Bangladesh Day was celebrated with a colorful programme on Sunday at the ongoing International Horticulture Exhibition in Almere, Netherlands. The program started in the morning by hoisting the national flag of Bangladesh and performing the national anthem. After that, a daylong program titled 'Celebrating Bangladesh: Transforming Agriculture' was inaugurated on the main stage of the exhibition. The Minister of Agriculture Abdur Razzaque, Ambassador Riaz Hamidullah,
Expo Commissioner General Annemarie Jorritsma spoke. At the same time, a pleasant cultural programme was organized with the performances of Bangladeshi artists.
Later, the Mango Festival was inaugurated at the Bangladesh Pavilion by the Minister of Agriculture and Presidium Member of the Awami League Abdur Razzaque.
At that time, the Agriculture Minister said, Bangladesh mango is very tasty and promising. We want to make full use of this mango export potential. I want to take Bangladesh to the world market including Europe. This mango festival has been organized for this purpose. This will make our mango more popular and create opportunities for mango export. Besides, we want to diversify Bangladesh's exports, in which case we can earn a lot of foreign exchange through mango exports.
Ambassador Riaz Hamidullah said, "Today is a day of celebration and joy. This is the first time we have been able to participate in such an international exhibition despite many limitations. The event is a unique occasion to mark the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh's bilateral relations with the Netherlands.”
Visitors to the pavilion were shown the potential of various agricultural products including mangoes and were fed mangoes. Visitors appreciate the mango of Bangladesh.
Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture Wahida Akter, Additional Secretary. Ruhul Amin Talukder, Executive Chairman of the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council Sheikh Mohammad. Bakhtiyar, Ambassador of Bangladesh M Riaz Hamidullah, Joint Secretary of the Ministry Rehana Yasmin, representatives of agricultural exporters of Bangladesh and embassy officials were present. On the same day, in the afternoon, the Business Networking Seminar was attended by expatriate Bangladeshi businessmen, representatives of agricultural exporters from Bangladesh and local Dutch business representatives.
