US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas on Tuesday highly appreciated the Covid-19 handling and vaccination program of Bangladesh, saying this is a remarkable efficiency and really amazing.
He said the US wants to make a partnership with Bangladesh in the Global Covid Action Plan on working out the future situation of the pandemic.
"A US-Bangladesh ministerial-level special session, along with other stakeholders, would be held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly," said Haas.
"Bangladesh is clearly ahead of the United States in vaccination programs under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. This is really amazing and the efficiency is remarkable," he said.
The envoy made these remarks when he paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her official residence, Ganabhaban.
Briefing the press, Prime Minister’s Deputy Press Secretary Hasan Jahid Tusher said Haas appreciated the transformation of Bangladesh under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina saying: "It is really exciting".
In this connection, he also mentioned that Bangladesh graduated as a developing nation from LDCs under Hasina's leadership. It will continue to uplift further, he believed.
Regarding the success in tackling the Covid-19 pandemic, the premier said her party and associate organizations handled the pandemic situation efficiently from the beginning by working around the clock during which they raised awareness, served the patients and distributed medicines and oxygen.
She said when the vaccine became available, her government provided first, second and booster doses free of cost to the people. Now, the government is administering vaccines to the children, she added.
In this connection, she said that she formed a committee under the Prime Minister's Office to coordinate with the other ministries and stakeholders for handling the Covid-19 vaccination scheme, which worked really well.
Sheikh Hasina said that she herself communicated with all at that time.
She expressed her sincere gratitude to US President Joe Biden for contributing vaccines to Bangladesh. "Please convey my thanks to the president," she told the ambassador.
Mentioning that people are suffering due to Covid-19, the Russia-Ukraine war and western sanctions, Sheikh Hasina said that they are trying to work for the people with full affordability.
Regarding the graduation from LDC, she said her government, after winning the election in 2008, had taken different measures to uplift Bangladesh into a developing nation. "Despite the setback of Covid-19, the Russia-Ukraine war and sanctions, Bangladesh will continue to uplift."
To this end, the premier also highlighted the measures taken by her government for the marginalized people in the society in changing their fates.
Sheikh Hasina said that her government is working in the footsteps of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to change the fate of marginalized people.
Ambassador-at-Large Mohammad Ziauddin and Prime Minister's Principal Secretary Ahmad Kaikaus, among others, were present.
