Describing Bangladesh as a role model of positive transformation, British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Robert Chatterton Dickson has said the world admires Bangladesh’s achievements in the last 50 years.
"I am happy to reflect on Bangladesh’s transformation from ‘one of the world’s poorest countries' into ‘one of the world's fastest-growing economies’ and the UK is a part of that story," said the high commissioner.
Robert Dickson came up with the statement in a message on the 50th anniversary of the Bangladesh-UK’s diplomatic relationship on Friday, reports UNB.
"The UK is proud to be a friend of Bangladesh through all this. We look forward to strengthening these bonds of kinship and culture through the dynamism of our strong people to people links, for the next 50 years and beyond," Dickson said.
Modern links between the UK and Bangladesh include trade and investment, the British Bangladeshi contribution to the UK National Health Service, education, development, defence, culture, cricket and curry, he said, adding that they share a mutual vision of a modern 21st-century partnership bound by strong historical ties.
On this day, 50 years ago, the UK and Bangladesh established a diplomatic relationship.
On behalf of the UK, High Commissioner Dickson congratulated the people and the government of Bangladesh on this historic anniversary of a new era of "Brit-Bangla Bondhon".
“As British High commissioner in Bangladesh, I feel proud that the UK played such a key role in Bangladesh’s founding story,” he said.
Before Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman set foot in his liberated homeland, his historic trip to the UK in January 1972 and his meeting with UK Prime Minister Edward Heath forged a new friendship and accelerated the recognition of Bangladesh as an independent nation.
This historic moment encouraged Commonwealth countries to recognise Bangladesh.
"I also recall Her Majesty’s Government’s humanitarian relief contributions to a rising Bangladesh before, during and after the liberation war," said the High Commissioner.
The UK was one of the largest donors for humanitarian relief support to the people of Bangladesh in 1971, reflecting strong public support in the UK for the liberation cause, he said. "All this laid the foundations for a unique and lasting relationship between the UK and Bangladesh."
With the establishment of a British High Commission in Dhaka, the then UK Foreign Secretary Sir Alec Douglas-Home visited Bangladesh in 1972.
Since then, the UK has been a committed partner of this country in research, health services and community development, disaster risk reduction, poverty alleviation, improving education, increasing life expectancy for women and children, and women’s empowerment.