Newly appointed European Union Ambassador to Bangladesh Pierre Mayaudon on Wednesday termed the ongoing violence and burning people through hurling petrol bombs as tragic and barbaric acts, and said such acts would not bring any good for anybody. The new EU envoy came up with the remarks when he met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her office. Briefing reporters after the meeting, PM’s deputy press secretary Nazrul Islam said the EU Ambassador following an EU delegation visit to the Burn Unit of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital was very much saddened to see the pain and sufferings of the burn victims. “We’re very saddened. How could human being act like this? It’s barbaric and tragic act,” added Pierre Mayaudon. The EU envoy said such subversive acts would not bring any good for anybody. In this connection, the Prime Minister mentioned that the January-5 polls were held as per the constitution and before that all-out efforts were there to hold an election with the participation of all parties, to form an all-party government even the BNP was offered the Home Ministry. But, she said BNP did not participate in the election as Jamaat-e-Islami was not registered with the Election Commission. Over the last one year, Hasina said, the country was moving ahead in all fields and all economic indicators, including attaining GDP growth and poverty rate reduction. But, she said, such sudden violence in the name of agitation like burning innocent people to death hurling petrol bombs is not at all political activities rather terrorist acts like the IS. She said even pregnant women and also children are not spared from such violent acts. Terming the EU as a trusted economic partner of Bangladesh, the EU ambassador said initiative has been taken to form a new forum namely ‘EU Business Council Bangladesh’ to strengthen business partnership among Bangladesh and the EU member countries. Pierre Mayaudon appreciated the Bangladesh government’s concept of ‘Blue Economy’ and said if Bangladesh considers, the EU has such expertise and experiences to share with Bangladesh in tapping the huge potentials of the marine resources. Lauding Bangladesh’s progress in materialising ‘Digital Bangladesh’, he said that the EU could also share their experiences with Bangladesh in this regard alongside sharing expertise support on satellite. In this connection, the Prime Minister said her government has already established some 5,272 Digital Centers at union level which has paved the path for creating more employment opportunities alongside curbing corruption, ensuring transparency and reaching the services to the doorsteps of common people. Regarding the bright prospect of the country’s RMG sector, the EU ambassador said boosting the country’s RMG exports to $ 50 billion by 2021 is quite achievable and added that the EU is ready to provide necessary support in this regard. Mayaudon told the Prime Minister that they are interested to provide support in developing the countrywide waterways since it is cheap and environment-friendly mode of transport and generate more employment opportunities. The Prime Minister said the support is needed to maintain the navigability of country’s rivers since siltation fill up the riverbeds. PM’s Principal Secretary Abdus Sobhan Sikder was present. – UNB, Dhaka.
