Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has laid emphasis on the importance of clear and unambiguous interpretation of languages and expressions in the time of the coronavirus pandemic.
In this context, the minister said that some populist leaders used the pandemic as a punching bag to ignite more nationalistic or sectarian firestorm of denial and division.
Whereas, Momen said, leaders like Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina or former German chancellor Angela Merkel spoke the language of compassion, solidarity, responsibility and inclusion.
He made the remarks in a video message at the two-day virtual event celebrating the International Mother Language Day organized by Bangladesh High Commission in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.
The event themed Language in the Time of the Covid-19 Pandemic was organized in collaboration with the Centre for Genocide Studies, Dhaka University and School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Taylor's University, Malaysia.
The two-day event ended on Friday.
The event brought together diverse cultures and languages through the active and spontaneous participation of multiple countries and institutions, which reflects the essence of the International Mother Language Day.
Yumna Maumoon, minister of Arts, Culture and Heritage of Maldives, highlighted the important role of language during pandemic.
She also remembered the Language Movement of Bangladesh in 1952.
Bangladesh High Commissioner to Malaysia, Md Golam Sarwar, said that the International Mother Language Day shows the spirit to preserve and protect the cultural and linguistic diversity.
Prof Dr Imtiaz Ahmed, director of the Centre for Genocide Studies (CGS) at the University of Dhaka, in his welcome remarks pointed out that the language of virus, language of the state, and language of the people must come together if people were to overcome the pandemic.
On the second day of the event, Mashfee Binte Shams, secretary (East) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh also spoke.
Apart from Bangladesh, Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur based diplomatic Missions of India, Nepal, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Russian Federation, Japan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan participated with their distinct cultural heritage through plays, musicals and dance performances at the event.