Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh will welcome observers from the European Union and the United Kingdom in the upcoming general election, reports state-run news agency BSS.
“We will welcome observers from the EU and the UK in the next general election,” she said when the outgoing UK High Commissioner in Dhaka Robert Chatterton Dickson paid a farewell call on her at her official residence Ganabhaban on Thursday.
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PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed the media about the meeting afterwards.
Mentioning that some local election observers have their own agendas, the prime minister said the ruling party has established the voting rights of the people in Bangladesh, according to the press secretary.
The extreme poverty rate has declined to 5.6 percent from 18.7 percent due to continuous democratic rule in Bangladesh, Karim said, citing Hasina.
During the meeting, the UK convoy and Hasina held talks about the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and the UK, the BSS report said.
The UK envoy said his country wants to further strengthen the economic partnership and cooperation in the aviation sector with Bangladesh, highlighting climate change issues.
However, Hasina sought global cooperation to repatriate Rohingya refugees in a sustainable way.
She said the number of Rohingyas has increased significantly as 40,000 newborn babies are being added to the total count each year, which has become a huge burden for Bangladesh.
“Rohingya refugees are Myanmar nationals and they must return to their homeland,” she said.
Dickson said his country supported Bangladesh on the Rohingya issue.
Hasina also stressed the need for stopping the Russia-Ukraine war immediately as the entire world is suffering. “We’re always against any war,” she said.
The prime minister said Russia and Ukraine can solve their problems through bilateral talks.