Speech
of the Hon’ble Foreign Minister to be delivered at
the Certificate Awarding Ceremony organized by BRAC
for the participants of
“
Managing Rural Development” Course to be
held
at 1800 hrs on 5th December 2004
Mr.
Fazle Hasan Abed, Chairperson of BRAC
The
Ambassador of Afghanistan
Excellencies
The
Trainee Officers from Afghanistan
Ladies
& Gentlemen,
Assalamu
Alaikum and good evening
It
is a pleasure and privilege for me to be here with
you this evening at the Certificate Awarding Ceremony
of the “Managing Rural Development” Course conducted
by Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC).
I convey my deep appreciation to Mr. Fazle Hasan Abed,
Founder & Chairperson of BRAC and his colleagues
for this timely and important initiative of imparting
training to the officers from the Ministry of Agriculture
and the Ministry of Irrigation of Afghanistan. I congratulate
the participants who worked hard for the last five
months for successful completion of the training programme.
I am sure the trainees would be able to apply the
practical knowledge gained here in the rural areas
of Afghanistan.
Bangladesh
and Afghanistan are two brotherly countries bound
by common faith and traditions. Bangladesh deeply
values her relations with Afghanistan and is committed
to help her reconstruction efforts in every possible
way. We consider Afghanistan more as
a South Asian friend and would like to see her in
a state of lasting peace and stability.
We
have been keenly observing the evolving situation
in Afghanistan and have always welcomed all positive
developments in Afghanistan that would eventually
lead the country towards stability and progress. Every
important stride made by our Afghan brothers and sisters
in this regard is important.
We are behind them as they try to reconstruct
their country and regain their rightful place in the
comity of nations. We particularly appreciate the
successful holding of the Presidential elections in
Afghanistan. We hope that the election of President
Karzai would contribute to the creation of the institutional
framework of a broad based democratic polity that
would eventually lead to the fulfillment of the hopes
and aspirations of the Afghan people for a lasting
peace in the country.
Bangladesh
has a natural solidarity with their Afghan brothers
and sisters in their hour of need. We thus always
expressed our desire to actively contribute to the
reconstruction works of Afghanistan bilaterally and
multilaterally. In keeping with our strong commitment
to join the international community in the reconstruction
of Afghanistan in every possible way, we have been
consistently participating in the international meetings
and efforts to rebuild Afghanistan.
This
is an indication of the depth of our commitment and
our genuine interest in the socio-economic development
of Afghanistan.
Ours
is a developing country with a considerable resource
constraint. Yet, as a genuine expression of our desire
to help, we sent relief materials worth US $ 1.0 million
in November 2001 for the Afghan refugees living in
Pakistan. In addition to this, Bangladesh also called
upon the donor countries to contribute towards the
development of Afghanistan. We also offered our experience
and technical know-how for the development of Afghanistan.
In many ways the ravages of the war and the untold
human sufferings experienced by the people of Afghanistan
have been unprecedented. In a different context, Bangladesh
also went through war, destruction, pains and sufferings
of daunting magnitudes during our war of liberation.
We can, therefore, feel more acutely than any one
else the present day task before the people of Afghanistan.
I
need not say that our relations with Afghanistan have
historically been cordial. Bangladesh opened her resident
Mission in Kabul soon after her independence but had
to close it in 1989 due to instability and prolonged
civil war. The government is now considering to reopen
our Mission in Kabul to facilitate more interactions
with the government and the people of Afghanistan.
Besides, this will also positively contribute to the
development of meaningful trade and investment relations
between the two countries.
Bangladesh
is eager to help develop human resources of Afghanistan.
We can also provide Afghanistan with skilled manpower
to meet the various urgent needs of the Afghan government.
It is a matter of great satisfaction that leading
Bangladeshi NGOs including BRAC are already making
valuable contributions in various socio-economic rebuilding
processes in Afghanistan. BRAC activities now cover
17 provinces out of 32 provinces of Afghanistan and
encompass various programmes including education,
health, micro-finance, agricultural development program,
national solidarity program, women training etc. It
is gratifying to note that apart from these activities,
BRAC also has established a number of training
centers in Afghanistan to train the local people in
different fields. I am glad to know that this program,
for which we are here today, is also a part of BRAC’s
efforts to develop human resources of Afghanistan.
Ladies
and gentlemen,
Bangladesh is committed to help Afghanistan in her
reconstruction works with her vast experience in various
fields. We are keen to share with our Afghan friends
the pool of our experience and expertise in such fields
like micro-credit, education particularly female education,
population control, poverty alleviation etc. Many
of the developmental challenges of Afghanistan in
the post war construction phase will call for imaginative,
sustained efforts in a whole range of areas. They
call for such initiatives to be appropriately designed
to match the specific societal contexts and imperatives.
We would be happy to share our experiences with the
government and the brotherly people of Afghanistan
so that such initiatives are in place in Afghanistan
through concrete cooperation arrangements.
We
should not forget that a conscious people, strong
in their commitment to change their own destiny and
fully equipped to address their challenges are the
greatest strength for a country. The trainees, who
have participated in the BRAC Course, I am sure, will
be an important part of the critical mass of able,
willing body of agents for development and change
who will change Afghanistan for the better.
Ladies
and gentlemen,
I
once again thank BRAC for organizing this crucial
training course, which, I am sure, will significantly
contribute to furthering the economic development
activities of Afghanistan. I hope that BRAC would
continue such training activities in future and expand
it to include professionals from other fields. I wish
the participants from Afghanistan the very best and
all success in their endeavour to rebuild their motherland.
I thank you.
*
* * * *
Back
