Bangladeshis living in heaven: Momen

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on Friday said the people of Bangladesh are in heaven compared to many other countries in the global recession situation.

Momen said a certain group is spreading panic with 'baseless' claim that Bangladesh will see a situation like crisis-hit Sri Lanka.

He, however, acknowledged the challenges that Bangladesh is facing due to global crises.

"People of Bangladesh are leading happier lives compared to other countries," Momen said while talking to reporters in Sylhet on Friday.

He said Bangladesh has enough dollar reserves and is just maintaining a bit of austerity considering the future crises.

Responding to a question, the foreign minister said the Swiss banks do not want to share the information on alleged laundered money from Bangladesh.

He said, “Whenever we seek information from a country where Bangladeshi money has been laundered the authorities there seem reluctant to provide it. It’s their inherent issue.”

He said the Bangladesh Bank sought information from the Swiss banks mentioning the names of 67 individuals.

"At that time, they provided information on one individual. Information was sought several times," Momen said.

The foreign minister said Switzerland is Bangladesh’s friend and urged them not to provide misinformation.

Earlier in the morning, Momen attended an emergency meeting to solve the airport land acquisition problem at MAG Osmani International Airport in Sylhet.