Maldives
Govt to address Bangladesh expats’ problems in Maldives: Hasina
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday said the government will take steps to address the problems of Bangladeshi expatriates living in the Maldives, particularly the air connectivity and money transfer facility to Bangladesh.
“Our Expatriates’ Welfare and Foreign Ministers had talks with you and came to know all your problems. They also informed me about these. On my return home, I’ll do what can be done on many issues,” she said while addressing a reception accorded to her by the Bangladeshi community living in the Maldives.
Sheikh Hasina, now in the Maldives on an official visit, joined the event at Iskandhar School Auditorium in Chaandhanee Magu of Male, virtually from her place of residence there.
She said the government will solve the problems Bangladeshis face in sending money from the Maldives by making arrangements for the exchange of currencies between Bangladesh and the Maldives.
Read: Solih attributes ‘milestone achievement’ to Hasina’s ‘exemplary’ leadership
Noting that the expatriates in the Maldives have to suffer losses in buying dollars to send money back home, the Prime Minister said, ‘I’ll take steps to make arrangements for the exchange of money (between the two currencies).”
She said the government will take steps so that expatriates can send money from the Maldives through Probashi Kallyan Bank, set up by her government for the welfare of Bangladeshi expatriates.
“I’ll ask the Probashi Kallyan Bank to take proper steps so that the Bangladesh Bank appoints an agent for money exchange,” Hasina added.
About air connectivity, the Prime Minister said Biman Bangladesh Airlines will launch its flights with the Maldives. “We’ve a goal so that our government airlines – Biman— starts its flight operation with the Maldives,” she said.
Mentioning that some 1 lakh Bangladeshis are now there in the Maldives, Hasina said the issue of undocumented Bangladeshis was also discussed with the Maldivian authorities so that they can stay there legally.
In this regard, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was also signed with the Expatriates’ Welfare Minister so that they (undocumented Bangladeshis) would face no problem to stay in the Maldives, she said.
She said the government now provides a 2 percent incentive on remittance inflow and the government will take training programmes for Bangladeshi workers intended to go to the Maldives in line with job demands.
Noting that the Maldives could be a good market for Bangladeshi products, she said the government will consider what kind of goods can be exported assessing the demands of the island country.
The PM extended special thanks to the Maldivian government for bringing all Bangladeshis in their country -- both legal and illegal ones -- under its Covid-19 inoculation drives.
Hasina urged the overseas job seekers not to go abroad through middlemen to catch ‘golden deer’ (jobs with handsome salary) by selling all assets and property.
“You can tell those who want to come abroad not to come through middlemen,” she said, adding that now the country is Digital Bangladesh and the digital centres are there throughout the country, where there is a scope for overseas job seekers to be registered.
Read: Bangladesh-Maldives ties must grow further: Hasina
The Expatriates Welfare Ministry would have the list of registered names. And the overseas jobseekers could go abroad through it, she said.
“There’s no need to give money to middlemen by selling houses and lands. Instead, loans can be taken from Probashi Kallyan Bank …even the loans are collateral-free in some cases,” said the Prime Minister.
Hasina said her goal is to change the fate of people and give them a decent life as Father of the Nation Bangabandhu had dreamt of. ”If I can do it, I think, that’ll be a befitted reply to those who assassinated my father,” she said.
Focusing on the government's development activities, she said her government has been able to attain the target set in her party's 2008 election manifesto for the development of the country.
Solih attributes ‘milestone achievement’ to Hasina’s ‘exemplary’ leadership
President of the Maldives Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has commended Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for the “outstanding” socio-economic progress achieved in Bangladesh under her leadership.
He also congratulated her as Bangladesh qualified for graduating from Least Developed Country (LDC) category to a developing country status.
President Solih attributed this “milestone achievement” to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s "foresight and exemplary" leadership, coupled with the hard work of Bangladeshi people, according to a joint communiqué issued on Thursday night.
Both leaders noted the untapped scope for economic cooperation between the Maldives and Bangladesh.
They agreed to expedite the work in translating this potential into tangible outcomes through trade and investment initiatives.
In the context of graduation from LDC status, and the need to maintain benefits enjoyed under the South Asian Free Trade Area, Hasina reiterated Bangladesh’s offer to conclude a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with the Maldives.
Solih welcomed Hasina’s initiative for PTA and to hold Commerce Secretary-level meetings to discuss trade related issues in detail at the earliest.
