SPEECH BY HE Ashraf Uddin, Acting High Commissioner of Bangladesh to the UK at the Conservative Commonwealth and Foreign Affairs Council
Jubilee Room, House of Commons
18 June 2007, London
Honourable Chairman, Sir Ron Halstead
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen.
I am truly honoured to be able to speak to the Conservative Foreign and Commonwealth Council here at the British Parliament. I am particularly delighted that I have the opportunity to apprise distinguished British legislatures about how Bangladesh as a country, and more significantly the current Caretaker Government of Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed is advancing its foreign policy priorities and interests. May I take this opportunity to express my special thanks to Ms. Anne Main MP, for inviting me to speak to this distinguished group of conservatives and once again demonstrating her friendship for the people of Bangladesh.
Bangladesh Foreign Policy: Art 25(1) of Fundamental Principals of State Policy
The foundation of Bangladesh foreign relations lie in its foreign policy enunciated in article 25(1) of the fundamental principles of state policy of its Constitution. One of the prime influencing factors in the formulation of Bangladesh’s foreign policy has been its geo-strategic location as a bridge between the South Asia and South-east Asian regions. Bangladesh’s foreign policy is also influenced by its ancient history and ethos of being host to various faiths and cultures including one of the oldest Buddhist dynasties that flourished for 100s of centuries, followed by Hindu monarchies, Muslim Sultanates and the Mughal empire, won over by the British colonial rulers in the 18th century. Born 36 years ago in 1971 from the ashes of a 9 month long glorious War of Liberation to establish our democratic and economic rights, Bangladesh’s foreign policy is also influenced by values such as democracy, human rights, non-violence, opposition to imperialism, colonialism and racism.
As President John Fitzgerald Kennedy once said ”The purpose of foreign policy is not to provide an outlet for our own sentiments of hope or indignation; it is to shape real events in a real world.” Over the years the core foreign policy principles of Bangladesh has thus been shaped and reshaped to respond to real events and developments at home and abroad. Good neighborliness and regional cooperation in South Asia, promotion of international peace and security, attaining social and economic development through international cooperation, international trade and foreign direct investment, propagation of democracy and democratic values, joining the fight against terrorism, climate diplomacy for combating the adverse effects of climate change, promotion and protection of human rights, and a proactive role at multilateral institutions, are at the core of Bangladesh’s foreign policy. These are supported by innovative social policies such as women empowerment and gender justice, micro-credit and non formal primary education, creative involvement of a vibrant civil society and a fiercely free media.
Bangladesh’s Foreign Relations with its immediate neighbours
Bangladesh sincerely believes that in South Asia, together we are strong and a power to reckon with in the global arena. Conversely, if we are separate and disunited, we are weak. It has thus been the firm intention of the current Caretaker Government to accord high priority to cultivating a close relationship with all our neighbors, the most immediate being India.
Bangladesh’s relations with its largest neighbor India has always been a steadfast and engaging one. Bangladesh and India share 4500 kms of common borders, cultural affinities, common historical experience, common values and a vibrant people-to–people exchange. Bilateral trade stands at more than US dollar 2 billion. Nearly 0.6 million Bangladeshis visit India each year for purposes ranging from tourism, health, education religious and business. The Foreign Secretaries of the two countries meet regularly and are scheduled to meet this month in Dhaka. The major outstanding issues include sharing of 54 rivers, an undemarcated border, trade gap, connectivity and security issues.
Since taking office Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed’s government has taken a series of positive measures to further improve Indo-Bangladesh relations both in terms of security, connectivity and economic matters. Both New Delhi and Dhaka are working towards passenger train services between Dhaka and Calcutta from July and have renewed the Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade. During the visit of Indian Foreign Minister to Dhaka preceding the 14th SAARC Summit Bangladesh foreign Adviser reaffirmed , “Let me say unequivocally that this caretaker government wishes to place Bangladesh's relations with India on a firm footing so that future governments of both countries can build on the progress we make”. These sentiments were reciprocated by Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee who stated “India attaches the highest importance to its relations with Bangladesh” . This tremendous goodwill was further reaffirmed by Dr Fakhruddin Ahemd and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the 14th SAARC Summit in New Delhi where Bangladesh Chief Adviser vowed not to allow use of Bangladesh territory for acts of terrorism against India. Bangladesh also attaches high importance to its relations with Pakistan and is committed to further enhance trade, economic and cultural cooperation between the two brotherly countries. Relations with our other neighbors including Sri Lanka and Myanmar are also characterized by friendship and mutual understanding and are growing under economic and cultural cooperation frameworks.
