Bangladesh is expecting to host some selective world leaders, including Malaysian prime minister Mahathir bin Mohamad and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, at various functions to celebrate the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheik Mujibur Rahman. In addition, various other programmes to celebrate ‘Mujib Year’ have been charted out by 77 Bangladeshi foreign missions, which would open up new windows for branding Bangladesh across the globe, foreign minister AK Abdul Momen said yesterday.

The minister announced this after holding a meeting of the sub-committee for the celebration of birth centenary of Bangabandhu at the International Mother Language Institute in the capital. “A number of selective world leaders would come to Bangladesh to attend various programmes for the birth centenary of Bangabandhu. But nothing has been finalised yet on who would come on March 17,” said Momen. “We have invited some prominent world leaders who have agreed to attend various functions on the occasion of Mujib Year. Some of them have officially confirmed and others have verbally given consent to attend,” he added.

“Indian prime minister Narendra Modi has confirmed, while Mahathir Mohammad, Sonia Gandhi, Ban-ki Moon, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and UAE crown prince Zayed Al Nahyan have agreed to come. Bhutanese King will come as well,” he said.

Besides, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation secretary-general Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen and former Arab League secretary-general Amr Moussa have also agreed to come.

The minister further said the government would hold different kinds of programmes round the year.

“There will be a big event in Parliament on March 22 and 23. We will try to bring some world-famous persons there. We will arrange Julio Kuri festival, where some world figures would attend,” the minister said.

“We want to spread Bangabandhu around the world. Our 77 missions have plans to host around 261 programmes. We have set up Bangabandhu Chairs in Germany, Thailand, and Warsaw in Poland and opened a Bangabandhu Centre at Cambridge University,” he added.

“We would set up Bangabandhu murals at different Bangladeshi missions, including a big mural at our mission in Pakistan. We are doing it in Pakistan because people of that country are talking about Bangladesh’s success and asked their prime minister to follow the path of Bangladesh in the next 10 years for their development,” he said.

Momen also said that the Bangladesh government is setting up its missions in different countries and the biggest of them spread over 16 acres of land would be in Pakistan. “We will highlight the unprecedented success of Bangladesh along with the ideals of Bangabandhu in the next two years. We are branding a new Bangladesh. It’s a land of opportunities and not the land of hunger and poverty,” Momen affirmed.

Besides, the minister said a number of roads in the world, including in Ankara, New Delhi, Palestine, and Cambodia, have been named after Bangabandhu .

Asked about the expenditure for celebrating the event, Momen said,:“The finance ministry has disbursed some money. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has directed us not to be extravagant in spending. The expenses should be reasonable.”