Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said her participation in the Munich Security Conference last week is a reflection of Bangladesh’s strong commitment to peace, sovereignty and global security.
He said this at a press conference at Ganobhaban on Friday (February 23) on the outcome of his recent three-day visit to Munich, Germany to attend the Munich Security Conference 2024.
The Prime Minister went to Munich on February 15 and returned home on February 19. During his stay in Munich, he held bilateral meetings with world leaders on the sidelines of the conference. In a written statement, Sheikh Hasina termed her visit as a success.
He said, he told the world leaders that not the size, but the strength of a country’s policy is the path to political and socio-economic liberation.
Besides, through bilateral meetings with friendly countries and international organizations, the continuity of this relationship has been strengthened and new horizons of cooperation have been opened.
The Prime Minister said, on the first day of the visit, February 16, I participated in a high-level panel discussion on ‘From Pocket to Planet: Scaling up Climate Finance’. I was also present at the meeting with John Kerry, the Special Envoy for Climate Action of the United States Government, Mia Amor Motley, Prime Minister of Barbados, and Mousa Zamir, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Maldives. I addressed the panel as the opening speaker. At the outset of the speech, I called for an immediate end to all forms of war-fighting, illegal occupation and inhumane killing of unarmed people, especially women and children, in Gaza and the rest of the world.
He further said, I draw everyone’s attention to the fact that the adverse effects of economic sanctions and counter-sanctions are felt far beyond the battlefield. In this context, I urge everyone to make available and implement the necessary logistics and financing to address the risks of climate change by ending the senseless arms race. I bring before everyone the harsh reality that petty interests bring only misfortune in the crisis of humanity’s existence. And therefore, call upon the international community to take immediate necessary measures to address the growing security risks posed by climate change.
Sheikh Hasina said, I call on all the world to work together to seriously consider the issue of necessary financing to deal with the problems caused by climate change. I place special emphasis on increased financing for affected countries and populations, actual transfer of pledged funds, financial and technical assistance to vulnerable countries to address the multiple security risks posed by climate change.
The head of government said, I call on the rapid implementation of the political commitments of the rich countries and all concerned to work together on the basis of mutual partnership and cooperation to deal with the global risk of climate change. On this day, Sylvana Khak Mehrin, president and founder of Women Political Leaders met me in my hotel suite. During the meeting, he congratulated me on being re-elected as Prime Minister and praised the political empowerment of women in Bangladesh in the last decade and a half. He invited me to participate in the summit to be held in Athens on March 20, 2024 to receive WPL’s Trailblazer Award 2023 for outstanding contribution to women’s political empowerment. In the discussion, when I shed light on the policies of our government, especially the political and economic empowerment of women, he commented that the western world should learn from the policies and activities of Bangladesh in this regard.
The Prime Minister also said that on the same day, I held a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Qatar, Mohammad bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani. He congratulated me on my re-election as Prime Minister and expressed hope to further strengthen our bilateral relations. During the discussion, he assured Qatar’s continued support for sustainable and quick resolution of the Rohingya issue, in addition to mutual trade, investment, LNG supply, etc. We also discuss the need to work together to end Israeli violence in the Gaza Strip.
