The United Kingdom (UK) will continue its support for the development of Bangladesh from grassroots to national level, said British parliamentarians. They also pledged to extend their wholehearted cooperation in ensuring safe return of the Rohingyas to Myanmar. They came up the promises during a meeting with Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen at his office on Sunday.
The UK delegates commended Bangladesh’s role for sheltering 1.1 million Rohingya people and for meeting their basic needs. They also lauded Bangladesh’s remarkable achievements in the fields of child and maternal health, poverty reduction, women empowerment, technology and capacity building.
The fourteen British parliamentarians are visiting Bangladesh on a study tour on sexual and reproductive health. Welcoming the delegates, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen expressed deep appreciation for the support of the politicians and the UK people during the Liberation War and afterwards.
He sought support for ensuring the safe and sustainable return of Rohingyas to their homeland in Rakhine State. The foreign minister also outlined the financial and environmental impact Bangladesh is currently undergoing for housing the Rohingyas. He apprised the delegation of the development of Bangladesh in the economic sector as well as in the fields of socio economic sectors, such as reducing child and maternal mortality and population growth rate, increasing the literacy rate etc.
He further mentioned the role of Bangladeshi diaspora in the development of both Bangladesh and their host countries. The foreign minister thanked the people and the UK government for its longstanding partnership with the government of Bangladesh. He also hoped that the cooperation between Bangladesh and the UK in the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals and Delta Plan-2100 will continue. The members of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Population, Development and Reproductive Health thanked Dr Abdul Momen for the meeting.
The foreign minister hoped that the UK will continue its support to Bangladesh in the international forum, especially in United Nations for creating pressure on Myanmar in order to ensure sustainable return of the Rohingyas. He wished a fruitful outcome of the current assignment of the visiting delegation.
