Dhaka: The Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Pranay Kumar Verma on Monday called on Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and conveyed the greetings on behalf of his country on her re-election and the victory of her Awami League party for the fourth straight term. According to a PMO spokesman, ambassadors of Russia, China, Bhutan, Philippines, Singapore and Sri Lanka, alongside the Indian envoy, called on the premier at her Ganobhaban residence and pledged continued support of their countries to Bangladesh.
The envoys extended greetings on behalf of their respective countries and said their support for the new government would continue, the premier's deputy press secretary Moahammad Noorelahi Mina said. Incumbent prime minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League won 223 seats in the 300-member Parliament in the general elections that were held on Sunday.
Hasina thanked the diplomats and sought cooperation in her new government's journey towards the development and prosperity of Bangladesh. Hasina on Monday said India is a 'great friend' of Bangladesh and the two neighbours have resolved many problems bilaterally, a day after she won an overwhelming majority in the general elections and secured a record fourth straight term.
"India is a great friend of Bangladesh. They have supported us in 1971 and also in 1975. They gave shelter to me and my sister and my other family members," she said, referring to her period in exile when she stayed in India for six years after the killing of her family members.
In August 1975, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, his wife and their three sons were assassinated in their home by military officers. His daughters Hasina and Rehana survived the purge as they were abroad. A delegation of Aga Khan Diplomatic Representatives also met Hasina, Mina said.
Mina said more foreign envoys were scheduled to meet Hasina later on Monday as the Awami League won a landslide victory in Sunday's election, boycotted by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, the main opposition and its allies. Hasina, 76, also the president of Awami League, won the Gopalganj-3 constituency in a landslide victory, her eighth term as a Member of Parliament.
Hasina, who has been ruling the strategically located South Asian nation since 2009, secured a record fourth consecutive term and fifth overall term in the one-sided election, which witnessed the second-lowest turnout since the restoration of democracy in 1991. With this win, Hasina is poised to become the longest-serving prime minister in Bangladesh since independence.
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