Dhaka //

Mahdi Amin, spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office and Advisor to the Prime Minister, announced that an additional 150 gas wells will be drilled and three LNG terminals established across the country. Speaking on the government’s various initiatives in the energy sector, Amin stated that a program to drill 150 new wells nationwide has already commenced as a medium-term solution to the gas crisis. A subsequent phase will see the drilling of another 150 wells. Plans are in place to add three more terminals to the existing two to boost LNG capacity. Efforts are underway to launch the third terminal before 2028, if possible. To enhance long-term energy security and capacity, the Eastern Refinery in Chattogram is being expanded; international funding worth one billion dollars has been secured for this project, and operations have already begun.

Mahdi Amin made these remarks on Wednesday during a special press conference at the Prime Minister’s Office. The event was organized by the Prime Minister’s Press Wing to highlight various government activities.

Referring to the Prime Minister’s recent exchange of views with leaders of the country’s major business and industrial organizations, Amin noted that the Prime Minister had pledged to take maximum measures to overcome the gas supply crisis and restore the situation to normalcy as quickly as possible. Since then, gas flow has increased significantly, and tangible improvements are visible; this positive trend is expected to continue in the coming days.

Amin pointed out that diesel prices in Bangladesh are relatively lower compared to other countries globally, and specifically when compared to neighboring nations. He emphasized that the government is providing substantial subsidies in this sector to prevent placing an undue financial burden on the public.

**Expediting Trials for Leaders of Fascist Organizations**

Mahdi Amin stated that remarkable progress has been achieved over the past month in areas such as institutional good governance, public diplomacy, and foreign relations. Demonstrating a commitment to justice for the martyrs of the July Revolution and upholding judicial independence, a court delivered a verdict last Tuesday sentencing seven individuals—identified as perpetrators of genocide linked to a fascist organization—to death. An order has been issued to confiscate 50 percent of all movable and immovable assets belonging to the five individuals sentenced to death. Simultaneously, the court has directed that the proceeds generated from these confiscated assets be distributed—through the July Foundation or another statutory body—as appropriate compensation to the families of martyrs and those injured during the July Revolution.

**’Good News’ from Moody’s Ratings**

International credit rating agency Moody’s Ratings has revised Bangladesh’s credit rating outlook from ‘negative’ back to ‘stable’. Describing this as ‘good news’, Mahdi Amin noted that after a long period, Bangladesh has returned to a stable status from a negative one in Moody’s assessment. This signifies that Bangladesh is now viewed globally as a stable nation for investment. Consequently, the country’s foreign investment prospects and international standing are expected to improve. Furthermore, areas concerning trade, investment, and employment—specifically the job creation needed to empower women and the youth—are poised to move forward in a positive direction.

Citing data from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Mahdi Amin stated that inflation is trending positively when compared to the same period last year or the previous month. The inflation rate has relatively declined, and the pace of rising prices for food and commodities has slowed down.

**Public Welfare Initiatives Categorized into Seven Areas**

Mahdi Amin announced that the government has undertaken measures for public welfare and state reform, categorized into seven distinct areas. These include: youth empowerment; education and information technology innovation; overall public welfare and improvement of living standards; women’s advancement; universal welfare and social protection; eco-friendly energy and climate-resilient industrialization; modern health infrastructure and public health; transport infrastructure and traffic management; and institutional good governance, public diplomacy, and foreign relations.

Claiming that the current government wants to break the barriers of traditional governance and deliver services to the doorsteps of the common people, Mahdi Amin said that the responsibility and planning shown by Prime Minister Tariq Rahman in establishing the rule of law and ensuring transparency and accountability at every level of the state is being appreciated in the international arena today. Starting from the empowerment of the young society, effective education system, modern health care, modern communication system, technological excellence and institutional reforms, the success of the government is a strong and effective step to build the future of Bangladesh.

Expatriate income is increasing

Despite the global economic crisis and the intense pressure of the world market, the income of expatriates in the country has increased by 13.10 percent in 6 months due to the successful monetary policy of the government, said the spokesperson of the Prime Minister’s Office. He said that after completing language and technical training, every year 10 thousand Bangladeshi workers are likely to immigrate to Italy legally. New opportunities have been created in the agriculture and modern fisheries sector by overcoming the ban of Bangladeshi workers in Oman’s labor market.

In order to continue agricultural production, Mahdi Amin is supposed to take initiatives to supply fertilizer and start a central control room by keeping 15 lakh 68 thousand metric tons surplus than the demand until next February.

Reconstruction started anew from the ruins of 16 years

Commenting that the government is rebuilding Bangladesh from the ruins of 16 years of post-fascism, Mahdi Amin said that it is difficult to solve all the problems in just seven months. However, the highest sincerity and goodwill of the government is visible. The current government is committed to the real welfare of the people through specific action plans and accountability. From successfully dealing with external debt pressures to various much-needed administrative reforms, ensuring corruption-free services, revolutionary development of modern education and health sectors, and strengthening Bangladesh’s position in the diplomatic arena. Apart from this, the patriotism and public welfare mentality of the government has been reflected in every step. These achievements will further develop the strong journey of transforming Bangladesh into a dignified, self-reliant and merit-based democratic state in the coming days. We want to rise above the party, opinion, path and differences and build a prosperous, self-reliant, humane, safe and welfare-oriented Bangladesh, where the main goal of the government is Bangladesh first.

Taking initiatives to improve health infrastructure

Mahdi Amin said, in terms of modern health infrastructure and public health, the plan to build a 15-storey state-of-the-art specialized full-fledged general hospital in the remaining eight divisional cities of the country, including the capital Dhaka, to ensure world-class service, a policy decision has been made to operate the newly built super specialized hospital in a modern international corporate management model. In order to save the lives of Trinamool kidney patients, a policy decision to expand affordable modern dialysis services to every district and upazila of the country and to increase the number of beds in Bogra Shaheed Rashtrapati Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital to 18 hundred has been taken as soon as possible.

Mahdi Amin highlighted several initiatives: laying the foundation for an international-standard specialized burn and plastic surgery center at Rangpur Medical College to improve patient care; planning a National e-Health Platform to integrate nationwide healthcare services and patient data into a single digital platform; restoring the supply of essential medicines and modern medical equipment to community clinics to support family planning and reproductive health for the grassroots population; successfully vaccinating over 19.77 million children nationwide against measles and rubella—surpassing targets—over the past five months to combat infectious diseases; initiating land acquisition for a vaccine manufacturing plant using indigenous technology in accordance with World Health Organization standards; launching a public-private partnership project to supply safe drinking water and alleviate the acute shortage in the Patenga area of ​​Chattogram; and increasing food grain reserves in government warehouses by an additional 150,000 tonnes over the last six months through effective policies ensuring national food security.

At the press conference, the Prime Minister’s Press Secretary, Saleh Shibli, noted that the government has been in office for 212 days. He stated that the public has already begun to see positive results from many of the government’s initiatives, while others will take time to yield outcomes; the people will reap the benefits if they remain patient. He added that the gas and electricity situation is now under control and that the government is working sincerely to ensure relief, peace, and security in public life. People have begun to feel that they are the true owners of the state.

Also present at the press conference were the Prime Minister’s Additional Press Secretary Atiqur Rahman Rumon, Speechwriter ASM Mahfuzur Rahman, Deputy Press Secretaries Jahidul Islam Roni and Md. Sujauddoula, Assistant Press Secretaries AKM Nazmul Haque, Shahriar Pamir, and Ashrofa Imdad, Media Coordinator Tarikul Islam, and physician ANM Monowarul Kadir, among others.

Read the news and share your opinion.