Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said people are saying no to terrorism as a huge mass awareness against the menace has been created in the country.

"We have also taken necessary measures to combat terrorism,” she said when Vietnamese Ambassador to Bangladesh Nguyen Quang Thue paid a farewell call on her at her office in the morning.

After the meeting, PM's Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed reporters.

Hasina described Vietnam as a "great country" and said Bangladesh and Vietnam have a "common history " as they both fought for independence.

In this connection, she said, "Unfortunately we lost our Father of the Nation [Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman] within three and a half years of independence."

Hasina said her party, Bangladesh Awami League, came back to power after 21 years and started working for the development of the country, particularly to free the people from the curse of poverty.

She put emphasis on taking measures to further boost trade and business between the two countries. "We have a big market and we will have to explore it," she said.

The PM also placed emphasis on strengthening connectivity in the greater interest of the two countries.

She then laid importance on exchange of visits between the political leaders to further consolidate the

ties between the two nations.

The premier recalled her visit to Vietnam in 2012 and said she was highly impressed to see the development of the Southeast Asian country.

Terming Bangladesh a "successful" and an "important" country in South Asia, the outgoing Vietnamese ambassador highly praised the continued economic progress of Bangladesh under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Nguyen Quang Thue expressed his gratitude for extending cooperation during his tenure in Bangladesh, saying that Vietnam has a traditional friendship with Bangladesh.

"We give highest priority to our relationship with Bangladesh," he said and hoped that the existing bilateral ties and cooperation between the two countries would be further strengthened in the days to come.

PM's International Affairs Advisor Dr Gowher Rizvi and Principal Secretary Md Abul Kalam Azad were present.