Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has reiterated that despite the Covid-19 fallout and the Russia-Ukraine war, Bangladesh economy continues to be in robust shape and that her government is exercising due diligence when taking any loan. In an interview with Indian news agency ANI, Prime Minister Hasina ruled out concerns that Bangladesh could go the Sri Lanka way. She said that currently the world as a whole was facing challenges, not just Bangladesh. Read:“Not only Bangladesh, in India minorities suffered too at times” “Our economy is still going strong… We faced the Covid-19 pandemic, and now the Russia-Ukraine war. That has its effects here. But Bangladesh always makes debt payments timely. So, our debt rate is low. Our economic trajectory and development are (planned) calculatedly,” said the prime minister. Hasina, however, acknowledged that the war in Ukraine has posed some challenges for Bangladesh. “It has negative effects, no doubt, especially in terms of import,” she said. Hasina asserted that because of measured approach, Bangladesh was secure on the economic front. Bangladesh did not take any loan unless it was sure that it would benefit from the project undertaken, she said. Read:“Differences can be resolved through dialogue, Bangladesh-India do precisely that” “I think the whole world is facing economic problems, we are too… But yes, there are people who raise this issue. ‘Oh, Bangladesh will be Sri Lanka!’ This and that. But I can assure you, no, that will not happen. Because we... all our development plans, what we prepare and we implement, we always consider what the returns would be… how people would be benefitted… Otherwise, we don’t initiate any project just to spend money,” she said. “… The moment Covid-19 pandemic started, I called upon our people, and we provided all kinds of support and inputs, up to the village level, and also encouraged our people to grow more food items. I always supported them,” PM Hasina said during interview with ANI. Read Teesta mainly depends on India: PM Hasina tells ANI

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said that her government strongly believes in the values of secularism and any attempt to disrupt communal harmony are immediately dealt with. “As long as we are in power, we will continue to prioritize that and I always tell them (minority communities) that you are our citizens… this is your country too,” PM Hasina said in an interview with Indian News Agency ANI ahead of her visit to India. Hasina, however, said that extremism was not limited to Bangladesh as many countries, including India, were witnessing it. She said one of the reasons for the ongoing rise in extremism was social media. Read: “Differences can be resolved through dialogue, Bangladesh-India do precisely that” “Some incidents take place but we immediately take action… These are unwanted situations but you know very well, it is not only Bangladesh, in India minorities suffered too at times,” she said. “… You know Bangladesh is a secular country and we have many religions here… there is religious harmony here. So, one or two incidents, when these happen, immediately... especially my party... my party activists, they are very conscious about it and my government as well. We immediately take action,” she said. Asked to comment on the role of the community of bloggers and others on social media, Hasina said that it is not desirable that people write things to hurt each other and added that her government tried to curb such cases. “Look, extremism is everywhere… even in India and other countries... Because of social media it has become very... very bad nowadays,” Hasina said. Read Teesta mainly depends on India: PM Hasina tells ANI Hasina told ANI that while some incidents have occurred, Bangladesh has a tradition where people of all religions take part in all celebrations. “Together we celebrate... In Bangladesh, during Durga Puja, people celebrate together. So, the religious harmony is there but now some incidents happen here and there… Our government immediately takes action against it,” the PM said. Asked about the prevalence of cattle-smuggling from India into Bangladesh, Hasina said the issue was under discussion and the magnitude of the problem had also been reduced a lot. Read CEPA to be win-win for both countries: IBCCI President