Online Desk: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today reiterated that the country will never look back again and instead move forward to become a developed, prosperous, and smart Bangladesh. “Bangladesh is advancing and will advance more … it will become ‘Smart Bangladesh’. We will have the ‘Sonar Bangla’,” she said while addressing the 43rd national assembly of Bangladesh Ansar and VDP as the chief guest at the Ansar and VDP Academy in Gazipur’s Shafipur.

She said the country was liberated with the supreme sacrifice of blood during the Liberation War. “Today Bangladesh got the recognition of a developing country, and we want to advance further. We want to build Bangladesh as a developed and prosperous country, alongside ensuring socioeconomic progress,” she said.Hasina said the coronavirus pandemic created immense pressure on the economy at the international level, while Russia-Ukraine war caused global recession, not just in Bangladesh.

“I urge everyone to follow the footsteps of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman … do not keep a single inch of arable land unutilised,” she said. “For that Ansar and VDP can play a special role. They can help people in the villages and engage them in various cultivation activities to produce crops and preserve those. I hope that you will contribute,” the PM added.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, Public Security Division Senior Secretary Md Aminul Islam Khan, and Director General of Bangladesh Ansar and VDP Major General AKM Aminul Haque welcomed the prime minister when she arrived at the venue. The PM handed over medals to 180 Ansar and VDP members for their outstanding contribution to their respective fields. She also inspected the parade and witnessed a smartly-turned out contingent of Bangladesh Ansar and VDP. Later, she witnessed choreography and a cultural programme.