PM gets South-South Award for poverty alleviation

DHAKA, Sept 24: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has received a `South South Award` for her significant contributions to reducing poverty in Bangladesh.

Hasina received the award around 9pm in New York at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.

Sheikh Hasina said: “This is not my achievement. Rather, it is an achievement of the whole country.”

She said the collective efforts of the people brought down the number of impoverished people from 51% to 26% in 10 years.

Hasina said the government was working with the aim to totally eliminate poverty from Bangladesh.

The South-South Awards 2013 was a televised gala that recognised exceptional contributions by the heads of state and government, as well as to leaders from the private sector and civil society, in implementing the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and sustainable development around the world.

The theme of this year’s ceremony was “Innovation and Technology for Sustainable Development.”

This year’s other recipients included: former president of South Africa Nelson Mandela, Costa Rican President Laura Miranda, Prime Minister of Bahrain Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa and Prime Minister of Fiji Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama.

The award ceremony was co-organised by the Permanent Mission of Antigua and Barbuda to the United Nations, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations Public Administration Network (UNPAN), the International Organization for South-South Cooperation (IOSSC), and South-South News.

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