Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has asked those who made “false” corruption allegations against the people involved in Padma Bridge project and defamed Bangladesh to seek an apology and compensate the individuals.
"Under the courageous leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the historic Padma Bridge has been built with our own funds and resources and now represents a nation on the road to self-reliance and prosperity," he said.
Momen was speaking as the chief guest at Bangladesh High Commission, London's celebration titled "Padma Bridge: Milestone of a Decade of Growth and Prosperity" held in East London, the heart of the British-Bangladeshi community recently.
Highlighting the significant economic growth that Bangladesh achieved in the past decade, the Foreign Minister said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's timely and innovative initiatives made Bangladesh a self-sufficient country in staple crop production, which increased fourfold from 11 lakh tonnes to 44 lakh tonnes, and her business-friendly government boosted export earnings from USD 7 to 8 million to USD 48 million.
Apart from this, he said, Bangladesh's economy gained a strong foothold during the pandemic as expatriate Bangladeshi including from the UK and Ireland remitted 25 billion US dollars to their homeland.
Momen expressed solidarity with the flood victims in Sylhet and other areas of Bangladesh and spoke in detail about the relief and rescue operations the government has been implementing since the recurrence of the natural disasters.
The Foreign Minister said he had discussed the latest flood situation as well as relief and rescue operations with the high authorities of the government and relevant ministries to ensure that the flood victims received adequate support.