Youths potential for Bangladesh: Blake
Dhaka University Vice Chancellor Dr AAMS Arefin Siddique, centre, and visiting US Assistant Secretary of State Robert O Blake, right, exchange a souvenir at a commemorative discussion on Senator Edward M Kennedy at DU Senate Hall yesterday. US Ambassador to Bangladesh Dan W Mozena is also seen. Photo: Courtesy
Young Bangladeshis possess enormous creative potentials to create a thriving future for this country, visiting US Assistant Secretary of State Robert O Blake said yesterday. Referring to the power of individuals in this country, he said Nobel laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus lifted millions out of poverty with micro-finance and strengthened women's economic rights. He said the US was proud to support youth movements like the Volunteer for Bangladesh, Jaago, Bangladesh Youth Leadership Centre and Community Action. Bangladesh remains in the focus of his government's initiatives in food security, climate change, global health, and engagement with the Muslim world, the senior US official said while attending a commemoration of Senator Edward M Kennedy's visit to Bangladesh in 1972. The US Embassy along with Dhaka University and the Bangladesh Association for American Studies (BAAS) organised the commemoration at the university's Senate Hall to reflect on Kennedy's humanitarian ideals and support for Bangladesh's liberation. Dan W Mozena, US ambassador to Bangladesh, who also attended the event, announced that the US Embassy jointly with Liberation War Museum would set up a new American Centre for public service and arts in the city to promote young leadership and cultural development. Bangladesh's becoming a middle income country is not an empty dream, he said, adding that this country looms large in the world market of readymade garments, household textiles, pharmaceutical products, information technology, shipbuilding and leather goods. Senator Kennedy during his visit to Bangladesh planted a tree on the DU campus on this day four decades ago as a symbolic expression of US-Bangladesh friendship. Dr AAMS Arefin Siddique, vice-chancellor of DU, said Kennedy took an unrelenting position for the cause of Bangladesh's liberation war and protested the use of US military aid, as mass killings were going on in Bangladesh. Mahfuz Anam, editor and publisher of The Daily Star, said Senator Kennedy was a crusader for democracy and friend of Bangladesh. His visit to the Bangladeshi refugee camps during the Liberation War enkindled a renewed sense of hope among the freedom fighters, he added. Dr Rounaq Jahan, distinguished fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), said public service is the key word while discussing Kennedy. Abdul Momin Chowdhury, a noted history professor at DU; Akku Chowdhury, founding trustee of Liberation War Museum; and Dr AKM Nurun Nabi, president of BAAS; also spoke at the programme moderated by Lauren Lovelace, director of the American Centre.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments