Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday asked the members of the Armed Forces to uphold the glory of the country by contributing to its development activities alongside protecting the sovereignty.

“I believe you can earn admiration everywhere by your discipline and professions and can uphold the glory of the country by contributing to the development activities alongside protecting its sovereignty,” she said while addressing a civic and military gathering at a reception on the occasion of the Armed Forces Day 2021.

The Prime Minister attended the reception at Senakunja of Dhaka Cantonment, virtually from her official residence Ganobhaban.

Hasina said Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman said the Bangladesh Army should be the People’s Army.

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She hoped that the Armed Forces will take the nation forward imbued with the ideology of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the spirit of the Liberation War.

“We’ll be able to move, raising our heads high in the world arena. This is our main goal,” said the Prime Minister.

An audio-visual documentary was screened on the occasion.

On this day in 1971, the Bangladesh Armed Forces comprising Army, Navy and Air Force, came into being and launched an all-out attack on the Pakistani occupation forces which sped up the victory in the Liberation War.

Since the independence of the country, this historic day is observed as the Armed Forces Day every year.

The Prime Minister said the members of the Bangladesh Armed Forces are always ready to make the supreme sacrifices at any critical time in the country alongside upholding the sovereignty of the motherland.

“In addition to dealing with the Coronavirus as well as manmade and natural disasters, our armed forces have been working sincerely for the development of the country’s socio-economic development,” she said.

She said the Army has gained widespread acclaim for the construction of the Access Control Expressway, Marine Drive Road, eye-catching Hatirjheel, the flyover and the border roads.

The PM said the Navy has also earned fame by building housing and infrastructures for displaced Myanmar nationals in Bhashanchar, while the Air force has recently conducted the seed-ball throwing activities in the country’s coastal areas and the remote places of Chittagong Hill Tracts region under an afforestation programme.

She said Bangladesh has been ranked among the top five countries in the world in terms of economic progress and now Bangladesh is the 41st largest economy in the world.

“We’ve achieved unprecedented development in all socio-economic indicators,” she said, adding that works on all the mega projects are progressing fast even during the Corona pandemic.

Hasina said her government, resuming in power in 2009, formulated the Forces Goal-2030 and has been implementing it. “We’ve been modernizing, expanding and developing the Armed Forces as per our long-term plans,” she said.

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Spelling out her government’s works for the development of three forces, she said, “We’ve made significant progress in modernising our armed forces in the last 13 years.”

The Prime Minister said the members of the Armed Forces made the role of the United Nation acclaimed apart from brightening the image of Bangladesh in the world arena by performing their duties with competence and sincerity in facing the challenges of peace-keeping missions, peace-building and peace-enforcement.

She said Bangladesh has once again been able to retain the glory of the highest peacekeeper contributing country in the establishment of world peace.

The PM wished for the continued prosperity of all the members of the armed forces and their families.