A 4-member Cross-Party Parliamentary delegation from the UK paid a courtesy call on Foreign Minister Dr. Hasan Mahmud, MP this afternoon at the State Guest House-Padma.
The Foreign Minister recalled with gratitude the immense moral and political support of the British government and people during our War of Liberation and the historic journey of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to London on 8 January 1972 on his way to independent Bangladesh from the captivity in Pakistan. He appreciated the UK for being a long-standing friend of Bangladesh and one of our largest development partners and noted the sharing of the same values of democracy and parliamentary practices.
The British Cross-Party Parliamentary delegation praised the spectacular socio-economic development of Bangladesh under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and appreciated the changes in Bangladesh with mega infrastructures like a new airport terminal, elevated expressway, and metro rail in Dhaka. They acknowledged the immense contributions of the British-Bangladeshi Diaspora to the economy, culture, and society of the UK and termed them as the living bridge between the two Commonwealth nations. The Foreign Minister invited more FDI from the UK into Bangladesh in emerging sectors like ICT, light engineering, and agro- and food-processing sectors, while highlighting the remarkable success stories of Bangladesh in agriculture mechanization, food sufficiency, disaster management and tackling climate change.
They British Cross-Party Parliamentary delegation assured of their contributions towards further support of the UK government to the Rohingya crisis. They also expressed interest in further strengthening bilateral ties through collaboration in trade and investment and climate change issues.
The Cross-Party Parliamentary delegation comprises of Mr. Virendra Sharma MP (Labour), Mr. Paul Scully MP (Conservative), Mr. Neil Coyle MP (Labour) and Mr. Andrew Western MP (Labour). The delegation arrived in Dhaka this morning and will be leaving Bangladesh on 31 January 2024.