President, PM greet nation on New Year's Eve

President M Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today greeted the countrymen on the eve of the New Year 2022 in the English calendar.

In a message, on the eve of the New Year, the president wished happiness and welfare for all in 2022.

He said though the celebration of Bengali New Year has merged with the national culture, the English New Year influences all because of the widespread use of the English calendar in daily activities.

The New Year brings new hopes to the nation's social, political, economic, and cultural areas, the head of the state added.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in her message, wished that the New Year would bring happiness, peace, and prosperity for the countrymen.

The premier said the year 2020 and 2021 was an important milestone in the life of the Bengali nation, we extended the celebration of the birth centenary of Father of the Nation till 2021 and took programmes to celebrate it together with the golden jubilee of independence.

In the meantime, we organised a 10-day programme on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of Independence in March 2021, where the Heads of State or Government of the five SAARC countries participated, she said.
 
"In addition, Heads of State or Government of 77 countries and Heads of International Organisations have sent video messages and congratulatory letters, highly praising the development work undertaken by our government," she added.
 
At the initiative of the government, memorial sculptures, roads, and parks have been named after Father of the Nation in the capitals and important cities of several countries of the world, she further said.
 
The UNESCO has launched the International Prize in Creative Economics as part of the celebration of the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, said the Premier.
 
The Prime Minister said as a result of the implementation of the welfare-oriented and inclusive development policy adopted by the Awami League government for the last thirteen years, Bangladesh has been ranked among the top five countries in the world in terms of economic progress.
 
"At a time when the world economy is in a dire state due to coronavirus, we have achieved 5.5% GDP growth, we have brought the poverty rate below 20.5% and have raised the per capita income to $2,554," she continued.
 
"We have made unprecedented progress in agriculture, health, and education, and now the average life expectancy of our people is 73 years," she added.
 
"We are providing electricity facility to 99.5% people and I am planning to open the Padma Bridge in the middle of the New Year," she said, adding construction of Metrorail and Expressway in the capital and tunnel under Karnafuli River is progressing fast.
 
"We have started the implementation of the Second Perspective Plan to make Bangladesh a high-middle income country by 2031 and a developed-prosperous country by 2041," she said.
 
"We have started the implementation of 'Bangladesh Delta Plan-2100', our government is committed to creating a generation capable of leading the Fourth Industrial Revolution by combining the power of youth and cutting-edge technology," she went on saying.  
 
She said that in the New Year people are moving towards a new world order as the Covid-19 pandemic has sent a strong message to the world.

The premier called for mutual cooperation of all as it is the only way to deal with any global crisis.