Editorial
Thai Princess' visit
Our condolences at the death of Thai diplomat
Princess Maha Chakri Srindhorn, the second daughter of the King of Thailand, spent two days in our countryside amongst a typical rural ambience. What took her there was a child and maternal health project run by a local voluntary organisation under the aegis of the ministry of health. The project is a good example of public-private partnership.
The Thai princess was visiting Bangladesh as part of a US research team of the Bloomberg School of Public Health of John Hopkins University. However, we understand that it was also her personal interest in the rural life and culture of Bangladesh, particularly in women of remote areas, and she is involved personally with the issue in Thailand, that brought her to our country. She happens to be a special envoy of UNESCO as well.
It should be a matter of satisfaction for us that a local project dealing with child and women health project would engender the interest of an institution like the John Hopkins enough to be sponsoring it since 1999. We are sure that the purpose of the visit has been achieved and the visit will help spread the news about successful work being done in the field of child health by local organisations in this country.
Going by the reception and sendoff she was accorded by the locals of Gaibanda it is evident that Princess Maha was able to endear herself to the local people. And we are certain that she too has found the visit rewarding and have got an insight into our rural life, as also of how women at the grassroots level in Bangladesh are engaged in changing their own lot.
It needs emphasising that the two countries have similar social structure and shared social values, and very similar rural lifestyle. And we are sure that the princess' visit will help further cement the already strong ties of friendship between the two countries and forge a new era partnership in the field of economic advancement, particularly in the field of women and rural development. And here one would like to reiterate and reinforce the PM's remark during Princess' Maha's call on her that there is no alternative to joint effort for eradication of poverty.
Regrettably, the visit had a very sad note to it: the minister councilor of the Thai Embassy in Bangladesh, who was a part of the Princess' entourage, was killed in a car accident on her way back to Dhaka. We express our deepest condolences at the death of Ms. Pannee Lickanajule.
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