Sunak writes to Hasina, hopes for political amity

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has hoped that Bangladesh can move forward with reconciliation in political life together with progress on rights and freedoms.

“These values are the cornerstone of the Commonwealth family and create vibrant democratic societies which attract the inward investment needed for economic growth,” he said in a letter to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The letter, issued on Tuesday, comes a month after the January 7 national polls that were boycotted by the major opposition BNP and its like-minded parties.

In a statement on January 8, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said the Bangladeshi people did not have the fullest range of voting options as all political parties did not take part in the elections.

It also said that the standards of credible, open and fair competition were not consistently met during the election period. It expressed concerns at the significant number of arrests of opposition party members before the polling day.

In the letter, Sunak said, “As you embark on a historic fifth term and reflecting Bangladesh’s impressive development gains under your leadership in recent years, I am writing to underline my commitment to strengthen the growing economic and security partnership between our countries and to support Bangladesh’s graduation from LDC status.

“Our partnership is based on a deep shared history and friendship, underpinned by strong people-to-people ties,” the UK PM said.

Sunak said he sees cooperation on migration as an important part of the bilateral agenda.

He recalled that Hasina endorsed a sustainable and streamlined way forward to return the irregular Bangladeshis living in the UK, and anticipated that the arrangement is finalised as part of the wider agenda of mutual cooperation.

The British premier said he looks forward to working with Hasina to continue to build on and develop further the two countries’ important and historic relationship.