Juan David Latorre
On the occasion of the celebration of the 54th anniversary of Independence and the National Day of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Ambassador Mohammed Sarwar Mahmood held a reception last Monday to the Diplomatic Corps and the Bangladeshi community in Madrid.
Ambassador Mohammed Sarwar Mahmood began his speech by emphasizing that “the ultimate goal of our independence was to end the oppression of the then ruling class and eliminate all forms of economic, social and political exploitation and discrimination. As a result of the mass uprising that took place in July-August 2024, we now have a golden opportunity to make our independence meaningful. The current interim government, led by the acclaimed Nobel laureate and distinguished senior adviser, Professor Muhammad Yunus, is determined to seize this opportunity. Let us all embrace the spirit of independence and build a truly independent, exploitative and prosperous Bangladesh”.
“Bangladesh is the second largest economy in South Asia and the seventh largest democracy in the world, continued the Bangladeshi ambassador. Its location is of immense geostrategic importance. Bengali is the official language of Bangladesh, and also the sixth most spoken in the world. My country has made many spectacular advances in the development of its independence in 1971; its per capita income has tripled over the last decade, now being the world’s 30th economy in GDP (PPP), and is expected to become the 24th by 2030. Bangladesh is witnessing a revolution in infrastructure and connectivity. This amazing transformation is progressing rapidly thanks to the planned efforts, grassroots initiatives and entrepreneurial spirit of a resilient people”.
After noting that Bangladesh, affectionately hailed as “the textile superpower” and “the world’s fashion designer,” is the world’s second largest exporter of apparel, the ambassador said “the country has wonderful competitive advantages in other promising sectors, such as tea, jute, leather, pharmaceuticals, agro-industry, frozen fish, blue economy, ceramics, ICT, light engineering and hospitality”.
Ambassador Mohammed Sarwar Mahmood then referred to the current situation regarding the presence of 1.2 million Myanmar nationals, commonly known as “Rohingyas”, in Bangladesh for 7 years. “We hope, he said, that the friends and partners of my country will be more firm in their stance on returning them to their homeland with honour and dignity, because this genocide has been described as an ‘example textbook of ethnic cleansing’ and a man-made humanitarian catastrophe of unimaginable magnitude”.
The Bengali ambassador also wanted to draw the attention of those attending the reception to the current situation in Gaza. “Bangladesh condemns, in the strongest terms, the brutal genocide of Israel, the indiscriminate slaughter and deliberate ethnic cleansing of the innocent Palestinian people. Bangladesh reaffirms its unwavering support for the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people to establish an independent and sovereign Palestinian State along the pre-1967 border, with Jerusalem as its capital. In this regard, he stressed, we deeply appreciate the recognition by Spain of the Palestinian State”.
On relations with Spain, he noted that “they enjoy an excellent friendship, which has flourished over the years thanks to a sustained commitment in areas beyond trade. The people of Bangladesh will always appreciate the fact that Spain was one of the first nations to recognize Bangladesh diplomatically shortly after its independence in 1971. Bilateral relations are constantly expanding in a number of areas. Spain is the second destination of exports from Bangladesh to the European Union, while my country is the fourth trading partner of Spain in Asia, after China, Japan and India. In 2023-24, exports from Bangladesh to Spain were valued at $3,950 million. Spain probably hosts the third largest community of Bengali expatriates in the European Union (60,000). Entrepreneurs, workers and law-abiding people continue to make a very positive contribution to the Spanish economy and bring an additional element of diversity to the communities in which they live”.
The following speaker was Luis Fonseca Sánchez, Director-General for North America, Eastern Europe and Asia-Pacific of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of Spain, who welcomed the excellent and prosperous trade relations with Spain, highlighting the cultural cooperation between the two countries.
