GENEVA/DHAKA, June 15, 2023 (BSS) - Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said Bangladesh is now enjoying an economically dignified position across the globe only for persistence of democracy and stability since 2009. 

The Premier made this remarks while speaking at the programme titled "A talk at the event on New Economy and Society in Smart Bangladesh" organised by the World Economic Forum (WEF) at its office in Geneva, Switzerland.

While briefing reporters, Prime Minister's Speech Writer Md Nazrul Islam said that Sheikh Hasina said the country has attained unprecedented success in various socio-economic indicators in the regime of Awami League government since 2009 to present.

To this end, she said that the country, during the tenure (2009-2023), emerged as developing nation graduating from LDC.

She also mentioned that the per capita income has increased to US$ 2,824 which was US$ 543 only in 2006, while the poverty rate has declined to around 18.7 percent from about 41.5 percent and the extreme poverty rate has come down to 5.6 percent from 25.5 percent.

After the killing of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman along with most of his family members in 1975, Sheikh Hasina said, the killers those who illegally came to state power did not do anything for the development of the country's people.

She pointed out that the development of the country is not possible without democracy, and said she returned to the country in 1981 and worked to restore the country's democracy through a long struggle.

Referring to the distribution of houses to 50 lakh homeless and landless people, the Prime Minister said that not a single person will remain homeless and landless in the country.

She said the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war and sanctions and counter-sanctions have put pressure on the economy of Bangladesh, like the rest of the world, due to the increase in global food items and fuel prices.

Sheikh Hasina, however, said that her government has been trying to overcome this pressure.

Emphasizing the necessity to have a vision to build the future of a nation, she said that before the 2008 elections, the Awami League announced the vision of 2021 and that vision of 2021 has already been implemented.

She said that the government has announced the Vision-2041 to make Bangladesh a developed-prosperous and smart nation.

The Premier said that her government has been working to implement that goal.