Alberto Rubio
The Embassy of Bangladesh in Spain celebrated last Friday the ‘Great Victory Day’, which commemorates the 51st anniversary of the end of the armed confrontation with Pakistan and which led to the independence of Bangladesh, on December 16, 1971.
Ambassador Mohammad Sarwar Mahmood welcomed the celebration of the anniversary and recalled that Spain was one of the first countries to recognize the new state in 1972, so this year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations between the two countries.
The Ambassador of India, Dinesh K. Patnaik, also took part in the ceremony, recalling the reasons that led his country to get involved in the liberation war and congratulating his hosts, although he recalled that “the forces that tried to subjugate Bangladesh are still active” and therefore asked to remain alert to continue strengthening freedom and democracy in the country.
During the celebration, messages were read out by Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alamy and Foreign Minister Abdul Momen, in which they stressed the importance of that victory and the progress achieved by the country since then.
The Prime Minister, daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, whose honorary title is Bangabandhu (Friend of Bengal), noted that after years of economic development, “Bangladesh has received the approval of the United Nations to move from being a least developed country to a dignified developing nation“. For his part, President Hamid added his desire to “turn our country into ‘Sonar Bangla’ (Golden Bengal), as dreamt by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.”
Several videos were also shown, recalling the figure of the Father of the Nation, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the difficult times of the war and the economic and social development of Bangladesh since then.
The event was also attended by many Bengalis living in Spain who later participated in the agape offered by the Embassy.
