Vietnam-Bangladesh: To look forward for further strengthening bilateral ties in coming 50 years
A celebration to commemorate the 53th anniversary of Bangladesh’s Independence - National Day and 50 years of Bangladesh-Vietnam diplomatic ties was held by the Embassy of Bangladesh in Hanoi on June 9, 2023.
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| Participants at the celebration of the 53th anniversary of Bangladesh’s Independence - National Day and 50 years of Bangladesh-Vietnam diplomatic relations. (Photo: Hong Nguyen) |
At her opening speech, Bangladeshi Ambassador to Vietnam Samina Naz recalled with gratitude the contribution and support of the people and the government of friendly countries from all over the world for standing beside Bangladeshi people during the War of Liberation.
According to Ambassador Samina Naz, during last 14 years, Bangladesh with its pro-investment policies, huge domestic market, strategically important geopolitical location, political stability and its hard working skilled people has become one of the fastest growing economies in the world. The economic outlook of Bangladesh has improved significantly and the country has become a middle-income nation, much to the delight of the citizens.
The Ambassador expressed sincere gratitude to Vietnam for the strong diplomatic relation between the two countries, especially when the year 2023 marks the 50 years of diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and Vietnam.
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| Bangladeshi Ambassador to Vietnam Samina Naz delivers opening remarks at the ceremony. (Photo: Hong Nguyen) |
She recalled the time when the two countries established diplomatic relation on February 11, 1973.
“Let us pay tribute to Bangladesh's Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Vietnam's great Leader President Ho Chi Minh - both envisaged the dream of free people and dedicated their whole lives to realize the dream”, she said.
In the last five decades, Bangladesh and Vietnam have been maintaining a warm friendly bilateral relation which can be further strengthened and deepened to take it to a next level, the Ambassador noted.
For this both have immense potential to work together in sectors like socio-economic development, trade and investment, human resources development, agriculture, fresh water fisheries, pharmaceuticals, ICT, people to people connectivity, direct air link, tourism, including Buddhist tourism, culture and sports, disaster risk management, blue economy, climate change, migration, empowerment of women, UN Peacekeeping Operations, reciprocal support and multilateral cooperation and many more bilaterally as well as regionally and internationally for mutual benefit.
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| Bangladeshi Ambassador to Vietnam Samina Naz and Deputy Foreign Minister raised toast for Bangladesh’s Independence - National Day and 50 years of Bangladesh-Vietnam diplomatic relations. (Photo: Hong Nguyen) |
Bangladesh Embassy in Hanoi has been working relentlessly to promote Bangladesh-Vietnam friendship and for the promotion of trade and investment between the two countries, the Ambassador said. The bilateral trade between the two countries reached to 1.35 billion USD in 2021 for the first time and 1.466 billion USD in 2022.
She shared that, not only in economic diplomacy, but also though out COVID-19 pandemic, Bangladesh and Vietnam stood beside each other.
Another exemplary reflection of deep bondage of friendship was to bring out the Vietnamese translation of the "Call for Independence" by the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu - Historic 07 March Speech which was registered by UNESCO as "World Documentary Heritage". The book has been handed over to the Vietnamese President by Bangladeshi Prime Minister during their meeting in New York in 2021 at the sideline of the United Nations General Assembly.
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| Deputy Foreign Minister Do Hung Viet speaks at the ceremony. (Photo: Hong Nguyen) |
“We look forward to further strengthening the ties of friendship and cooperation between our two countries in the coming 50 years and beyond”, Bangladeshi Ambassador stated.
In his welcoming remarks, Deputy Foreign Minister Do Hung Viet said half a century of independence has brought immense changes for the people of Bangladesh.
Bangladesh today is a thriving economy, expected to graduate from its least developed country status in 2026. As the world’s second largest exporter of ready made garments, Bangladesh is the global leader in greening the garment sector, home to the world’s best green factory, he noted.
The Deputy FM added that Bangladesh has made a place for itself in the world and in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. The recent successful hosting of the Indian Ocean Conference and launch of Bangladesh’s own Indo-Pacific Strategy are prime examples.
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| Participants at the ceremony. (Photo: Hong Nguyen) |
But more broadly, Bangladesh is a respected member of the United Nations, currently occupying a seat in the Human Rights Council for the term 2023-2025, and as the top troop contributing country to the UN peacekeeping operations.
According to Deputy FM Do Hung Viet, these accomplishments did not happen by chance. “They are the fruits of the tremendous hard work - the 'sweat and tears' - of the Bangladeshi people. They are the fruits of the wisdom and vision of generations of Bangladeshi leaders, inspired by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Raman and his teaching 'friendship to all, malice towards none'”, he said.
In fact, this is also the guided principle of Vietnamese diplomacy, the official stated. He recalled the interview in 1947 - 2 years after Vietnam gained independence - during which President Ho Chi Minh, Father of the Nation of Viet Nam, described very briefly Viet Nam’s foreign policy, that is “to befriend all democratic nations, and make enemy with none”.
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| Participants at the ceremony. (Photo: Hong Nguyen) |
"This, together with our shared desire for independence and freedom, for peace and prosperity, have laid a solid foundation for 50 years of relations between Viet Nam and Bangladesh”, the Deputy Foreign Minister said.
“With political trust, we have been able to bolster our relations in all areas. We have doubled our trade turnover in just less than 10 years, turning it to more than 1.6 million USD by 2022”.
He shared his pleasure of visiting Dhaka - a bustling mega metropolis with new roads being built, new metro rail lines under construction and the Terminal 3 of the Dhaka International Airport that will be inaugurated soon. Across the country, Bangladesh aims to establish 100 economic zones that are expected to support the country’s green development and poverty reduction.
The Deputy Foreign Minister express his belief that under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh will move full steam ahead and realize its Vision 2041 and the process will give fresh opportunities for strengthening cooperation between Viet Nam and Bangladesh.
“My expectation is that trade will grow with a faster pace and soon surpass the 2 billion USD goal that we have set. I expect also that more Vietnamese investors will start operations in Bangladesh, especially in information-technology, telecommunication, software, food processing… And I hope to welcome more Bangladeshi tourists and business people to Vietnam”, the Deputy Foreign Minister said.
