People saying ‘no’ to terrorism: PM

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday said the people are now saying ‘no’ to terrorism as a great mass awareness against the menace has been created in the country.

‘We have also taken necessary measures to combat terrorism,’ she said when Vietnamese Ambassador to Bangladesh Nguyen Quang Thue paid a farewell call on her at her office this morning.

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

The premier described Vietnam as a ‘great country’ and said Bangladesh and Vietnam have a common history as they fought for independence.

In this connection, she said: ‘Unfortunately we lost our Father of the Nation within three and a half years of independence.’

Sheikh Hasina said her party Bangladesh Awami League came back to power after 21 years and started working for the development of the country, particularly to free the people from the curse of poverty.

The prime minister put emphasis on taking measures to further boost trade and business between the two countries. ‘We have a big market and we will have to explore it,’ she said.

She placed emphasis on strengthening connectivity in the greater interest of the two countries.

The prime minister also laid importance on exchange of visits between the political leaders to further consolidate the ties between the two countries.

She recalled her visit to Vietnam in 2012 and said she was highly impressed to see the development of the Southeast Asian country, reports BSS.

Terming Bangladesh as a ‘successful’ and an ‘important’ country in South Asia, the outgoing Vietnamese ambassador highly praised the continued economic progress of Bangladesh under the dynamic and able leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Nguyen Quang Thue expressed his gratitude for extending cooperation during his tenure in Bangladesh, saying that Vietnam has a traditional friendship with Bangladesh.

‘We give highest priority to our relationship with Bangladesh,’ he said and hoped that the existing bilateral ties and cooperation between the two countries would be further strengthened in the days to come.

PM’s International Affairs Advisor Dr Gowher Rizvi and Principal Secretary Md Abul Kalam Azad were present.