Maritime Victory against Myanmar
Door to immense possibilities opens
Prime minister tells function at her reception
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said the maritime boundary verdict against Myanmar opened the door to immense possibilities for the present and future generations.
“This victory is a milestone for the economic development of Bangladesh,” she said at a reception programme at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the city as the thundering of claps greeted her.
Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) accorded the reception to the prime minister for her efforts in gaining the verdict.
Bangladesh, on March 14, won a landmark verdict at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, which sustained its claim to 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic and territorial rights in the Bay of Bengal rejecting the claims of Myanmar.
Additional Secretary at the foreign ministry, Rear Admiral (retd) Khurshid Alam, who played a key role in the legal battle against Myanmar, gave a PowerPoint presentation on the steps Bangladesh took in attaining the verdict.
The premier said it is the country's people who deserve the reception, not her, and she was happy to prove that the council of ministers could work efficiently.
“When Awami League comes to power, people get something and there is development, which people do not see during any other government's regimes,” said Hasina, also the president of ruling Awami League.
Terming the verdict “a victory of the country's people”, she said it would act as a unique motivation in turning Bangladesh into a middle-income country by 2021.
“Although cases have been filed over the rights over the maritime boundary, the relations with the two neighbours, India and Myanmar, did not deteriorate. Rather good relations have been prevailing with them.”
Hasina hoped that Bangladesh's rights over the Bay of Bengal would also be assured in the verdict of the case against India in 2014.
She also assured to set up a Marine Research Institute in the country.
FBCCI President AK Azad presented Hasina a bouquet and FBCCI Senior Vice President M Jashim Uddin presented her with a map of Bangladesh's maritime boundary.
Foreign Minister Dipu Moni, who spoke at the reception as the special guest, was also greeted with wreaths for her efforts in attaining the maritime victory.
Former FBCCI president Salman F Rahman, editor of the daily Independent Mahbubul Alam, noted educationalist Prof Jamilur Reza Chowdhury and former adviser to a caretaker government Syed Manzur Elahi also spoke on the occasion.
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