Read: Bangladesh-Maldives ties must grow further: Hasina
Both leaders reviewed the progress made on the commitments announced during the state visit of President Solih and the official visits of Vice President Faisal Naseem and Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid to Dhaka earlier this year.
They expressed satisfaction on timely holding of the first bilateral consultations at Foreign Secretary level, between the two countries in November 2021 in Malé.
The two leaders noted the need to expedite the implementation of the other instruments concluded during the visit of President Solih in March 2021.
Solih and Hasina held official talks on Thursday and reviewed the entire range of bilateral engagements including exploring new avenues for further strengthening cooperation on trade, investment, connectivity, health, culture, agriculture, Information and Communication Technology, human resources development, consular and community welfare.
They also exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual interest.
Read: Bangladesh-Maldives ties must grow further: Hasina
During the visit, Vice President Faisal Naseem, Speaker of People’s Majlis, former President Mohamed Nasheed, Chief Justice Ahmed Muthasim Adnan and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ahmed Khaleel paid courtesy calls on Hasina.
Solih recalled his successful state visit to Dhaka in March 2021, to participate in the epochal celebrations commemorating the birth centenary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the Golden Jubilee of the Independence of Bangladesh and congratulated Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on these festive occasions.
Solih and Hasina discussed the global Covid-19 pandemic and noted the devastating impacts it has had on the economies, livelihoods and wellbeing of the people in both the countries, as well as across the globe.
Both leaders agreed on the importance of equitable access to vaccines to combat the pandemic.
Bangladesh, Maldives to work together to attain security in Indian Ocean region
Bangladesh and the Maldives have agreed to address and counter the threats posed by organised crimes, piracy, narcotic and human trafficking, through multilateral and regional for a, including Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), in the quest of attaining security, stability and peace in the Indian Ocean region.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and President of the Maldives Ibrahim Mohamed Solih agreed on the importance of working together bilaterally, regionally and internationally in combating the rising menace of terrorism, violent extremism and radicalization, according to a joint communiqué issued on Thursday.
Both leaders emphasised that the regional organisations such as South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation has an important role to play in promoting regional cooperation in many areas, particularly in combating the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
The Bangladesh side highlighted that the country has assumed the Chairmanship of IORA for the first time, since October 2021 and sought the support of the Maldives for working together towards greater maritime safety and security in the Indian Ocean Region.
President Solih congratulated Bangladesh and assured it of Maldives’ cooperation in this regard.
Solih thanked Sheikh Hasina for the generous gift of military vehicles, acknowledging the goodwill and friendship extended to the Maldives by the government of Bangladesh.
President Solih reaffirmed Maldives’ support to Bangladesh on the issue of the Forcibly Displaced Myanmar nationals.
Bangladesh-Maldives ties must grow further: Hasina
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday said the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and the Maldives must grow further to enhance trade, investment, connectivity, and people-to-people contacts.“Our bilateral relations must grow,” Hasina said while speaking at the State Banquet hosted by the President of Maldives Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in honour of her.She said Bangladesh and the Maldives share religious values, cultural affinity and stand on the same plane of developmental aspiration.
“With these commonalities in place, we look forward to striding ahead together in the days to come,” she said adding, “We could set an example by our collaboration during the pandemic.
As we believe in shared prosperity and socio-economic development, I feel happy to see thousands of Bangladeshis working together with their Maldivian brothers and sisters in the Maldives and contributing to both country’s economies.”
Read: Be partners in Bangladesh’s development story, Hasina to Maldivian entrepreneurs
Expressing her gratitude, she said Bangladesh had the honour to welcome the Maldivian President in March this year to celebrate the Birth Centenary of our Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and the Golden Jubilee of the Independence of Bangladesh.“Your gracious presence at our celebrations added further glory. Excellency! Thank you for allowing us to share our pride and joy!” she said.The Prime Minister appreciated the commendable initiatives of the Maldivian President to radically reshape the economic landscape of the Maldives through the particular emphasis on inter-island connectivity, green tourism, climate-smart infrastructure, and transition to renewable energy.“I salute the people of Maldives for their determination in the face of acute climate adversity and for their resilience in keeping the tourism industry rolling, even amid shockwaves of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Hasina said.On the other hand, she said, our endeavours are also focused on implementing the development discourse and transforming Bangladesh into a developed country by 2041.
