Bangladesh High Commission in Islamabad organised an interactive ‘Presentation on Bangladesh: the Developmental Experience’ at prestigious Faletti’s Hotel in Lahore on 28 October 2016, says a press release
Being the capital of dominant Punjab Province, Lahore is the hub of industry, NGOs, education and culture. Target audience of the presentation was civil society of Lahore. The objective of the event was to portray positive image of Bangladesh in Pakistan.
The venue was tastefully decorated, particularly with a banner that depicted socio-economic development of Bangladesh. Some publicity booklets were kept for take-away. Videos on Bangladesh were being screened until the official part of the event began.
Bangladesh High Commissioner to Pakistan Tarik Ahsan made a 30-minute presentation on ‘Presentation on Bangladesh: the Developmental Experience’ with simultaneous display of PowerPoint slides on the screen.
He highlighted achievements of Bangladesh in social development and economic development, and their mutually supportive relation. It was revealed in the presentation that Bangladesh assumed a leading position in South Asia in areas of poverty alleviation, women empowerment, disaster management, primary healthcare, sanitation, primary education as well as economic growth rate, export earning, remittance earning, reserve position, expansion of energy base, mobile & ICT use, etc. The key message of the presentation was that, through pursuing a people-centric development model, and through following a policy of peace and cooperation with other countries of the world, Bangladesh has been and will be progressing towards her Vision 2021 and Vision 2041.
The presentation followed a session on question and answer. Questioners were generally appreciative of Bangladesh’s achievements in socio-economic development. Some of the questions were about trade, energy, visa, people-to-people contact, future of SAARC, while others were of political nature including about the issue of trail of war criminals. The High Commissioner replied to them appropriately.
The event was highly appreciated by the local guests as well as Bangladesh expatriates. The event appeared to be quite effective in making a positive impact on the minds of the enlightened cross section of the host society and thus promoting the overall interest of Bangladesh in this country.
The Presentation was followed by a dinner.
The event was attended by 49 guests plus staff. The guests included educationists, representatives of think-tanks, members of cultural community, journalists, businesspersons, former diplomats, politicians and Bangladesh expatriates. Among the prominent guests, names of former Foreign Secretary Amb. Shamshad Ahmad, former Pak High Commissioner to Bangladesh Amb. Iqbal Ahmad Khan, former Pak Ambassador to Bulgaria Amb. Jamshaid Iftikhar, Member of Punjab Assembly Ms. Iram Hassan Bajwa, Vice-Chancellor of Punjab University Prof. Dr. Mujahid Kamran, Vice Chancellor of University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences Prof. Dr. Taqlat Naseer Pasha, former Law Minister of Punjab Adv. Rana Ijaz Ahmed Khan and Chairman of Soneri Bank Mr. Alauddin Feerasta are worth-mentioning.
The Honorary Consul General of Bangladesh in Lahore Qazi Humayun Fareed and Counsellor of Bangladesh High Commission in Islamabad Md. Najmul Huda were also present.
