27 March 2018•Update: 28 March 2018
By Sorwar Alam
ANKARA
Bangladesh’s mission in Ankara on Tuesday celebrated the country’s 48th Independence Day with the participation of Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Hakan Cavusoglu and other high-level government and military officials as well as Ankara-based diplomats from many countries.
The day commemorates March 26, 1971, the start of Bangladesh's nine-month-long freedom movement.
Speaking at the event, Bangladeshi Ambassador to Turkey M. Allama Siddiki said that Bangladesh is doing very well in social and economic development despite facing many challenges.
He said Bangladesh has the world’s 32nd-largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity, adding that the south Asian nation is “expecting to grow at a rate of 8 percent per year.”
Bangladesh wants to see the peaceful and colorful existence of humanity across the world, according to Siddiki, calling his country “a peace-loving nation.”
On Bangladeshi-Turkish relations, Siddiki said the two brotherly countries have “historic and deeply rooted” relations grounded in a common culture.
“Relations at the moment are very good. We are back on track with lot of activities,” he added.
“I am sure in the coming days – under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and [Turkish] President [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan – the two countries will grow even closer.”
At the event the embassy also unveiled a book on Bangladesh's founding father titled: “The Unfinished Memoirs of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman."
The book is a compilation of Mujib’s diaries written during the 12 years total he served in jail over the course of his life, according to Siddiki.
