<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday said Bangladesh now holds an economically dignified position in the world as democracy and stability have been persisting in the country since 2009.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The Prime Minister said this while speaking at an event on ‘New Economy and Society in Smart Bangladesh’ organised by the World Economic Forum at its office here.</div><div><br></div><div>Prime Minister's speech writer M Nazrul Islam briefed the reporters.</div><div><br></div><div>Sheikh Hasina said that during the Awami League government, the country has achieved unprecedented success in various socio-economic indicators.</div><div><br></div><div>In this context, she said that during the Awami League government, the country has been promoted from LDC to a developing country while in 2015 it has been put in the lower middle income country group.</div><div><br></div><div>She also mentioned that the per capita income has increased to $2,824, which was $543 only in 2006, the poverty rate has decreased from about 41.5 percent to about 18.7 percent and the extreme poverty rate has decreased from 25.5 percent to 5.6 percent.</div><div><br></div><div>Sheikh Hasina said that after the killing of the father of the nation and his family members in 1975, the killers who illegally came to state power have not done anything for the development of the country’s people.</div><div><br></div><div>Pointing out that the development of the country is not possible without democracy, the Prime Minister said that she returned to the country in 1981 and worked to restore the country's democracy through a long struggle.</div><div><br></div><div>Stating that her government has provided houses to 50 lakh homeless and landless people, Sheikh Hasina said that not a single person will remain homeless and landless in the country.</div><div><br></div><div>The Prime Minister mentioned that the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war and subsequent sanctions and counter-sanctions have put pressure on the economy of Bangladesh, like the rest of the world, due to the increase in global food products and fuel prices.</div><div><br></div><div>However, Sheikh Hasina said that her government has been trying to overcome this pressure.</div><div><br></div><div>Pointing out that there is a need to have a vision to build the future of a nation, Sheikh Hasina said that before the 2008 elections, the Awami League announced the Vision 2021 and that vision has already been implemented, reports UNB.</div><div><br></div><div>She said that the government has announced the Vision 2041 to make Bangladesh a developed, prosperous and smart Bangladesh.</div><div><br></div><div>Sheikh Hasina also said that the government has been working to implement that goal.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>