Bangladesh’s proactive policy of promoting Regional Cooperation
Bangladesh’s foreign relations with neighboring countries in South and South East Asia have found a heightened level of mutually beneficial cooperation through regional cooperation forums such as SAARC, BIMSTEC and ACD. Bangladesh has always valued regional cooperation as a means to ensure peace and stability in the region and harness its true economic potential for trade and development. It was in this spirit back in1980 that Bangladesh proposed to form SAARC, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. Even though SAARC suffered from political inertia for nearly two decades, the 13th SAARC Summit in Dhaka in November 2005 under Bangladesh’s chairmanship made a true turnaround in the pace and intensity of cooperation under SAARC. Bangladesh played a facilitating role in opening up SAARC to new membership such as Afghanistan, and new observers such as China and Japan. Cooperation was also mobilized in the area of counter-terrorism and the South Asian Free Trade Agreement SAFTA was set well on course with inclusion of services sector. All these progress under Bangladesh chairmanship found further resonance during the 14th summit in New Delhi with addition of EU, USA, Iran and ROK as SAARC observers.
Bangladesh is also playing a key role at another regional cooperation forum, the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Economic Cooperation, BIMSTEC, comprising 5 Bay of Bengal SAARC countries plus Myanmar and Thailand. We consider BIMSTEC a dynamic bridge between South and South East Asia where Bangladesh is playing a pro-active role in progressing the BIMSTEC Free Trade Agreement and in other areas including tourism, agriculture, energy and communications. In both regional groupings as a founder member Bangladesh continues to endeavor to realize a larger vision of regionalism with increased people-to people connectivity. The Caretaker government would continue to promote these values at the 2nd BIMSTEC Summit in India in early 2008. Bangladesh’s proactive role in regional cooperation has also earned her membership in the Asia Cooperation Dialogue, a regional grouping of 30 Asia pacific countries. At the 6th ACD Foreign Ministerial meeting held in Seoul early this month Bangladesh has proposed to set up an Asian Institute of Poverty Alleviation in Dhaka to replicate Bangladesh models of poverty alleviation through micro-credit.
Bangladesh-UK bilateral relations
Bangladesh’s bonds with the UK date back much beyond Bangladesh’s independence in 1971. These have been strong, warm and enduring, enriched by traditional and historical Commonwealth ties, shared values of democracy and human rights and common interest. Britain was among the first European nations to accord diplomatic recognition to Bangladesh quite early following Bangladesh’s birth as a nation in 1971. Since then friendship and multi-faceted cooperation between the two Commonwealth countries have continued to grow strength to strength in all fields including political, economic, trade and investment, development cooperation and education, defence, security and counter-terrorism.
Today Britain is the single largest foreign investor in Bangladesh and the third largest destination for Bangladesh exports. UK’s investment last year accounted for 25% (USD 850 m) of our total FDI) while exports to UK accounted last year for 10 % of our total exports(USD 1048 m). Britain is also Bangladesh’s third largest bilateral development partner. The significant presence and contribution by a vibrant British-Bangladeshi community in the UK, nearly half a million, has also been a dominating binding factor between the two Commonwealth nations. Regular high level visits have been a hall mark in the relations including those by Prime Ministers Tony Blair and John Major. The two countries have also been closely cooperating in different international forums including at the UN and the Commonwealth. Last April Bangladesh lent its support to UK’s initiative to hold a debate at the UN Security council on Climate Change and its security aspects. Such cooperation between Bangladesh and UK is also common at various fora on peace and security issues, peace-keeping, counter-terrorism, gender justice or women empowerment. UK’s support to the Caret Taker Government of Dr. Fakhruddun Ahmed, its political, electoral and institutional reforms and anti-corruption drive, is deeply appreciated and accounted for. We look forward to Britain’s participation in the EU observer team for Bangladesh elections as well as its independent participation.
