QNA
Dhaka
Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina Wajed has stressed that her country warmly welcomes the visit of the Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, describing it as a landmark in the path of strengthening the bilateral relations and taking them to a new horizon.
In an exclusive interview with Qatar News Agency (QNA), the Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh said, “The government and people of Bangladesh are looking forward to welcoming HH the Amir to Bangladesh. I hope that the visit of HH the Amir will represent a landmark in the path of strengthening the relations between the two brotherly countries and also will open-up new areas of cooperation between the two countries.”
She added that the visit of His Highness this year to Bangladesh would be very significant as both countries are celebrating the auspicious anniversary of 50 years of establishment of diplomatic relations. “The 50th anniversary of establishing Bangladesh-Qatar ties is a milestone event in our bilateral relations.” She pointed out that the two countries should work more closely to undertake mutually beneficial programs, actions, and initiatives on this occasion not only to exhibit the strength of our relations but also to advance this important partnership.
She stated that during the visit of HH the Amir, the two countries will discuss a broad range of areas and sectors, including economic and technical cooperation, trade and investment, defense cooperation, energy cooperation, employment of Bangladeshi skilled workforce in Qatar, climate change, education, charitable engagements, immigration, tourism, culture and sports, ports, and human resource development.
HE Sheikh Hasina Wajed said that some agreements and MoUs will be signed during the visit which would pave the way to take the relations between the two countries to a new horizon, in addition to exchanging views on the most important regional and international developments of common concern, with a focus on some issues such as the Palestinian cause.
She praised the dynamic and visionary leadership of HH the Amir for providing a high standard of living for Qatari people, achieving one of the highest per capita incomes and launching Qatar National Vision-2030 to transform Qatar into an advanced society capable of sustaining its development, adding “Under the leadership of HH the Amir, Qatar has witnessed an exemplary success story in the sectors of development, diplomacy, sports, international and regional peace and stability.” She appreciated Qatar’s continued successes in hosting international events, including sporting events, such as the FIFA World Cup 2022, the most distinguished edition in history, and the Asian Football Cup 2023. She also pointed to Doha’s hosting of the International Horticultural Exhibition (Expo 2023 Doha), considering them “another strong evidence of Qatars success story”.
In this regard, HE Sheikh Hasina Wajed expressed happiness at her countrys contribution, through manpower, to Qatars journey towards the World Cup 2022 and other sporting tournaments and international events.. and said: “Bangladeshi Workers made significant contributions to the construction of state-of-the-art stadiums and other infrastructure, in addition to the participation of a good number of Bangladeshi volunteers during tournaments particularly World Cup and Asian Cup,” stressing: “We will continue our cooperation and contribution to sport events that Doha will host in the future.” Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1974, Bangladesh and Qatar have been maintaining excellent bilateral relations, she said, adding the relations have witnessed visible progress in recent years through regular bilateral visits, an increase in manpower export, substantive engagements, a common position on regional and international issues, and close cooperation in the international arena to promote peace, stability, and development.
HE Sheikh Hasina Wajed pointed to her visits to Doha during 2023 and her meeting with HH the Amir, saying: “The existing friendly relations have strengthened further after my two successive visits in March and May 2023, during which I met HH the Amir and discussed many important issues of common interest.
She continued by saying: “Qatar and Bangladesh consider each other as friendly countries and important development partners in materializing Bangladeshs Vision 2041 and Qatars Vision 2030”, noting that Bangladeshs opening up to the region through newer forms of connectivity and cooperation matrix is leading to newer economics.
In this context, she stressed that the ultimate objective is surely to strengthen the bonds of fraternity and friendship between the two friendly countries and the peoples further, which would elevate the bilateral relations to greater heights, adding that the exchange of visits create the opportunity to take the relations to a new height.
The Bangladesh PM noted that Bangladesh achieved robust economic growth between 6% and 7% over the past two decades which has been one of the highest in the world. She added Bangladesh is on the right track to graduate from the UN’s Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in 2026 to become a model of development for other countries.
