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• Bangladesh Visit - Day Three

 The Rt Hon John Denham MP

Secretary of State

Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government

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Bangladesh Visit - Day Three

Communities Secretary John Denham is in Bangladesh on a three-day visit.

For more photos of the visit, see: www.flickr.com/ukinbangladesh (external link).

The first call of the day was a briefing with the DfID Bangladesh team in downtown Dhaka. The meeting took the form of a list of often staggering statistics about the economy, society and climate of Bangladesh. With Dhaka's population growing at about 0.5 million a year, there are immense challenges in developing the infrastructure of an already overwhelmed capital (I have first hand experience of this tonight when it took an hour to drive a few kilometres from a meeting with the Foreign Minister to a media interview …). Only 700,000 people of a population of about 150 million pay tax, with a great dependency on remittances from overseas - about $800 million was sent home from overseas last year. Global warming means that one-fifth of the country could be submerged if there is a one metre rise in sea-levels. But it isn't all bad news - growth is holding steady at about 6 per cent per year and there are dedicated people at all levels of Bangladeshi society determined to move the country out of poverty, some of whom I have met on my visit.

It was still was a happy contrast to go on from there to meet a group of thirty school children, aged from around 9 to 11 years old. Their school is in an informal settlement in central Dhaka - what we would probably recognise more easily as a slum. The school itself was a small, dark shack but brightly decorated with garlands and pictures. I was struck by the energy and desire of the children to learn. It was the same in Sylhet when I met some students in a meeting organised by the British Council. Bangladesh has a very bright future if these young people are any measure.

Another fascinating encounter followed, with a lunchtime roundtable with about ten civil society activists. As with so many of my meetings this week, they stressed the importance of nurturing the relationship between British-Bangladeshis and Bangladesh, especially the areas outside Sylhet. The focus here was very much on cultural links - through student exchanges, sport (there is a strong love of cricket and saw some games being played as we went through Sylhet) and art and culture. Again, this was such a positive meeting and I was struck by the erudition of the participants, their love of Bangladesh and desire to make a positive change.

A press conference followed - lots of questions on climate change and development.

Last stop on the Syhlet visit involved a brief touch down in the tea plantations area in Moulvibazar, hosted by the Government Chief Whip. As well as an opportunity to see one of the sectors of the Bangladeshi economy (unusually I got the chance to thank personally the very people who have made my start to each day enjoyable with a cup of tea) it brought me in touch with Bangladesh's minority communities, some of which live and work in the tea growing areas.

Before the evening reception for local young people I met the Right Honourable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to talk through our shared interests and future of our two countries. We discussed the role that our Prime Minister and that of Sheika Hasina in Copenhagen played to drive forward a deal, as well as highlight the problems facing countries like Bangladesh are recognised, and the development of a 100bn global fund in assistance. In virtually every conversation I have had and every question from the local media, climate change has been raised again, and again. It is not a distant threat. It affects the nation and millions of people who live in it, including those I have met on my visit.

The close co-operation between our countries has also seen a real gain for our relations in a key area for British Bangladeshis. As I was informed, a goal of the Prime Minister's first term, Government has worked with the Bangladesh Government to establish a visa section in Syhlet which has hugely helped travel and relations between this key area of Bangladesh and the UK.

In outlining the 2021 vision for Bangladesh - to become a middle income country - the PM signalled the ambition for her country.

This manifested itself later in the day in the form of a remarkable group of young people for whom a reception was held in our High Commission.

Keen to make a difference to their country, their families, themselves and their communities - from a group organising themselves to challenge corruption and push for a fairer Bangladesh in all walks of life, to young Duke of Edinburgh award winners (now in its second year) - these young people demonstrated just one element of a very promising future for Bangladesh. They also signalled the next generation of continued links between our Britain and the Bangladeshi diaspora.

And that is it the end. Off to airport shortly - the three days have raced by but it has been a very rewarding and very useful visit -strengthening and understanding more about the many connections and links between Britain and Bangladesh.

Until the next time.

• Bangladesh Visit - Day One
• Bangladesh Visit - Day Two