Bangladesh foreign relations with the EU
I will now touch briefly on Bangladesh-EU. Bangladesh is particularly appreciative of the fact that her relations with the European Union are characterized by shared global values such as democracy, human rights, good governance, socio-economic development and trade incentives for poverty alleviation. The European Union is the largest trading and development partner for Bangladesh, thanks to the European Parliament’s "Everything but Arms (EBA)" scheme providing duty-free market access to all goods from LDCs. Bangladesh's export to the EU markets accounted for over 52% of our global exports last year and this ofcourse includes the UK’s share as well. We are also deeply appreciative of EU’s development support over the past decades in the attainment of our Millennium Development Goals and hope that such cooperation will further expand in coming years. The care taker government is highly appreciative of the support expressed by the EU to its reforms programme leading to a fee and fair election in BD by December 2008. German Ambassador Michaels, leader of a 10 member EU Troika delegation which visited Dhaka early this month to asses ground situation towards holding of a free air election in Bangladesh reaffirmed “We are fully convinced from our numerous meetings with the government, politicians, and the army that a set of 'practical' political and electoral reforms are working towards the elections in Bangladesh”. Bangladesh looks forward to receiving an EU observer mission.
Relations with other Western countries
Apart form the Western European group Bangladesh also maintains important economic and strategic relations with other western countries, and in particular US, Australia and Canada. The United States has long-standing supportive relations with Bangladesh and views Bangladesh as a moderate voice in the Islamic world. Bangladesh has also become a valuable United States ally in the Global War on Terrorism. The two countries have worked closely in US led coalition forces in the Gulf War, in Haiti and Liberia and have substantive defence and security cooperation. US is the single largest destination for Bangladesh exports accounting for a third our global exports of US$ 10.52 billion, without however any duty free access. We urge upon the UK to persuade the US to pass a draft bill titled “TRADE Act of 2007” now with the US Senate proposing duty free access to Asian LDCs such as Bangladesh. Such treatment has already been accorded to Sub-Saharan African LDCs and the Caribbean Basin Countries. With Canada and Australia, Bangladesh has excellent cooperation particularly including substantive trade ad economic relations. The Foreign Adviser of the Care Taker Government of Dr. Iftekhar Chowdhury has just concluded an official tour to Australia during which the Australian government’s raised its development assistance to Bangladesh by a third.
Bangladesh’s Foreign Policy in multilateral organisations: UN, CW, NAM and OIC
An uncompromising commitment to the principles and purposes of the United Nations is a principal tenet of the foreign policy of the Caretaker Government of Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed. For a resource poor country like Bangladesh, UN provides a window of opportunity for expressing concerns and upholding national interests, and compliments our national efforts to uphold peace, democracy, the millennium development goals, empowerment of women or climate change. We believe in a strong and effective United Nations.
Bangladesh’s spontaneous and active participation in UN Peace Keeping Operations stems from its constitutional commitment to uphold peace, justice, freedom and democracy. Bangladesh’s valiant armed forces as well as civilian police personnel have shed blood in distant lands and helped bring back peace, democracy and development particularly in Africa through their hard work and sacrifice in UNPKOs. Over the last decade Bangladesh has so far contributed, 60,000 personnel in 31 UN peace operations and is currently the second largest troops contributor serving in 11 UN peace missions. 76 of our peacekeepers have fallen in the cause of global peace. The Care Taker Government has decided to offer around 2,000 troops to Sudan's troubled Darfur region as part of a joint United Nations (UN) and African Union (AU) "hybrid force" that was accepted by the Sudanese government last week.
