Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus today recalled the role that Bangladeshi expatriates have played in rebuilding the country, saying that they had helped Bangladesh recover from its devastation.
“It is the expatriates who help sustain the country (by sending their remittances in hard time),” he said while speaking at a community reception at the Bangladesh Embassy in Tokyo.
Prof Yunus said the ousted government left the state exchequer and banks empty and if the expatriates would not support, Bangladesh would not have turned around.
He said the interim government will, of course, perform the responsibilities bestowed upon it but the participation of the Bangladesh expatriates should be strengthened in nation building.
The Chief Adviser asked them to take initiatives to increase business in Bangladesh.
“As a citizen, you must take the responsibility of the state repair,” he said.
The expatriates have relatives and friends in Bangladesh and they have businesses there too and that is why they often visit the country, Prof Yunus said.
“So, overall we have to work together … you should increase your influence on the Japan government,” he said.
Later, three notes were exchanged on the occasion: the loan for the Joydebpur-Ishwardi dual-gauge double-lane railway project (641 million USD), the grant for the human development scholarship (4.2 million USD), and the Development Policy Loan for Economic Reform and Strengthening Climate Change Resilience (418 million USD).
On behalf of their respective countries, Japanese Ambassador Shinichi Saida and Bangladesh Ambassador Md. Daud Ali signed the accords.
Prof. Yunus, the chief adviser, was present when the notes were signed.
He later attended a luncheon that the ambassador of Bangladesh to Japan had organized in his honor.
