Bangladesh highlights religious pluralism in Washington, proposes to host regional meet

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has highlighted the “religious pluralism and rights of minorities” in Bangladesh at the second ministerial meet of advancing religious freedom in Washington DC.

He also proposed to host a similar ministerial at the regional level in Bangladesh at the earliest.

The foreign ministry said Momen attended the meeting, hosted by the US Department of State on Thursday, at the invitation of Mike Pompeo, the US Secretary of State.

Delegates from 106 countries with about 40 foreign ministers attended the meeting.

In his opening speech, Secretary Pompeo said ensuring religious freedom for all remains the top foreign policy priority of the US.

He thanked all the governments for their participation and called for collective efforts to ensure the freedom of thoughts, freedom of conscience and religion as reflected in the US Constitution.

The US Vice President Mike Pence delivered the keynote address and expressed happiness with the progress that has been achieved since the last ministerial in 2018.

But he expressed concern about the violation of this very basic right of the Rohingyas in Myanmar.

He reiterated that the US government will stand strong on resolving the Rohingya issue, and also holding the perpetrators in Myanmar accountable for committing the crimes of atrocities against Rohingyas.

Foreign Minister Momen in his speech highlighted the commitment of the government to ensure basic rights of its people.

He mentioned that inspired by the call of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh has been relentlessly working to maintain the religious rights of all sects of people.

He said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has upheld “religious pluralism and rights of minorities” in the country.

He elaborated how Hasina maintained a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to any form of violence and discrimination, under any pretext, against religious minorities, and successfully prevented rise of extremist contents in Bangladesh.

“This has resulted in the unprecedented socio-economic growth of its economy,” he said.

“Besides, non-communalism and peaceful coexistence, Hasina also promotes a national slogan ‘Religion unto individual, festivals unto all’, to promote religious tolerance and create a sense of accommodation among religious sects.”

Momen also called on the international community to increase the pressure on Myanmar to take back Rohingya people.

On the sidelines of the conference, he met his counterparts from Hungary, Iraq, Bahrain, and Malta.

He offered to share expertise in agriculture and water resources to Hungary, and asked it to invest in harnessing maritime resources in the Bay of Bengal.

He also asked the eastern European country to take skilled and semi-skilled work forces from Bangladesh.