PM stresses strengthening cooperatives movement for rural development

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday said the topmost priority of her government is to ensure overall welfare of the country’s people as it has been working relentlessly to this end.

She said this when the outgoing Director General of Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP) Dr Durga P. Paudyal made a farewell call at her office.

Briefing newsmen after the meeting, PM’s press secretary Abul Kalam Azad said the Prime Minister highlighted various achievements of her government including attaining food autarky, alleviating poverty, ensuring health and education, and creating employment opportunities.

Stressing the strengthening of cooperatives movement, she said father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had initiated the movement for rural development, but after his brutal assassination in 1975 successive military governments halted the movement.

As a result, desired rural development could not be achieved, she added.

Hasina said her present government as in its previous term has taken various steps to strengthen the cooperatives movement to ensure overall welfare of the rural people.

CIRDAP director general Dr Durga P. Paudyal highly praised the rural development activities and cooperatives movement in Bangladesh under the able leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

He said Bangladesh achieved unprecedented success in rural development as well in the ICT sector among the South Asian nations in the last three and a half years due to the visionary and dynamic leadership of Sheikh Hasina.

Dr Paudyal mentioned that Bangladesh has become a role model in the world as it set unique examples in agriculture, food security, education, health, social safety net, and women empowerment.

Ambassador at large M Ziauddin, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Sheikh Md Wahid Uz Zaman, PMO secretary Molla Waheeduzzaman and PM’s press secretary Abul Kalam Azad were present.