Read: Dhaka, Male seek cooperation in fisheries, agriculture“Our Government's Vision-2041 is an image of Bangladesh that meets the hopes and aspirations of the country's people for an economically, developed, and inclusive society envisioned by the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib’s dream Golden Bangladesh.”She mentioned that the government is committed to implementing SDGs in the stipulated time frame.“We also have started implementing 'Bangladesh Delta Plan-2100.' With our all-out efforts, Bangladesh has already been branded as 'the Development Miracle' by the world,” Hasina added.
Biman to introduce flights with Maldives: Hasina
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday said Biman Bangladesh Airlines is set to introduce its flight operation with the Maldives via Chennai, India as both the countries have agreed to enhance air connectivity, aiming to increase bilateral trade and investment.
“Our national carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines is going to introduce flights with the Maldives via Chennai. We hope that people-to-people contacts and exchange of tourism cooperation will be increased due to the flight operation (on this route),” she said.
The Prime Minister said the direct air connectivity between Bangladesh and the Maldives has been strengthened through the commencement of direct flight operation by Bangladeshi airlines, US-Bangla.
Read: Dhaka, Male seek cooperation in fisheries, agriculture
PM’s Press Secretary briefed reporters after a bilateral meeting held between the Bangladesh Prime Minister and President of the Maldives Ibrahim Mohamed Solih at the President's Office here.
At the meeting, they agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation, especially in health, education, human resources development, youth and sports, fisheries, and agriculture between the two countries and work together to face the challenge of climate change and the early repatriation of forcibly displaced Rohingyas to Myanmar, Hasina said.
They also discussed the agreement on Avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income, MoU on Recruitment of Qualified Health Professionals between Bangladesh and the Maldives, MoU between Bangladesh and the Maldives on Cooperation in the Area of Youth and Sports and renewed MoU on in the areas of Medical and Healthcare Science.
“We reviewed the progress made so far on our earlier decisions and found the outcomes satisfactory,” said the Prime Minister.
She said they talked about the regularization of undocumented expatriate Bangladeshis hosted by the Maldives as the community makes substantial contributions to the economies of Bangladesh and the Maldives.
Besides, cooperation in multilateral fora, support each other in candidature, and cooperation in countering terrorism came up for the discussion, Hasina said.
Read: Be partners in Bangladesh’s development story, Hasina to Maldivian entrepreneurs
The Prime Minister said her government would not allow any sort terrorist activity against Bangladesh and any other countries using the country’s soil.
The Maldivian President also vowed to fight together against terrorism and extremism to ensure regional and global prosperity, sustainability and peace.
President Solih said his government would continue support in early repatriation of the Rohingyas.
He also thanked the Bangladesh Prime Minister for her support during the Covid-19 pandemic period and sought initiatives to issue on-arrival visas for the Maldivians.
Describing Bangladesh as a desired destination for Maldivian students particularly for the medical students, President Solih urged the Prime Minister to issue full-term visas for the Maldivians students.
From Bangladesh side, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen, Health Minister Zahid Maleque, Chief of Army Staff Chief of Army Staff General S M Shafiuddin Ahmed, Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen, PMO Secretary Md Tofazzel Hossain Miah and Chairman of National Board of Revenue (NBR) Abu Hena Md. Rahmatul Muneem were, among others, present.
From the Maldives side, Vice President Faisal Naseem, Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer, Health Minister Ahmed Naseem, Education Minister Athiya Naseer, Economic Development Minister Uz. Fayyaz Ismail and Minister of Environment and Energy Thoriq Ibrahim were present.
Be partners in Bangladesh’s development story, Hasina to Maldivian entrepreneurs
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday called upon both the public and private sectors of the Maldives to be partners in Bangladesh’s development journey in the next 50 for mutual benefits.“I call upon both the government and private sectors of the Maldives to be our partners in the development journey in the next fifty years for mutual benefits,” she said.Sheikh Hasina made the call while speaking at the People’s Majlis, Maldives (the Maldivian Parliament) with its Speaker Mohamed Nasheed in the chair.She hoped that the warm and friendly relations between the two countries will further be consolidated as Bangladesh is thriving on possibilities and potentials. “We believe no country in the world can prosper in isolation.”
Also read: Dhaka, Male seek cooperation in fisheries, agricultureHasina mentioned that the Covid-19 pandemic taught that all are interdependent and have to share their experiences for the sake of a better, secure, and prosperous world.
