UK wants free, fair elections in Bangladesh: Sarah Cooke tells PM Hasina

August 14, 2023 11:52 am

Dhaka: Newly appointed British High Commissioner Sarah Cooke on Monday said the United Kingdom wants a free, fair and peaceful election to be held in Bangladesh, scheduled to be held by January next year.

While paying a courtesy call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her official residence Ganabhaban, the UK high commissioner also said her country is keen to enhance the bilateral trade and investment relationship with Bangladesh.

PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim told reporters that during the meeting bilateral relations, security, climate change, Rohingya and regional issues came up for discussion.

They both expressed satisfaction over the ongoing bilateral relations and cooperation, Ihsanul said.

Sarah Cooke said the UK will continue to cooperate with Bangladesh in its development efforts.

Britain will particularly continue to support the education of girls in Bangladesh, the envoy was quoted as telling the premier.

The new high commissioner put emphasis on imparting the skills development training to the displaced Rohingya people so that they could be re-employed after their repatriation.

In this context, the prime minister said they had to struggle for long 21 years ( from 1975 to 1996) for restoration of democracy in the country.

Following the victory of BNP-Jamaat alliance in the 2001 general election, they celebrated the win unleashing a reign of terrors, killing hundreds of people, raping women and looting villages across the country, said PM Hasina.

“It is we who established freedom of expression and opened the media to the private sector,” she was quoted as saying.