SAARC Diary: Gandhi Peace Prize: Bangladesh Gratitude to India for Choosing “Bangabandhu”
NEW DELHI, Mar 23: The Government of Bangladesh expressed its gratitude to the Government of India for bestowing the Gandhi Peace Prize 2020 posthumously on Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
“It is an honour for Bangladesh and its citizens for the Father of the Nation to be bestowed with this prestigious honour,” a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dhaka said. “The honour is particularly meaningful on the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh’s independence, when the country is on the verge of becoming a developing country through political, economic, and social transformations that Bangabandhu laid the groundwork for,” it said.
On March 22, India awarded Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman the “Gandhi Peace Prize for the Year 2020.” Since 1995, when Mahatma Gandhi’s 125th birthday was commemorated, the Government of India has awarded the Gandhi Peace Prize every year. The award is open to citizens of all nationalities, races, languages, castes, creeds, and genders.
The statement said “in a year when both countries are celebrating the Golden Jubilee of Bangladesh’s Independence, 50 years of diplomatic ties, and the birth centenary of Bangabandhu, the award is a fitting homage to the ever-deepening Bangladesh-India relations. As Bangladesh commemorates Bangabandhu’s legacy on his 100th birthday, the award honours the enduring leader’s lifelong struggle to ensure his people’s independence, rights, ambitions, and liberation, as well as to create a world free of hunger, poverty, and exploitation. On this occasion, the people of Bangladesh pay tribute to two great leaders, Bapuji and Bangabandhu, whose values and ideals are still important today in the search for a world free of oppression, injustice, and deprivation.”
Meeting of Buyers and Sellers in the Northeast
The States Division of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), in association with Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC), North Eastern Chapter organized North East (NE) Buyer Seller Meet on Tuesday in Guwahati. To maximise its reach, the event was organised in a hybrid format. The initiative created a forum for NE states to showcase their goods and services in a variety of sectors, including agriculture, horticulture, handloom, textiles, handicrafts, tourism and hospitality to Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Nepal.
According to a statement from the MEA, the NE Buyer Seller Meet featured over 100 entrepreneurs in B2B meetings, including 70 from the NE Region and 30 from neighbouring countries. In addition, a mini-expo was held to highlight the goods and services.
The event was attended by the majority of the NE Region’s Principal Secretary Industries and Hand-loom Commissioners. MEA was represented at the event by C. Rajasekhar, OSD (States). In his key note address, he stressed the importance of the initiative emphasising that the NE Buyer Seller Meet would harness the power and strength of the NE region by connecting its goods and services to markets in neighbouring countries.
The statement said the “first Buyer Seller Meet is part of forward-looking initiatives, according to the release, and signals that India is proactively planning for post-Covid opportunities and proposes to promote cross-border cooperative linkages with neighbouring countries.”
(Venkatesh Iyer)
