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Published : 07 Jul 2022, 03:08 PM
Everyone expects the withdrawal of the sanctions, she said.
“As we have the land and people, we always tried to increase production [of food and other goods]. We wanted to produce our food and also, if possible, offer help to others. But we need diesel, fertiliser and other materials to increase production, which we’re not getting now,” the prime minister said as she joined the inauguration of the new eight-storey office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ‘Bangabandhu Kutnaitik Utkarsho Padak’ award ceremony via video conferencing on Thursday.
Hasina said the current sanctions on Russia are causing hardship to ordinary people.
“I don't really know what rationale there is for making people suffer like this. In a way, this is another violation of human rights. Depriving people of what they are owed."
"I hope the US sees the necessity of stepping aside from that decision. We hope they prefer to punish a single country instead of the people of the world and see that everyone wants it withdrawn.”
People in Bangladesh want peace and not war, said Hasina. The coronavirus pandemic has upended the world, leaving a negative impact on the global economy. On top of that, the Russia-Ukraine war has intensified the trouble, she said.
“The US sanctions on Russia are preventing us from importing necessary goods and materials. It also caused a surge in transportation cost and shrank the import market,” Hasina said, adding that other developing countries, European countries and the US itself are also suffering.
The US, therefore, should consider the fact that their people are also affected by the sanctions on Russia, she said.
As the world was recovering from the ill effects of the coronavirus pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war started and sanctions were imposed. “This is a big challenge for us and we must face it,” the prime minister said.
“I believe that no country can be controlled by imposing sanctions on it. Those who want to engage in a war, they can go on, but global goods transportation and import and export business shouldn’t be hampered. The common people should not suffer,” Hasina said.
Bangladesh has given shelter to the Rohingya people who fled their homeland of Myanmar following atrocities against them, the prime minister said.
“We offered them shelter on humanitarian grounds, but three years have already passed. They have become a big burden on us.”
While the developed countries are struggling to survive the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, Bangladesh is overburdened with the Rohingya refugees on top of its 165 million population, she said.
“The international community should realise our situation and work actively so that the Rohingya can return home. Their children should grow up in their homeland and get a proper environment to do so. They should not grow up in a refugee camp, which is against human rights.”
The prime minister highlighted her government’s initiatives on the Hill Tracts Peace Treaty, the water-sharing treaty with India, the exchange of enclaves with India, maritime demarcation and other issues.
Economic diplomacy is very important these days as the world is now a global village, Hasina said. “We’re dependent on each other and we have to work together for the betterment of the people.”
The government awarded Japanese Ambassador Ito Naoki with the ‘Bangabandhu Kutnaitik Utkarsho Padak’ for his role in enhancing the bilateral economic relationship between Japan and Bangladesh and Bangladesh Ambassador to Poland Sultana Laila Hossain for her service in saving the lives of the Bangladeshi nationals at the Ukraine border.
