German ambassador to Dhaka Peter Fahrenholtz Monday said that his country would remain committed to its future partnership with Bangladesh along with further deepening the bilateral relations, reports BSS.
“I can assure you that we’ll remain committed to our future partnership (with Bangladesh),” he said. The ambassador said this while addressing the inaugural session of the Bangladesh-German Consultations 2020 held at the NEC-2 Conference Room in the city’s Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area.
Head of South Asia Division of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) of Germany Dr Ute Heinbuch spoke at the inaugural session of the consultations. Besides, Head of Bangladesh Delegation and Wing Chief (Europe) of the ERD Dr Gauranga Chandra Mohanta gave the welcome address on the occasion.
Turning to the Rohingya issue, Peter recalled the recent visit of Federal German Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Dr Gerd Muller on Feb 25-26, saying Muller made it clear that Germany would stand beside the government and the people of Bangladesh for facing the Rohingya crisis.
Peter said Germany supports Bangladesh in its call for solutions which has to be found in the Myanmar side where the government of Myanmar has to create the condition for safe, voluntary and dignified return of the Rohingyas to their home country. “This is an important step forward by the international community in dealing with the Rohingya crisis,” he said.
Referring to the birth centenary celebration of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Peter said, “We’re all proud to be your partner and we’re looking forward to commonly working for achieving ever higher levels of development.” He said since Bangladesh is now in the process of graduating from the LDC status, the economic growth of the country has to continue in the context of SDGs.
Mentioning that the RMG sector had been the backbone and the engine of growth for Bangladesh, the German ambassador said from the ongoing dialogue on GSP trade regime between Bangladesh the European Union, there is a good chance for the country to achieve the GSP plus facility.
He said the diversification of Bangladesh economy is of crucial importance while efforts are on to realise this. Lauding highly the socio-economic Development of Bangladesh over the last decade, Peter said poverty has come down to 20 percent while the extreme poverty is in the single digit range. “This is really a remarkable achievement. Education, health services and energy are being provided to almost everyone,” he said.
The ambassador said Bangladesh has now become the 38th largest economy of the world having the highest growth rate in Asia and soon it will move further. ERD Additional Secretary and Wing Chief (Europe) Dr Gauranga said Germany provides technical and financial assistance to Bangladesh and currently some 17 projects are going on with German assistance.
He said in the consultations, Germany would put emphasis on a wide range of areas including energy, renewable energy and poverty reduction. The Bangladesh-German Consultations are discussing issues like renewable energy and energy efficiency, justice reform and human rights, adaptation to climate change in urban areas, biodiversity, social and environmental standards in the textile sector, Rohingya crisis in Cox’s Bazar district ‘Supporting Host and Rohingya Communities’.
After the day-long consultations, both sides are expected to sign a joint statement. Concerned Bangladesh government officials from the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, Home Affairs, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Anti-Corruption Commission, Ministry of Commerce, BEZA, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of LGRD, Bangladesh Bank, Ministry of Social Welfare, Planning Commission, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Ministry of Industries, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief are attending the consultations.
