
development policies. In the last nine years and a half, she said, Bangladesh
has achieved a remarkable progress in different socioeconomic areas.
“On our way to realising Shonar Bangla as envisioned by our Father of the
Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, we remain committed to fulfilling
our people’s aspirations.”
Sheikh Hasina said the World Bank has recognised Bangladesh as a middle-
income country in 2015 while Bangladesh is the 43rd largest economy in the
world in terms of nominal GDP. “Bangladesh’s per capita income has increased
from US$ 543 in 2006 to US$ 1,752 in 2018.”
Noting that Bangladesh is now recognised as a global development model,
she said: “We’ve commenced our journey from being an LDC to the status of a
developing country. The pathway for graduation is inextricably linked with
our SDG implementation strategy, which is integrated in our Seventh Five Year
Plan. We remain fully committed to implementing the SDGs”.
The prime minister said her government has taken a plan to set up 100
Special Economic Zones to create 10 million job opportunities. In the
backdrop of the current economic growth, she said, there are now immense and
large-scale business opportunities in Bangladesh.
Foreign investors are being offered various financial incentives like tax
holiday, avoidance of double taxation and exemption of duties, she said.
Reiterating her commitment to the implementation of the outcome of the High-
level Panel on Water, which was formed under the joint initiative of the UN
Secretary General and the World Bank President, Sheikh Hasina urged the
global leaders to take urgent actions on proper assessment and management of
water and investment in water.
She said under the social safety-net programmes, about 6.5 million elderly
men and women, widows, destitute women and persons with disabilities are
getting regular allowances in Bangladesh.
The prime minister said since 2010, students are receiving free textbooks
from pre-primary to secondary levels in school. “About 354.92 million books
were distributed among 43.76 million students in 2018 academic year.”
Mentioning that vision impaired students are receiving braile books, she
said children from ethnic minorities are being given books in their mother
languages.
Sheikh Hasina said around 20.03 million students from primary to graduate
level are getting stipends while the stipend money for 14 million students is
being sent directly to their mothers through mobile phones.
“We have ensured 100 percent enrollment at primary level. Literacy rate
has increased from 45 percent to 72.9 percent in the last nine and half
years,” she said.
Observing that women empowerment and participation is a major factor in
Bangladesh’s outstanding development, the prime minister said the government
has promoted women’s empowerment through enhancing their education
opportunities and facilitating their political and economic emancipation.
“We’ve created opportunities for girls to pursue their education free of
cost till 12th grade in public educational institutions,” she said, adding
that the ratio of girls and boys now is 53:47 at secondary level, which was
35:65 in 2009.
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