Foreign Minister A. K. Abdul Momen said that Bangabandhu laid our foreign policy’s foundation.
He said that in the case of foreign policy, he believed in the motto of “friendship with all, not hatred of anyone.” During his lifetime, the Father of the Nation introduced a foreign policy based on values and ideals, which brought international recognition and appreciation to Bangladesh as a war-torn independent country. In a short time after gaining independence, we were able to achieve the distinction of most countries in the world. The United Nations and international organizations also praised Bangabandhu’s foreign policy.
He said this while addressing a seminar on the occasion of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s Homecoming Day at the Foreign Service Academy here yesterday afternoon.
The Foreign Minister said Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the great hero of history Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman returned to his beloved motherland Bangladesh on January 10, 1972, in the new sunshine of independent Bengal. He said the victory of the nation was completed by returning to independent Bangladesh free from Pakistani prisons.
Dr. Momen said Bangabandhu’s return home was as significant as the independence of Bangladesh. If he had not returned to the country on January 10, 1972, the Pakistani military junta would have killed him. The nation would not have gotten Bangladesh today. Some of Bangabandhu’s critics still say that Bangabandhu could have concealed himself on March 25, 1971, without giving the Pakistani rulers a chance to be arrested. He could have led the liberation war in secret. Those who say such things do not know about the political situation of that time and the political foresight of Bangabandhu. He said, we all know, Bangabandhu did politics like a lion; Like a hero. He did not like to hide. He wrote in his unfinished autobiography, “I do not believe in the politics of escape. Because I wouldn’t say I like secret politics, nor do I think. ‘The British-style parliamentary democracy was Bangabandhu’s choice. The decision to be arrested without hiding was one of the correct decisions of Bangabandhu’s life.
Dr. Momen said Bangabandhu stood as high as the Himalayas on the stage of world leadership. Bangabandhu became synonymous with the name Bangladesh. Unfortunately, we deviated from that path by losing the Father of the Nation on August 15, 1975. We could have got ‘Sonar Bangla’ much earlier if we could have saved Bangabandhu.
The foreign minister said Bangabandhu is not there today. But I believe that the government established under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is determined to bring economic liberation and bring smiles on the faces of the suffering people of Bengal.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md. Shahriar Alam addressed the function as a special guest. Tofail Ahmed MP, Member of the Advisory Council of Bangladesh Awami League, and Syed Moazzem Ali, FCA, joined the virtual audience as honorary speakers and commemorated Bangabandhu’s historic return home. Foreign Ministry Secretary (Maritime Affairs) Rear Admiral (Retd.) Khurshid Alam delivered the welcome address.
