Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday stressed the need for spreading Bangladesh's art, culture and literature across the world.

"If we can't respect and enrich our own culture, language, art and literature, we can never develop ourselves as a nation in the global arena," she said.

Hasina was addressing a programme marking the inauguration of the month-long Amar Ekushey Boi Mela 2018 and International Literature Conference on the Bangla Academy premises in the city.

She said the Awami League government sincerely tries to uphold the culture and heritage of the nation whenever the party comes to power.

The premier said those who come to power illegally never know how to study culture and language. "Their mentality is actually different to some extent."

Mentioning that the Bangalee nation got a lot of admiration and recognition from the international arena, she underscored the need for continuation of the trend.

She said her government wanted to build the country in the spirit of Liberation War.

"Bangladesh will be a non-communal and peaceful country where people, irrespective of their religions and creed, will perform their respective religious rituals independently."

Hasina said the Amar Ekushey Boi Mela is not only a place to sell and buy books, but also to increase the number of readers and writers, and enhance the study of literature.

She said the fair created an opportunity for fresh writers to publish and publicise their books. "It also creates a scope for many readers to explore unknown knowledge. It opens the door to knowledge."

Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor attended the programme as a special guest while Bangla Academy Director General Shamsuzzaman delivered the welcome speech with its President Anisuzzaman, professor emeritus at the Dhaka University, in the chair.

UK poet Agnes Meadows, Cameroonian poet Joyce Ashuntantang, Egyptian writer and journalist Ibrahim El Masry, and Swedish poet and critic Orne Johnson spoke as distinguished foreign guests.

The PM distributed the Bangla Academy Shahitya Puraskar while academy presented two books titled Alokchitre Bangla Academir Itihash and Banghabandhur Sath e Marcher Bhashon: Bohumtrik Bishleshon to her.

Twelve personalities received the Bangla Academy Award. They are Mohammad Sadik and Maruful Islam

(poetry), Mamun Hossain (fiction), Mahbubul Haque (essay), Rafiqullah Khan (research), Aminur Rahman Bhuiyan (translation), Kamrul Hasan Bhuiyan and Surma Jahid (literature on Liberation War), Shakur Majid (biography and travelogue), Maloy Bhoumik (drama), Moshtak Ahmed (science, technology and environment) and Jharna Dash Purokhayshto (juvenile literature).

Later, Hasina went round different stalls at the book fair.

Bangla Academy will organise the International Literature Conference on February 22-23 to build a good bonding among the local and foreign writers, poets, novelists as well as to create a platform to exchange their literary works.

The authorities allotted a total of 719 units - 136 at the Bangla Academy ground to 92 organisatons and 583 at the Suhrawardy Udyan to 363 organisations.

The fair will remain open from 3:00pm to 8:30pm every day, except for holidays. It will be open on holidays from 11:00am to 8:00pm and will run from 8:00am to 9:00pm on February 21 — the International Mother Language Day.