MOHAMMAD SALIM

Bangladesh is marking 50 years since the end of the war that created the country.In the half-century since its creation. Bangladesh has made a remarkable turnaround: Life expectancy has gone from 46 years to 72. Infant mortality has declined from nearly 150 deaths per 1,000 births to 26. The International Monetary Fund says Bangladesh's gross domestic product is on track to soon exceed that of Denmark and Singapore. UK High Commissioner Robert Chatterton Dickson said Bangladesh has become a role model of positive transformation, while continuing to tackle political and governance challenges as a vibrant, independent nation. He recalled Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's historic trip to the UK in January 1972 and his meeting with UK Prime Minister Edward Heath before returning to his newly-born home from Pakistan jail. This journey forged a new friendship and accelerated the recognition of Bangladesh as an independent nation. Dickson noted that humanitarian relief contribution was the initial support for Bangladesh, but then it eventually moved to research, health, education, disaster risk reduction, poverty alleviation and women empowerment. Meanwhile, many Bangladeshis made the UK their home. Now, around 6,00,000 people of Bangladeshi origin live in the UK