Hussain Mohammad ErshadMr. President, Begum Ershad, Your Excellencies, My Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen.
First may I extend to you, your wife and all the members of your delegation a very warm welcome here to No.10 Downing Street on this official visit to Britain as our guest.
We remember your visit in 1982 and are [end p1] delighted that you accepted our invitation to come here again and carry out the very full programme arranged for you.
You are legendary for rising early and keeping fit. You certainly needed both to get through the last few days.
I was intrigued to read in your biography that, [end p2] ever since you played centre forward in your college soccer team, you have had an excellent sense of direction, and a firm resolve to give a spectacular finish to your efforts by dribbling past obstacles to take your country to the desired goal.
It made me think that, after all, there were some advantages to being a male Head of Government. [end p3]
Mr. President, we welcome you as a statesman who has played a foremost role, in leading Bangladesh, and in the wider affairs of the Sub-Continent, and as a very valued participant in Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings.
You have set yourself the aim of achieving stability by devolving power and involving all your citizens, and [end p4] over the last seven years great progress has indeed been made, earning you widespread admiration.
But I think the picture which is most clearly in our minds is of your calm but moving courage following last year's tragic and appalling floods.
We saw you on our television screens, [end p5] day in day out, waist deep in the flood waters, directing rescue operations and comforting your people.
It was a picture which greatly inspired us all. We recognised in you the true leader, determined in spite of untold difficulties to do everything possible for his people. [end p6]
The past year has indeed been tragic for Bangladesh and its people. Floods which engulfed 53 out of 64 Districts of Bangladesh. A further cyclone in November. A tragic train crash.
In all this you had our deepest sympathy. [end p7]
But more than that, you also had the practical assistance of your many friends around the world. I am glad—and proud—that Britain was among them with a contribution of £25 million for immediate relief and longer-term reconstruction.
That is a mark of our great feeling for [end p8] Bangladesh and its people and the natural wish of our people to do everything we can to help.
Mr. President, what impressed us most of all was the tremendous fortitude and resilience of your people as they faced their tragedy, and began the work of rebuilding.
You, Sir, among your many other talents, write in verse. [end p9] Reading through a book of your poems, I came across one which I thought expressed that spirit very well.
The title is: “Even Then Our Courage Won't Fail” , and if I may I will read a few lines because I found them very moving:
“If the sky over head
Is cloudy and dark[end p10]
If the earth underneath
Is cracked and stark
If the turbulent rivers
Cross the danger mark
Yet the dike of our courage
Will not break or burst.
If more crop fields are flooded
If more houses collapse and fall
Yet our confident hearts
Will not be daunted at all.[end p11]
And let it be proved thus:
It's one family of ten crore people
Bound by love and trust.”
Thank you, Mr. President, for those lines in which we recognise the true spirit of your people.
The great task which we all face now is to help you devise flood prevention measures which [end p12] will prevent a repetition of last year's disaster.
It is a massive task and one which cannot be accomplished by Bangladesh alone. It will need the cooperation of many other countries in the region, to dredge out the silt from the rivers, build up their banks, build the bridges and dams, and replant the woods and forest which will prevent future erosion. [end p13]
It will also need the assistance of the whole international community and of course Britain will be ready to play our part in that great endeavour. And we shall be fully supported by our people, who are generous and who like to know that what they are doing is right.
Mr. President, there is a very long association between Britain and your country—first as Bengal, the ‘Bengal of Gold’ of which the great [end p14] poet Rabindranath Tagore wrote with such passion, and later as independent Bangladesh.
That association is made stronger by the presence in Britain of over 200,000 people of Bangladesh origin, who make their own vital contribution to our life and to yours. [end p15]
Your visit as an honoured guest strengthens that association still further for the future, which is very much our wish.
We hope that you will take back to your people the sympathy, affection and admiration which are felt so strongly for them in Britain.
May I ask you all to rise and drink a toast to [end p16] the health of President Ershad and Begum Ershad, to the success of the brave people of Bangladesh in overcoming their misfortunes and building a better future, and to the friendship of our two peoples.