“We reiterate our principled position of collaboration with our fraternal neighbours in South Asia, as had been enunciated by our Father of the Nation,” she said adding, “We’re particularly encouraged to witness your development journey, your successful transition from LDC to a middle-Income country, and we hope Bangladesh and the Maldives would tap the complementarities.”The Prime Minister described 2021 as a landmark year for Bangladesh-Maldives bilateral relations with the exchange of high-level visits, fruitful bilateral discussions among relevant authorities, and goodwill exchange of collaboration on many areas of bilateral interests.“We firmly believe we would further consolidate our bilateral relations through further expansion of trade, investment, connectivity, tourism, and people-to-people contacts,” she hoped.Hasina said the next 50 years’ journey will be even more fruitful with meaningful changes to the lives of the people of the two countries.Briefly describing the history of Bangladesh, its Independence, role, struggle and sacrifice of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, she Bangabandhu laid down the foundation of the path to socio-economic freedom for Bangladesh after the independence.Following his footsteps and inspired by this economic and political philosophy, she said, “I am happy to share that Bangladesh has achieved remarkable progress in the last one decade.”
Also read: Hasina for tapping Bangladesh-Maldives’ full trade potentialsThe average GDP growth registered in the previous few years has been more than 7 percent, while in 2019-20, just before the pandemic, our DGP growth rate was 8.2 percent, the Prime Minister said.“During the last decade, Bangladesh has also made remarkable progress in socio-economic indicators, including women empowerment, maternal and child health, life expectancy, population growth rate, sanitation, drinking water, primary education, and literacy,” Hasina said.
In continuation of Bangladesh’s development journey, she said, “We’ve to transform Bangladesh into a middle-income country by 2021, meet all the SDG targets by 2031, turn into a knowledge-based developed country by 2041, and a prosperous and resilient Delta by 2100.”The Prime Minister went on saying, “As you may be aware that on November 24, 2021, the UN General Assembly unanimously adopted the resolution on Graduation of Bangladesh from the LDC category.”She mentioned that Bangladesh is now a US-$411 billion economy and is ranked among the 34 largest economies of the world.“However, development brings its own challenges. To cope with the situation that we’ll face after the withdrawal of the benefits we used to enjoy [benefits] as an LDC, our focus will be on diversifying the economy and exploring new markets. We’re also striving to transform into a technology-driven society and innovation-led growth with a vision of Digital Bangladesh.”
The Maldivian Speaker presented Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina a boat painting.
Dhaka, Male seek cooperation in fisheries, agriculture
Bangladesh and the Maldives on Thursday agreed to exchange knowledge in the areas of fisheries and agriculture alongside the exchange of agreements for cooperation in health and sports sectors and avoidance of double taxation.
“Prime Minister (Sheikh Hasina) and I (Mohamed Solih) also agreed to exchange knowledge and assistance in the areas of fisheries and agriculture,” said President of the Maldives Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in a joint press statement after bilateral talks between the two sides at his office here.
He said they also discussed ways to expand economic and trade cooperation, increased connectivity and tourism between Bangladesh and the Maldives.
Also read: Hasina for tapping Bangladesh-Maldives’ full trade potentials
The agreements exchanged today are on Avoidance of Double Taxation; MoU on the Recruitment of Health Professionals; the renewed MoU on collaboration for the improvement of healthcare systems and addressing public health challenges; and the MoU on Cooperation in Youth and Sports Development, will contribute to further advancing our bilateral cooperation, said the Maldivian President.
Hasina for tapping Bangladesh-Maldives’ full trade potentials
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday laid emphasis on fully tapping the potentials of bilateral trade and investment between Bangladesh and the Maldives.
“Despite opportunities, we couldn’t yet fully tap the potentials of bilateral trade and investment,” she said while delivering her joint press statement at the Presidential Office here.
Sheikh Hasina said with its growing manufacturing capacity, Bangladesh would be able to supply many quality products to the Maldives at competitive prices.
Read: Hasina-Solih talks in progress
Hasina also reemphasized the necessity of a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) between the two countries and a bilateral investment protection arrangement for mutual facilitation of investment.
The Prime Minister mentioned that she had a detailed discussion with Maldivian President Solih on promoting bilateral trade, investment, and connectivity.
It is Hasina’s first-ever bilateral visit to the Maldives, though she had come here earlier for the SAARC Summit.
