Wednesday | 15 January 2025 | Reg No- 06
বাংলা
   
Wednesday | 15 January 2025 | Epaper

Bilateral ties of Bangladesh and the UK

Published : Friday, 4 February, 2022 at 12:00 AM  Count : 1422
Md Zillur Rahaman
Md Zillur Rahaman

Md Zillur Rahaman

Britain formally recognized Bangladesh on 4 February 1972, which facilitated the subsequent recognition of Bangladesh by other European and Commonwealth countries, and for this reason, Bangladesh was quickly annexed to the Commonwealth on 18 April 1972.

As such, this month marks the fiftieth anniversary of the friendly diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and the United Kingdom (UK). Bangladesh-UK relations refers to the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and the UK. Bangladesh and the UK are both members of the Commonwealth of Nations and the United Nations.

The basis of Bangladesh's relationship with the UK is very strong and historical. The relationship between Britain and Bangladesh started from that British India. Britain sheltered diplomats who fled during Bangladesh's war of independence. The British government, politicians and the media criticized the atrocities in Bangladesh and expressed sympathy for the liberation forces.

Outside Bangladesh and West Bengal, Britain had the highest number of Bengalis in 1971. Even though the expatriate Bengalis did not take up arms then, what they did for the creation of independent Bangladesh was like a war. The spontaneous outrage among the expatriate Bengalis that followed the vague image of the atrocities on the night of March 25 in the British and Indian media sources turned into an organized movement over the next nine months.

Although the UK did not play a direct role in the liberation struggle of the Bengalis, it played the role of a friend of Bangladesh in the liberation war through multidimensional cooperation. Members of the British Parliament strongly supported the Bengalis' struggle for independence providing money and relief for refugees.


The UK media, especially the BBC, has a very important role to play in informing the world about the events of the 1971 genocide and liberation war. At that time, to listen to the news of BBC Bangla, crazy people used to listen in every village, hat bazar, city port, and alley of Bangladesh. For this reason, BBC Bangla is still very popular and everyone knows BBC.

Apart from the British government, privately the British people were sympathetic to the liberation war of Bangladesh. The British people condemned the brutal attacks and brutality of the Pakistani forces; Protested on the street.

Lord Freiner, a member of the Lord's Assembly, addressed a public meeting to stop torture in Bangladesh. Douglas Mann, a member of the Labor Party in the British Parliament, spoke on the genocide in East Bengal. He called for an immediate end to killings and torture in East Bengal. He also demanded that an economic blockade be imposed on West Pakistan for killing and torturing Bengalis. Human rights activists like the Paul Connett couple or Gordon Slaven and several British politicians like John Stonehouse MP or Peter Shore MP were also involved in the movement for independent Bangladesh in 1971.

In addition, in June 1971, 120 MPs of the British Labour Party demanded the British government to recognize Bangladesh. At a public meeting chaired by Lady Gifford at Conway Hall in Britain on 25 June, the International Friends of Bangladesh called on the Security Council to set up an International War Crimes Tribunal to try the genocide perpetrated by West Pakistanis. In Britain, another organization called 'Operation Omega' spread the word about the genocide of West Pakistanis in Bangladesh and the plight of Bengali refugees on Indian soil. Operation Omega entered Bangladesh and tried to conduct humanitarian aid work.

After independence, Bangabandhu was released from prison in Pakistan and first visited the United Kingdom on 8 January 1972. The then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Sir Edward Heath broke protocol and came to the airport to greet him and arranged for Bangabandhu to be sent to Bangladesh on his own plane. The respect shown by the then British Prime Minister Bangabandhu was, in a word, unforgettable, unprecedented and historic.

The British Bangladeshi community is the largest immigrant community in the UK. They live mainly in Tower Hamlets, East London. About 33% of the total population living here is Bangladeshi. Apart from London, a large number of expatriate Bangladeshis live in Manchester, Westminster etc. Britain celebrates Baishakhi Mela, the largest open air Asian festival in Europe, a Bangladeshi event held in London.

The UK has maintained friendly trade relations with Bangladesh since independence and is the second largest foreign investor in Bangladesh, with UK-based companies investing US $ 2.45 billion in Bangladesh as of March 2020 and more than 200 British companies have invested in Bangladesh.

In addition, the UK ranks third in the world in exports of goods from Bangladesh. In 2019, Bangladesh exported goods worth US$ 3453.9 million to the country and at the same time, it imported US$ 410 million. The UK is the second largest source of export earnings for Bangladesh after Germany. Bangladesh in the fiscal year 2019-20, has shipped about US$ 3.5 billion worth of goods, most of which are ready-made garments.

In addition, the UK is the second largest destination for locally made software exports to Bangladesh, and about 13% of the total software exported in the 2019-20 fiscal year was exported to the UK market. Bangladesh is enjoying duty-free export to EU countries as it is a UN Least Developed Country. The UK also came with this facility under the EU.

The friendly relations between Bangladesh and the UK are not limited to trade, commerce and investment, such friendly relations between the two countries will be increased and strong in the coming days.

Md Zillur Rahaman,
Banker and Columnist



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