PM seeks world leaders' sincere work for prosperous future

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina along with global leaders including US President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at G20 Summit in New Delhi on 9 September. Photo: PID

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today called upon the world leaders to come up with utmost sincerity to ensure a dignified life and prosperous future for all.

"As equal members of the global family, we must, therefore, resolve to do our utmost for dignified life and prosperous future for all," she said while addressing the "One Family" session in G20 Summit held at Bharat Mandapam Convention Centre at Pragati Maidan here.

The prime minister also placed five-point recommendations to the G20 leaders eyeing to make a better world in the coming days defying all challenges with united efforts.

In her first recommendation, she said implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development should remain at the top of the agenda of all multilateral initiatives, including G20.

For countries in transition from LDCs to developing ones, G20 should support and facilitate the continuation of duty-free, quota free market access and extension of unilateral tariff preferences and TRIPS waivers for a significant timeframe after the graduation - to ensure smooth and sustainable transition, she said in her second recommendation.

The premier thirdly opined that G20 can stand by vulnerable economies keeping their markets open to ensure smooth, timely and predictable supply of essential goods and commodities, including agricultural products.

As a fourth recommendation, she said that women, half of the global population, should get equal attention, for building peaceful, just, and inclusive societies.

Sheikh Hasina in her final recommendation stressed strengthening South-South and triangular cooperation with support from partners, international financial institutions, private sectors, and other stakeholders for ensuring human development globally.

Taking the current global economy into account, it is high time to work collectively for a just and fair economic order, she said.

She added: "I believe that G20 would be supportive to the development process of developing countries."

The head of Bangladesh government said Covid-19 pandemic, sanctions and counter-sanctions have led to worldwide supply chain disruptions, and crises of food, fuel and fertiliser imposing unbearable living conditions on people all over the world.

"Though we talk of one world, one family, are we doing anything to show it?" she said.

"Every night, over 800 million people, or 10% of the global population, go hungry. Whereas, the world annually spends on military $1.9 trillion, only 5.5 billion for 26 hours of military spending, could ensure food for the most vulnerable," she observed.

Apart from this, the food, which is wasted worldwide annually, could feed 2 billion people, she added.

Sheikh Hasina noted: "Instead, sadly the rich countries are reducing aid for the poor as in the case of the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh."

Talking about Bangladesh, the prime minister said that in 2009, democracy and people's fundamental rights returned.

She added: "In the following 14 and a half years, Bangladesh witnessed phenomenal socio-economic transformations".

In this regard, the premier said that the government has been able to reduce poverty from 41.5 percent to 18.7 percent, extreme poverty to 5.6 percent, and the per capita income increased five-fold.

Implementation of the 2030 Agenda of Sustainable Development remains our topmost priority, she added.

Sheikh Hasina said, "We adopted a 'Whole of Society' approach for implementation and attainment of the SDGs. Bangladesh received the SDG progress Award in 2021."

She mentioned that Bangladesh has achieved significant progress in universal primary education.

Literacy rate has increased from 45 percent in 2006 to 75.6 percent in the last one and a half decades, she said.

"Currently, the primary school enrolment rate is 98%," she added.

Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh has also achieved remarkable success in the health sector where average life expectancy has increased from 59 years in 2006 to now 73 years.

"Our infant mortality rate has declined to 21 per thousand from 84 while maternal mortality rate to 161 from 370 per hundred thousand."

She said 18,500 Community Clinics and rural health centres reach healthcare to the doorstep of the rural people.

The United Nations recognised the endeavor as "the Sheikh Hasina Initiative" by adopting a resolution, she said, adding, "We made commendable success in Covid-19 management".

The prime minister said Bangladesh is a strong champion of women empowerment.

According to the Gender gap Index Report-2022 of the World Economic Forum, Bangladesh is at the top position among South Asian countries.

"We aspire to transform Bangladesh by 2041 into a knowledge-based, modern, developed country, or Sonar Bangla - as envisioned by Father of the Nation Sheikh Mujibur Rahman," she continued.