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Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Thursday said Bangladesh is facing a far greater challenge than before and stressed the need for national unity to overcome the country’s current difficulties.
“The battle ahead is much bigger. To survive and move forward, we must remain united,” he said while meeting representatives of ethnic communities living in the country’s plain land areas at the Cabinet Division conference room in the secretariat.
“We are passing through a grave situation. We have to see how we can put the country in a better position,” the prime minister said.
The meeting was attended by Local Government Adviser Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, the prime minister’s Special Assistant on Ethnic Affairs Bijon Kanti Sarkar, reserved-seat lawmaker Anna Minj, cultural activist Sanjib Drong, and representatives of 18 ethnic communities from 17 districts.
Blaming the previous Awami League government for the country’s economic woes, Tarique said state institutions and the economy had been severely damaged, alleging that around $16 billion was siphoned abroad every year.
“If that money had not been laundered, many of the problems faced by ethnic communities could have been addressed. Our government is trying to resolve the most pressing and feasible issues step by step,” he said.
The prime minister reiterated his commitment to building a prosperous, inclusive and discrimination-free Bangladesh, describing ethnic communities as an inseparable part of the nation.
“Our goal is to build a country where no community faces discrimination. We want to move forward together. We do not consider anyone separate from the rest of the nation,” he said.
During the meeting, ethnic community leaders placed several demands, including the formation of a separate land commission, constitutional recognition as Indigenous peoples, legal protection of land rights, a national convention for plain land Indigenous communities, replacing the term “small ethnic groups” with ethnic-based identities, establishing a central cultural centre, expanding access to credit for small entrepreneurs, and halting evictions from ancestral lands in the name of development projects or reserved forests.
The prime minister listened to their concerns and assured them that the government would work to address the issues.
Referring to the previous government, Tarique also criticised its healthcare policies, saying the Upazila Health Complex programme initiated by former President Ziaur Rahman had been expanded under BNP governments, while many community healthcare centres established later remained largely non-functional.
He also said the government plans to increase healthcare allocations in the FY2026-27 budget and reduce taxes on essential medical supplies, including kidney dialysis equipment and cardiac stents.
