His Late Majesty the King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, the Third Druk Gyalpo, was awarded the Bangladesh Liberation War Honour in Dhaka in a solemn awarding ceremony presided by the President and the Prime Minister of Bangladesh today. The honour was awarded as a recognition of Bhutan’s contribution to Bangladesh’s Independence War of 1971.
His Late Majesty was one of the eight recipients of the Honour. The Chairman of the Privy Council, former minister, Chenkyab Dorji, accepted the award on behalf of Late Majesty.
During the award ceremony, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, said Bangladesh seeks to recognise the ‘invaluable contribution of their comrades from across the globe’. “By honouring them, we are actually reaffirming our faith in the principles we stood for – equity, democracy and democratic practice, inclusive development, social justice and the rule of law. This is a token recognition of our respect for your show of unity with a nation that was fighting for rights, respect and dignity,” she added.
Upon receiving the award, Chenkyab Dorji said it was deeply gratifying to be acknowledged for Bhutan’s modest contributions. He added that Bangladesh succeeded because of the determination and valor of its brave people under the visionary leadership of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the Father of the Nation. “In honouring us, we honour the ideals and visions of Bangabandhu who has made the supreme sacrifice in the service of this great nation.”
Bhutan was the first country, after India, to recognise independent Bangladesh after the country fought a brief but a bloody war of independence in 1971.
Bangladesh was the second country Bhutan established formal diplomatic relation with in 1973. Since then, the two countries have enjoyed the most cordial relations that encompass a large number of areas of cooperation.
