Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader on Monday said that although Bangladesh was not a member of G-20, an alliance of powerful states, the presence of prime minister Sheikh Hasina, as an invited guest, at the G-20 Summit attracted the attention of world leaders.

‘People’s leader Sheikh Hasina has become the centre of interest of the world leaders due to her skilled leadership, outstanding personality and efficiency,’ he said in a statement.

Quader, also the road transport and bridges minister, said that once Bangladesh was poverty-prone and an economy of uncertainty but now it has turned into a developing country due to the prime minister’s talent, vision, integrity and success in governing the state.

The success Bangladesh achieved in the last one and a half decades is unprecedented because of visionary steps and policies taken by prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s government, he said.

Quader said that the instance of outstanding efficiency and skill in successfully governing the country had been reflected in the respectful expressions of the world leaders towards prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

‘Through it, the world leaders have expressed their support to the effective leadership of Sheikh Hasina. Global leaders, including French president Emmanuel Macron, praised Sheikh Hasina’s efficient leadership,’ he added.

The AL general secretary said that the glorious presence of prime minister Sheikh Hasina at the G-20 conference made the country’s people proud.

The nation does not expect suck statement from any political leadership with good sense that BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir made over a selfie taken by US president Joe Biden with prime minister Sheikh Hasina, he said.

Quader said that the ruling AL believed that the people were the main source of power and people were the key strength of any political organisation.

A true democratic political organisation depends on the people and gets well-organised holding the public opinion, he said.

The road transport minister said that it was not right that the US president’s selfie would bring Bangladesh Awami League to power, but it bore the indication of good relations prevailing between Bangladesh and the United States.

The BNP leaders were spreading propaganda that the incumbent government has no friends and its befitting reply was reflected in this selfie, he said.

Apart from the US president, Quader said, many other world leaders exchanged warm greetings with prime minister Sheikh Hasina and pictures and news of those have already been published in media.

He said that no patriotic individual or political organisation could harbour the desire to make the country friendless. ‘But BNP has been indulging in this nefarious plot for a long time and trying to mislead people through its anti-state activities,’ he said.

The AL general secretary said that the BNP leaders were continuously lobbying to their foreign masters and at the same time, they were trying to mislead foreign representatives and organisations by providing false information about Bangladesh.

The BNP felt delighted when anyone made adverse comments being misled by the fabricated and false information provided by BNP, and conspired to make it a political issue, he said.

‘And when the truth is revealed, they hatch new conspiracies again,’ he added.

Quader said that Fakhrul spoke about the US visa policy and this visa policy had also been applauded by the AL government.

The government was never in any uneasy situation over the visa policy rather the visa policy has put a restriction on BNP’s arson terrorism and destructive politics being carried out in the name of so-called movement, he said.

On behalf of the AL, Quader expressed gratitude and thanks to AL president and prime minister Sheikh Hasina for her dedication and tireless efforts to enhance the honour of the Bengali nation and Bangladesh.