Dhaka: European Union Ambassador to Bangladesh Rense Teerink on Tuesday said the EU wants to continue to work with Bangladesh.

Rense Teerink said this when she met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her Jatiya Sangsad office.

PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed reporters after the meeting, reports the UNB.

He told the journalists that the EU Ambassador said the EU is the biggest export destination for Bangladesh and she advocated for enhancing trade between Bangladesh and EU member countries for mutual benefits.

‘The trade between Bangladesh and the EU has to be enhanced,’ she said.

The EU Ambassador said the EU is the big development partner for Bangladesh, especially in the education sector.

German Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Fahrenholtz, who was accompanying the EU Ambassador, highly appreciated the development of Bangladesh under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina facing so many challenges. ‘Bangladesh has been moving on to become a mid-income country facing so many challenges with peace, security and stability,’ he added.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina mentioned that the development challenges for Bangladesh were huge and widespread.

After the assassination of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, she said, Awami League was out of power for 21 years and all those years were ruled by military rulers overtly or covertly.

After assuming power in 1996, the Prime Minister said, the Awami League government opened everything to private sector for the speedy development of the country.

Talking about elections, Sheikh Hasina said the in 2008 national election the total voter turnout was 84 percent, while BNP got only 28 seats and Jatiya Party 24 seats.

In the 11th general election, she said, people, particularly the women and young generation, voted for Awami League.

‘Overall development and women empowerment attracted the general people and they wanted to carry forward the development spree,’ she said.

About the debacle of the BNP-Jamaat alliance in the December-30, 2018 election, Hasina said it appeared that they were not interested in the election at all.

She recalled the oppression and torture of BNP-Jamaat government on the minority community during their regime in 2001.

The Prime Minister invited EU investors to invest in Bangladesh, including joint venture projects.