As a developing country committed to global peace Bangladesh has also been playing a leading role in the fight against global terrorism. Bangladesh has condemned all acts of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, as we believe that it poses a threat to international peace and security and is a violation of human rights. Bangladesh has acceded to all13 global counter terrorism conventions. As a manifestation of its commitment to counter terrorism the caretaker government of Dr Ahmed took the initiative to ensure that Bangladesh is the 22nd State to accede to the International Convention on Acts of Nuclear Terrorism’’ that helped the treaty entire into force on 07 June 2007. In the area a general and complete disarmament, Bangladesh’s record has been impeccable, particularly in South Asia, as she is a party to all 7 major multilateral disarmament treaties including the NPT, the CWC, the CTBT and the APMT. In fact Bangladesh is the only country in South Asia to have ratified the Antipersonnel Mine Treaty.
Bangladesh is deeply committed to promote all human rights–civil, political, economic, social and cultural, including the right to development. A state party to 13 major international human rights instruments, Bangladesh takes special pride in her accession to all protocols relating to women and children rights. Firm in its conviction to promote human rights and ensure justice to victims, Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed’s government has already initiated all necessary action to establish an independent National Human Rights Commission and has on 9 May 2007 signed the latest UN human rights Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Bangladesh is also the only country from South Asia to have signed the statute of the International Criminal Court.
Bangladesh’s proactive role as a moderate and progressive developing country has received wide recognition at the UN through her successful election in almost all policy making bodies in the UN. Under the present caretaker government, BD is making policy level contribution as a member of the UN Human Rights Council, Committee on the Rights of the Child, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women,(CEDAW),UN Peace Building Commission, Executive Council of UNDP/UNFPA, UNESCO, UNHABITAT, Commission on Social development and the IMO.
In the area of trade and development for the last 32 years Bangladesh has been playing a pro-active, moderating and constructive role in all policy making bodies of the UN advancing issues having direct impact on Least Developed and developing countries as the coordinator of 50 LDCs for two decades at the UN, Commonwealth and WTO negotiations. Bangladesh enjoys the confidence of the UN membership for these constructive roles which was evidenced in the unanimous adoption of two important flagship resolutions proposed by Bangladesh at the 2006 UNGA. The first on ‘A Culture of Peace and Non-violence’” and the other on the “World Diabetes Day”. Each had more than 114 co-sponsors.
Another hallmark in the foreign relations of the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh is its strong conviction in the core values of the Commonwealth including democracy, free and fair elections, good governance, anti-corruption and protection of human rights. A proactive member of the CW, Bangladesh took the initiative to create a Commonwealth mechanism for natural disaster management at the Malta CHOGM last year. A country deeply committed to South-South Cooperation, Bangladesh is also a strong voice for the LDCs at the Non-aligned Movement and the G-77. As one of the largest Muslim countries Bangladesh has also been playing a moderating role
at the Organisation for Islamic Conference and had made several proposals at the OIC to make it modern, dynamic and in tune with contemporary multilateral institutions.
I would like to conclude here taking inspiration and analogy on Bangladesh’s domestic situation and foreign policy with quotes by three most famous Conservative Prime Ministers.
I will start with William Gladstone who said” Here is my first principle of foreign policy: good government at home.” In Bangladesh we are aspiring to consolidate the first principle of our foreign policy, institutions for a good government at home.
I will second with Winston Churchill who said that ,”A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. That success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” In Bangladesh we are at the crossroads of unprecedented opportunities and challenges. And we see an opportunity in every challenge now facing the Carte Taker Government of Bangladesh. Opportunities, for creating a strong foundation for a sustainable democracy and accountable governance. Opportunities, towards the creation of a society free of corruption, political violence and extremist terrorist elements.
And the last but not the least, excerpts from a famous foreign policy speech by Baroness Margaret Thatcher: Enduring success never comes easily to an individual or to a country. Let us go down in history as the generation which not only understood what needed to be done but a generation which had the strength, the self-discipline and the resolve to see it through. That is our generation.“ The new generation of Bangladeshis wants to see positive changes in their domestic practices and translate those best practices into their foreign policy. And the international community and friends around this room can make a difference in realizing these opportunities and unleashing Bangladesh’s true potential by giving their full support to the non-party Care-taker Government of Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed. I thank you.