Hasina calls on Maldives to be Bangladesh's development partner

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has invited the Maldives to become a part of Bangladesh's development journey and further bolster bilateral ties.

In an address to the Maldivian parliament in Male on Thursday, the Bangladesh leader underscored the importance of mutual cooperation and interdependence between countries, particularly in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, state news agency BSS reports.

“I hope that our warm and friendly relations will further be consolidated. Bangladesh is thriving with possibilities and potentials. I call upon both the government and private sector of the Maldives to be our partner in the development journey in the next fifty years for mutual benefit,” she said.

“We reiterate our principled position of collaboration with our fraternal neighbours in South Asia, as had been enunciated by our Father of the Nation,” Hasina added.

Hasina, who is in the Maldives on a 6-day state visit, was praised by the speaker of the Maldivian parliament for her leading role in the developing nations' fight against climate change on the global stage.

The prime minister lauded the Maldives' successful transition from a least-developed country to a middle-income country and hoped the two nations can elevate relations by emphasising their shared interests.

“I am deeply honoured to have the opportunity to address the distinguished members of the Majlis, at this home of politics and policies, which is the heart of democracy of this beautiful country,” Hasina said.

“As a person who has been involved in politics all her life, I am delighted to be here at the Parliament of a fraternal country with whom we share historical linkages, multiple commonalities, similar challenges, and a shared vision of prosperity.”

Describing 2021 as a landmark year for bilateral relations between Bangladesh and the Maldives, Hasina thanked Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih for attending the celebrations marking the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the golden jubilee of Bangladesh’s independence in March.

"Our path to independence and emancipation has not been an easy one. Our Father of the Nation struggled all his life to bring happiness to the people of Bengal. He spent about 13 years out of 24 years from 1947 to 1971 in jail with occasional intervals.”

She highlighted Bangabandhu's commitment and vision in rebuilding a war-ravaged country and elevating it to the status of a Least Developed Country (LDC) status within just three and a half years.

“Following his footsteps and inspired by this economic and political philosophy, I am happy to share that Bangladesh has achieved remarkable progress in the last decade. The average GDP growth registered in the previous few years has been more than 7 percent while in 2019-20, just before the pandemic, our GDP growth rate was 8.2 percent,” she said.

“In continuation of our development journey, we have to transform Bangladesh into a middle-income country by 2021, meet all the SDG targets by 2031, turn into a knowledge-based developed country by 2041, and a prosperous and resilient Delta by 2100,” said Hasina.

Bangladesh recently graduated from the United Nations' LDC list to the Developing Country status, capping a decade of socio-economic growth. But Hasina is wary of the challenges stemming from development.

"To cope with the situation that we will face after the withdrawal of the benefits we used to enjoy as an LDC, our focus will be on diversifying the economy and exploring new markets.”

"We are also striving to transform into a technology-driven society and innovation-led growth with a vision of Digital Bangladesh," she added.

Earlier, Bangladesh and the Maldives signed new agreements on taxation and cooperation in health, education, youth and sports.

The signing ceremony was held at the office of Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in the Maldivian capital of Male.

Among the agreements, one focused on avoiding double taxation and preventing income tax evasion, the Maldives president’s office said on its website.