Govt wants friendship with foreigners but won't let them dominate: Quader

Awami League (AL) General Secretary Obaidul Quader has said the government wants friendship with foreigners, but it will not allow it if anyone wants to dominate the country, report agencies.
"We want friendship with foreign friends. But we will not tolerate if they want come to the role of master instead of friend," he said.
The AL leader came up with the remarks while speaking at a press conference at the party president's Dhanmondi office in the city on Tuesday.
Quader, also the road transport and bridges minister, said during the recent visit of a US delegation, they talked about taking forward the relations with Bangladesh.
He said, "BNP has nothing to be optimistic about what they said. They didn't say anything about the government's downfall, their failures, or the action against the government. That's why they are silent now," he said.
They (BNP) didn't get what they wanted from the United States, said Quader adding, "They wanted to hear that the government would be sanctioned but the US delegation expressed their commitment to advance relations with Bangladesh."
Regarding the price hike of commodities, Quader said, "People understand that it is not the government's fault. The hike in commodity prices is not the problem of Bangladesh only. Prices are rising all over the world. Show me one country in the world where prices are normal. But our people still have purchasing power. We hope that there will be enough supply of products in the coming Ramadan."
"There is definitely an issue of extortion. The Prime Minister herself gave strong statements against this extortion," he added.
Criticizing BNP's falsehood that it spreads all the time, Quader said it (BNP) wants to blame the government for its failures including not joining January 7 general polls and failing to wage movement.
"It is their negative mentality," he said.
AL Organising Secretaries SM Kamal Hossain and Sujit Roy Nandi, Science and Technology Affairs Secretary Md Abdus Sabur, Cultural Affairs Secretary Ashim Kumar Ukil, Education and Human Resource Affairs Secretary Shamsunnahar Chapa, Deputy Publicity and Publication Secretary Syed Abdul Awal Shamim and Deputy Office Secretary Sayem Khan were present, among others, on the occasion.