Prime Minister and Ladies and Gentlemen. I am absolutely delighted and honoured to be here this morning to participate in the opening of Cairn Energy's new offices and to say how pleased I am to be here in the presence of my old friend Bill Gamil. We were indeed playing basketball together all those years ago, we tried to suppress the photograph but not, I fear, altogether successfully. Indeed Bill was extremely modest in telling of his own exploits. A few years after he left school he then went on to play rugby for Scotland and has now been a major player in this great new company, so at least he went on to great things. He probably made all the right choices actually.
But this company and the growth potential that it has is something that is a stunning success story and it says a lot about its own leadership and the people that work for it, and I offer my congratulations to you for everything that you have done.
But we are also particularly pleased at the investment that you are making in Bangladesh where we believe there are tremendous opportunities for partnership in trade and investment for the future. And it is a tremendous thing to think that not only has this huge investment been made, but there are other great possibilities that are opening up for us in Bangladesh to the advantage of both countries and to the advantage of people in both countries. And I think the essence of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting this year has got to be to place the emphasis on what we can do together, all as members of the Commonwealth, in order to boost the trade, investment and economic relations between our nations. We have tremendous advantages and tremendous possibilities if we seek to use them properly. If we think of the common language that we share, if we think of the common heritage that we have, of the size of the Commonwealth, its reach and the values that underpin it, we have a tremendous opportunity to build prosperity for the future for all our countries, for the developing and developed nations together. I think it is tremendously exciting, the changes and reforms that are happening at the moment in Bangladesh. I think you are absolutely right, Prime Minister, in saying that you are running an open regime that is attracting foreign investment into it and in the end it is through global trade and investment that we will work for the prosperity of all our people in whatever countries that they are.
So I am absolutely thrilled to be here. I am honoured to participate in this opening ceremony. I do thank the Prime Minister of Bangladesh especially for having come along to participate in it with me, and I say to the company and to all you who work for the company, well done in your efforts so far. This British government is fully behind you, you see from the participation of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh that she welcomes very much the involvement of your company in her country and let us go together, playing as a team, from strength to strength.
But this company and the growth potential that it has is something that is a stunning success story and it says a lot about its own leadership and the people that work for it, and I offer my congratulations to you for everything that you have done.
But we are also particularly pleased at the investment that you are making in Bangladesh where we believe there are tremendous opportunities for partnership in trade and investment for the future. And it is a tremendous thing to think that not only has this huge investment been made, but there are other great possibilities that are opening up for us in Bangladesh to the advantage of both countries and to the advantage of people in both countries. And I think the essence of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting this year has got to be to place the emphasis on what we can do together, all as members of the Commonwealth, in order to boost the trade, investment and economic relations between our nations. We have tremendous advantages and tremendous possibilities if we seek to use them properly. If we think of the common language that we share, if we think of the common heritage that we have, of the size of the Commonwealth, its reach and the values that underpin it, we have a tremendous opportunity to build prosperity for the future for all our countries, for the developing and developed nations together. I think it is tremendously exciting, the changes and reforms that are happening at the moment in Bangladesh. I think you are absolutely right, Prime Minister, in saying that you are running an open regime that is attracting foreign investment into it and in the end it is through global trade and investment that we will work for the prosperity of all our people in whatever countries that they are.
So I am absolutely thrilled to be here. I am honoured to participate in this opening ceremony. I do thank the Prime Minister of Bangladesh especially for having come along to participate in it with me, and I say to the company and to all you who work for the company, well done in your efforts so far. This British government is fully behind you, you see from the participation of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh that she welcomes very much the involvement of your company in her country and let us go together, playing as a team, from strength to strength.