Hasina termed 2021 as a landmark year for Bangladesh-Maldives bilateral relations. “We had the honour of commencing our celebrations of the birth centenary of our Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the Golden Jubilee of our Independence in March this year with the presence of President Solih in Bangladesh,” she said.
The PM said the Vice President of the Maldives visited Bangladesh in November, followed by bilateral consultations between the two countries. “Earlier in February, we also had the opportunity to welcome your Foreign Minister in Dhaka, and now I am here,” she said.
She expressed her satisfaction over the meeting with the Maldivian President terming it a very fruitful discussion on the entire spectrum of our bilateral relations.
“We reviewed the progress made so far on our earlier decisions and found the outcome satisfactory. Following the official talks, we witnessed the signing of some bilateral instruments. We also witnessed handing over 13 Military Vehicles by our Government to the Maldives government as a goodwill gesture,” Hasina said.
Hasina-Solih talks in progress
The bilateral talks between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih have started at the President’s Office here.
On her arrival at the President’s Office, Hasina was formally received by President Solih.
Read: ‘Channeled my pain into building Bangladesh’: Hasina
A red carpet was rolled out to receive Sheikh Hasina as she is on her maiden bilateral visit to the Maldives. She was also given guard of honour and gun salute.
The Prime Minister also visited the line of presentation of both the countries.
Four instruments are going to be signed between Bangladesh and Maldives on health, education, dual taxation, transfer of prisoners, youth and sports following the talks.
Red carpet rolled out as Hasina arrives in Male
A red carpet was rolled out as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina arrived in Male on Wednesday afternoon on a six-day official visit at the invitation of Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.
A smartly turned out contingent of the Maldivian forces presented a static guard of honour to the Prime Minister on her maiden bilateral visit to the island country.
Later, she was escorted to the place of residence.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will be formally received by Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Thursday (On December 23), while a guard of honor and other ceremonial will be accorded to the Bangladesh's head of the government.
A special VVIP flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her entourage, which had departed Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport around 12pm (local time), arrived here at 3pm (local time).
Read: Hasina flies to Malé on a six-day official tour
On her arrival at the airport, the Prime Minister was received by Maldivian State Minister for Foreign Affairs Abdul Ghafoor Mohamed, Foreign Secretary of Maldives Shiruzimath Sameer, Bangladesh High Commissioner to Maldives Rear Admiral Mohammad Nazmul Hassan and Maldivian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Munu Mahawar, said PM’s press secretary Ihsanul Karim.
This is Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s first-ever bilateral official visit to the Maldives.
Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen, Health Minister Zahid Maleque and Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmed Chowdhury are accompanying the Prime Minister.
According to the Foreign Ministry, four instruments, including two Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) on health, education, transfer of prisoners and on avoidance of dual taxation, are likely to be signed during the visit.
The four proposed instruments are Agreement on Avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income; Agreement on the Transfer of Prisoners; MoU in the areas of Healthcare and Medical Sciences between Bangladesh and Maldives (renewal); MoU between Bangladesh and Maldives on Cooperation in the Area of youth and Sports Development.
Besides, the MoU on Recruitment of Qualified Health Professionals between Bangladesh and the Maldives will be renewed.
During the visit, Bangladesh will gift 13 military vehicles to the Maldives as a token of friendship between the two south Asian nations, according to the Foreign Ministry.
The Prime Minister will have a bilateral meeting with the Maldivian President to discuss various issues.
After the meeting, the officials concerned of the two countries will sign the instruments in the presence of the Bangladesh Prime Minister and the Maldivian President.
A joint statement will be issued between the two countries while the two leaders will jointly appear in front of the media.
The Prime Minister will address the People’s Majlis, the Maldives National Parliament, on the afternoon of December 23.
Read: Rose from pandemic by helping the neediest first: Hasina
In the evening, Hasina is scheduled to attend a state banquet to be hosted by the Maldivian President and the First Lady in her honor.
From December 24 to 26, the Prime Minister will virtually join community receptions to be given by Bangladeshis expatriates in Male.
During the visit, Maldivian Vice President Faisal Naseem, Speaker of the People’s Majlis, Maldivian national parliament. Mohammed Nasheed, and Chief Justice Uz Ahmed Muthasim Adnan, are expected to meet Sheikh Hasina at the meeting room of Hotel Jen, Male.
The Prime Minister is scheduled to return to Dhaka on December 27.