A 10-day special programme will kick off in capital’s national parade square ground on 17 March marking Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s birth centenary and the golden jubilee of independence, reports news agency UNB.
The programmes will be arranged maintaining the health guidelines amid the Covid-19 outbreak. Local and foreign guests will participate in these programmes.
Chief coordinator of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Birth Centenary Celebration National Implementation Committee, Kamal Abdul Naser said this at a press briefing at the International Mother Language Institute in the capital on Friday afternoon.
All the preparations have already been completed following the directives of the prime minister to arrange the 10-day programme with the theme of “Mujib Chirontan” on the occasion of Bangabandhu’s birth centenary on 17 March and the golden jubilee of the Independence on 26 March, he said.
Among the programmes, there will be separate theme-based discussion, cultural programme, audio-visuals and other presentations to pay tribute to Bangabandhu every day, he added.
President Abdul Hamid will be present on 17, 22 and 26 March, and prime minister Sheikh Hasina on 17, 19, 22, 24 and 26 March, said Naser.
Presidents and heads of the governments of different countries will be present as guests of honour at the programmes on 17, 19, 22, 24 and 26 March.
President of the Maldives, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih will be present at the programme as the guest of honour on 17 March, while Sri Lanka’s prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on 19 March, president of Nepal, Bidya Devi Bhandari on 22 March, prime minister of Bhutan, Lotay Tshering on 24 March and prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi on 26 March.
Besides, recorded speeches from presidents and heads of government of different countries, chiefs of international organisations and prominent persons will be screened in the events of other five days.
Television channels, online media and social media will broadcast the programmes live every day, said Naser.
Chinese president Xi Jinping and Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau will deliver a welcome speech at the programme on 17 March, while Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen on 18 March, OIC secretary general Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen on 20 March, Japanese prime minister Yoshihide Suga on 22 March, Pope Francis on 24 March, South Korean prime minister Chung Sye-kyun and Japanese friend of Bangladesh, Takashi Hayakawa’s son Osamu Hayakawa on 25 March.
The programme will begin at 4:30pm and conclude at 8pm on 17, 19, 22, 24 and 26 March. On the other five days, programmes will start at 5:16pm and end at 8pm.
President of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Birth Centenary Celebration National Implementation Committee, national professor Rafiqul Islam, education minister Dipu Moni, former minister Asaduzzaman Noor and state minister for foreign affairs Shahriar Alam were present at the press briefing, said a PID handout.
Indian news agency IANS adds: While, Modi, Solih and Rajapaksa will meet Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bhandari and her counterpart Md Abdul Hamid will hold bilateral talks.
All the four leaders will deliver separate speeches from the National Parade Ground, which will be live streamed.
Home minister Asaduzzaman Kamal Khan on Saturday morning told IANS that they will avoid large-scale public gatherings in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.
He added that there will be strict security measures in place during the programmes.
The invited guests at the in-person events have to undergo Covid-19 testing and carry a negative report to attend. The certificate of the test will remain valid for 48 hours.
About 500 guests from home and abroad will be invited to the National Parade Ground event.
The invitees will attend the programme in-person for four days, while the events of the other six days will be broadcast live.
Special arrangements will be made for the heads of state and governments attending the celebrations.
As per the schedule, Solih will be in Bangladesh from March 17-18, Rajapaksa from March 19-20, Bhandari from March 22-23 and Modi from March 26-27.
High officials at the Prime Ministers' Office and the Foreign Ministry said Bangladesh has been in close contact with the governments of the four nations on signing instruments on various issues.
Meanwhile, the leaders of the US, Canada, China, France and several other high-profile dignitaries are expected to send video messages to mark the occasion.
China wishes to send a top ranking leader, who will carry the message of President Xi Jinping on the occasion.
US ambassador in Dhaka Earl Miller during a meeting with foreign minister AK Abdul Momen said a high-level dignitary from the Washington government is likely to visit Bangladesh in the near future to join the year-long celebrations.