BANGLADESH AND THE REST OF THE WORLD

A leader of her time and with a vision to look ahead, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina could well appreciate the importance and influence of the countries of South East Asia and the pacific region in contemporary international relations. A foreign policy that looked east as much as it looked west, the present Government pursued a vigorous policy of engagement with the countries of the South East Asia and the Pacific region.

China

With the end of the cold war, China’s influence in international relations has enhanced immensely. The present government immediately after coming into power took necessary steps to strengthen bilateral relations and increase cooperation. After assuming office, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina undertook her first official visit the China on 12-16 September 1996. This created a very positive impact on the government and the people of China. Former Prime Minister and at present the Chairman of the National Peoples Congress and the second most important leader of the People’s Republic of China, Li Peng paid a visit to Bangladesh 11-12 April, 1999. The visits of Foreign Minister Abuds Samad Azad and other cabinet ministers as well high level visits from China has helped opening new vistas in our bilateral relations and cooperation political as well as economic. The renewed goodwill in our relations is evident from the successful completion of the ultra modern and state of the art Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman International Conference Centre in Dhaka, built entirely with Chinese cooperation and assistance.

Japan and the Pacific Region

Japan is our largest bilateral development partner and it can be said with a sense of great satisfaction that Bangladesh-Japan bilateral relations improved at an accelerated rate during the present government. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s official visit to Japan in July 1996 and that of Japanese Prime Minister Yoshori Mori to Bangladesh in August 2000, infused new dynamism on the bilateral relations of the two countries. Among the many significant developments in Japan-Bangladesh relations over the past four and half years were the signing of four landmark agreements on bilateral economic cooperation that would bring about remarkable improvement in the communication infrastructure of Bangladesh. Our relations with the Republic of Korea also showed remarkable progress that was vindicated by continued Korean investments in Export promotion Zones. These investments apart from contributing to our foreign exchange earnings also created many jobs for our people. There was also significant improvement of our bilateral relations with other countries of the pacific region.

Australia

Australia was among the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with Bangladesh. Australia’s generous development assistance and cooperation began during the time of the father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. After his brutal assassination, the autocratic regimes that usurped power could not make any significant progress in our relations with this important nation. Since the assumption of office, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina initiated a policy of positive engagement with Australia that was translated into successful cooperation in several areas including, parliament and legislation, administrative reforms, agriculture, education, technology etc. The momentum in Australia-Bangladesh relations reached its peak with the visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to Canberra in October 1999. The visit created a ver positive impact on the people of Australia and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s personal image as a defender of democracy raised the stature of Bangladesh to new heights.

Malaysia

There was a similar momentum in the strengthening of our relations with South East Asian Countries. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohammed’s visit to Bangladesh in 1999 and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s return visit to Malaysia in 2000 infused new dynamism in the bilateral relations between the two countries. The visits opened up new vistas of cooperation and ensured the continuing export of skilled manpower from Bangladesh to Malaysia.

BIMST-EC

The creation of the a new regional economic cooperation between Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand under the acronym of BIMST-EC was another grand opportunity for economic development on a regional basis. BIMST-EC was born out of the forward looking vision of the present Government that regional cooperation was the only viable option to attain development in a globalized world.

D-8

A similar initiative was taken by the present Government to forge development cooperation among a select number of Islamic countries under the title of the Development Eight, popularly known as the D-8. The D-8 Comprises Bangladesh, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan, Egypt, Turkey, Nigeria. The Second D-8Summit held in Dhaka in 1999 was a grand success in that it provided an impetus in forging for substantive cooperation among the member states.

Muslim world

The vast majority of the people of Bangladesh being Muslims, it was necessary that the foreign policy of the country adequately reflect the aspirations of the people to uphold the Islamic traditions of our people and to maintaining strong brotherly ties with the brotherly Islamic Countries. The Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mjibur Rahman fulfilled this aspect by leading the Bangladesh delegation to the Summit Meeting of Organization of the Islamic conference held in Lahore in 1974. At that Conference, The Father of the Nation firmly established the rightful place of Bangladesh in the Islamic world and laid the foundations for strong base on which our relations with the Islamic countries would be built. The present Government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has vigorously pursued a policy of further strengthening our bilateral relations with the Muslim world. Her participation in the OIC Summit held in Tehran in 1997 and in Qatar 2000 crated a very positive impact on the member states. Her active participation left a most lasting impression on the leaders of the Islamic countries as a leader who was determined to uphold the interest of the Muslims in the international relations and towards generating greater cooperation for the overall development and prosperity of Muslims the world over. The Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visits to Saudi Arabia in 1996, 1997, 1999 and 2000; to Kuwait in November 2000, Qatar in 2000, Iran in 1997, Bahrain in March 1999, Turkey in October/November 1999, Egypt in February 2001, Morocco in July 1999, Jordan in February 1999 definitely contributed in strengthening Bangladesh’s fraternal ties with the Islamic countries.

