Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said Bangladesh has become eligible to graduate to a developing country from the LDC group after meeting all the three criteria for the first time due to implementation of various development programmes by the government, reports UNB.

"We're implementing development programmes to build a country and a society from the rural level...the good result of those programmes is today we're a developing country," she said. The prime minister said this while addressing a children's rally and cultural programme marking the 99th birthday of Father of the Nation and National Children's Day on Bangabandhu Mausoleum Complex.

The Ministry of Women and Children Affairs and Gopalganj district administration jointly organised the rally joined by students of different educational institutions of Tungipara, the birthplace of Bangabandhu.

The Committee for Development Policy (CDP), a United Nations panel, made an announcement at a meeting at the UN headquarters in New York on the country’s eligibility to graduate to a developing country.

Sheikh Hasina, the eldest daughter of the Father of the Nation, said having the good news on the birthday of Bangabandhu is a great achievement for the country and its people.

“Like other South Asian countries such as India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan we’re now a developing country leaving behind the Least Developed Country(LDC) status,” she said adding, “We’ll build the country as ‘Sonar Bangla’ as dreamt by the Father of the Nation.”

The Prime Minister mentioned that necessary measures have been taken to make every district free from beggars and the government would ensure houses for each homeless and landless family.

Hasina urged parents, guardians, teachers and imams to keep eyes on their children so that they could never be derailed and get involved in terrorism, militancy and drug addiction.

She said the government encourages the children to be engaged in extracurricular activities like sports and games and cultural activities by arranging sports and cultural competitions from primary level.

Referring to brutal assassination of Bangabandhu in 1975, the Prime Minister said she has been working with specific goals to materialise dreams of the Father of the Nation who had struggled for long 23 years to liberate Bangladesh and establish a developed country.

Terming the children of the country as future leaders, Hasina said the government is making pragmatic efforts to ensure their beautiful and developed future.

“We’ve sacrificed our present for your future as you’re the future leaders of this country,” she told the children.

Arafat Hossain, a class two student, chaired the programme where State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Meher Afroze also spoke.

Later, the Prime Minister distributed prizes among the children who participated in the literary and cultural competitions organised marking the 99th birthday of the Father of the Nation and the National Children’s Day.

She also handed over sewing machines to distressed women of different upazilas of Gopalganj district. The Prime Minister unveiled a postal stamp published by the Postal Department on the auspicious day.Hasina released a commemorative postage stamp on Sheikh Russel, the youngest son of Bangabandhu, and unveiled the cover of a children book titled “Amader Chhoto Russel Sona”.

She opened a book fair and visited a painting exhibition of the children titled ‘Amar Bhabnay 7th March’.

Later, Sheikh Hasina went round different stalls of the book fair.