Happy New Reader to all Tameside Reporter readers, and greetings from Bangladesh! Having enjoyed a lovely family Christmas at home in Stalybridge, I’m now in this beautiful but complex country on a work trip with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association before Parliament returns next week.

Bangladesh is a country with close ties to our constituency, especially with many communities in and around Hyde. I’m here to meet key politicians but also regular citizens and campaigners, with the key themes of the trip being humanitarian activity, trade, climate change and good governance. I arrived in Dhaka on Monday evening alongside three House of Commons colleagues, and so far we have met with the Speaker, the High Commissioner and the UK diplomatic team, all interesting meetings bursting with information and ideas.

I’m writing this column en route to meet with their Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. I’ve met her previously, and she is a key figure who played a significant role in the establishment of modern Bangladesh after her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (widely known as “Father of the Nation”, Bangabandhu) was assassinated along with other members of her family in 1975, after which time she spent six years in exile in the UK.

Sheikh Hasina has currently been in power since 2009, and with a low lying country at risk of rising water levels through global warming, as well as substantial poverty levels to tackle, her in tray remains one of significant challenges, despite considerable progress in infrastructural development. She recently gave assurances that international observers will be welcomed at their next General Election, which is of course integral to transparency and good governance.

During our visit we will also visit the Rohingya refugee camps near the border with Myanmar. The Rohingya people have suffered ethnic and religious persecution for decades, which escalated hugely in 2017.  Since then, the United Nations Refugee Agency estimates that more than 723,000 Rohingya people have fled to Bangladesh, although some pitch the numbers even higher, perhaps closer to a million, which of course increases the pressures on Bangladesh. I have no doubt that seeing the camps first hand will be a moving and upsetting experience. The persecution of the Rohingya people is an extremely important issue around which the world must not bystand.

I don’t often do trips like these being primarily focussed on economic issues in the UK, but I have come to share a deep understanding of the complicated issues facing Bangladesh from our brilliant communities here in Hyde, and hope that our visit will shine a light on some key topics, as well as boosting co-operation between our two friendly nations.