Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Sunday said that the government is "pledge-bound to uphold the Constitutional obligation."
He reiterated this commitment during a diplomatic briefing hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The first diplomatic briefing of the year was arranged to exchange New Year’s greetings with the diplomatic community.
Law Minister Anisul Huq, LGRD Minister Md. Tajul Islam, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md. Shahriar Alam and Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen were present during the briefing.
“Last year was a year of recovery and hope,” Dr. Momen said. With the twin celebrations of the Birth Centenary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the Golden Jubilee of the country’s Independence, the year had a special significance for Bangladesh, Foreign Minister continued.
Reflecting on the spectacular achievements of the country in the areas of poverty alleviation, socio-economic development, infrastructure development, digitalization etc, Dr. Momen also highlighted GOB’s successful management of the onslaughts of the pandemic and different incentives and packages announced to address its negative impact. He stated that despite the pandemic, Bangladesh managed a growth rate of 5.4 percent last year.
He briefly touched on the ongoing local government elections. This is the first time the country elected UP Chairmen from the third gender, Foreign Minister mentioned. “This indicates that the glass ceilings have started to crack down,” he added.
Dr. Momen reaffirmed GOB’s firm conviction for the development and protection of the rights of the people through their empowerment.
The LGRD Minister briefed the diplomats about different phases and results of the ongoing local government elections. He mentioned that a large number of independent candidates were elected during these elections.
The Law Minister, in his remarks, elaborated on the procedure of the Election Commission formation and the current dialogue of the President with different political parties. On Digital Security Act, he mentioned about the Government’s engagement with the relevant UN Offices to understand best practices in this regard. He expressed GOB’s readiness to address any misuse or abuse of the Act.
The Law Minister also talked about ongoing initiative towards labour sector reform including through a time-bound approach.
The Ministers clarified the issue of “uncontested elections” which takes place in other countries including in the developed parts of the world.
Thanking the trading partners of the country, the State Minister for Foreign Affairs spoke on the initiatives of the Government to create an investor-friendly environment in the country.
The briefing was well-attended. Around 40 diplomats joined the briefing. It was followed by an interactive session in which questions on LDC graduation, business and investment, Rohingya repatriation etc were addressed.