United States

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s commitment to democracy and to uphold respect for human rights strongly appealed to Western Democracies. These countries could see in the present Government a positive will to restore democratic institutions and to engage in activities for overall development of the people including women and children at home and to take a pro active role in promoting peace and development in international relations. This generated a renewed enthusiasm on the part of the West to intensify its relations with Bangladesh and expand the scope of bilateral cooperation.

A high watermark in our successful foreign policy with the West was achieved when the US President Bill Clinton paid an official visit to Bangladesh on March 20,2000. This was for the first time in history that a US President visited Bangladesh. During his visit, the US President was visibly impressed by the dedication and determination of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Government to fulfill its obligations to the people. He assured his Government’s cooperation and assistance to strengthen democracy and the process of socio-economic development including disaster preparedness and combating the arsenic problem. The US President was most impressed by Prime Ministers concern for the most vulnerable groups in society including women, children, the aged and the disabled and the Ashrayan programme in Bangladesh under the initiative of Prime Minster Sheikh Hasina. The remarkable improvement in Bangladesh-US relations was further invigorated by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s return visit to the US in October 2000 at the invitation of President Clinton. The visit contributed immensely in raising the stature of Bangladesh in the US and paved the way for greater cooperation between the two countries, including alleviating the visa concerns of Bangladeshi students studying in the US, addressing the immigration problems of undocumented the US, addressing the immigration problems of undocumented Bangladeshis living the US, bilateral trade between the two countries, and US investment Bangladesh. The US President also assured Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of the cooperation of the US Government to help in bringing in the accused persons involved in the brutal murder of the Father of the Nation, to face justice. Besides, the visits of US Senators and members of the House of Representatives, Cabinet ministers including those by the US Secretary of State and Secretary of Commerce were positive developments in our relations with the US.

United Kingdom

Bangladesh’s traditional relations with the United Kingdom were substantially strengthened during the regime of the present Government. The visit of British Prime John Major to Bangladesh in June 1997 marked he beginning of a new era of friendship with the UK. The goodwill that was created by the visit was further enhanced by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s official visit to the UK in July 1999 when she had in depth discussions with the present British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Her visit, a significant component was to launch a Bangladeshi Cultural Festival, put our culture firmly in the map of the United Kingdom like never before. The Prince of Wales, Prince Charles and the Princess Royal Anne also paid visits to Bangladesh during the tenure of the present regime. These visits, along with several exchanges of visits at the ministerial level took Bangladesh-UK relations to a level never experienced before. The ties were further enhanced by the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s participation in the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Edinburg in 1997 and at Durban in 2000, when she had extensive discussions with the British Prime Minister.

European Union

The European region is the largest export region absorbing over 46.35% of our total exportable. The present Awami League Government attached the highest priority to develop our relations with the member states of the European Union and those outside it. These countries, impressed by the commitment of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to democracy, respect for human rights and international peace and security, showed great enthusiasm to strengthen bilateral ties. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to Brussels in February 2000 opened a new chapter in cooperation with the European Union. Bangladesh’s profile was further enhanced by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to Italy in November, 1996 and in December 2000, to France in February 2000, to Germany in July 1997 and December 2000 and to Switzerland in December 2000. The visits of Queen Sophia of Spain to Bangladesh in 1997 and 1999, Prime Minister Romano Prodi of Italy in 1998 and other high level visits by European leaders testify the confidence of the Western countries on the present Government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Never before in history have so many leaders underscored their confidence in and their support Bangladesh in its quest for democracy, peace and development and under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Russia and Eastern Europe

The present Government also succeeded in strengthening relations with Russia and other countries of Eastern and central Europe. There have been several changes of visits at the level of foreign and other Cabinet Ministers, which helped in improving bilateral relations and increasing commercial and economic cooperation. Bangladesh’ active participation in the International Conference on Strengthening New and Restored Democracies in Warsaw in April, 2000, which gave wide acclamation to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s doctrine for establishing neutral caretaker government between general election for the sake of free and fair elections and to ensure peaceful transfer of power, created a positive image throughout the world including Europe.

Africa

Since the brutal killing of the Father of the National and until the assumption of office by the present Government, Bangladesh remained practically unknown in the African Continent. Although a resident mission was opened in the South African capital Pretoria in February 1995, there was no notable development in our relations in the Southern African Region.

The present government of Sheikh Hasina realized the importance and potential of the African continent and decided to actively pursue to develop bilateral relations with the African countries. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina sent her special envoy to several African countries during 1998 and 1999 that marked a new beginning in our relations with Africa. The landmark visit of the legendary African leader and valiant freedom fighter Nelson Mandela to Bangladesh on 25-27 March 1997 to participate in the Silver Jubilee celebrations of our independence opened a new chapter in our relations with Africa. A positive development of the present government’s Africa policy was seen when Nigeria decided to open its resident mission in Dhaka.

Latin America

Another landmark achievement of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s foreign policy was to focus on Latin America. In this day of information highways. Geographical distance cannot be a constrain in relation’s with countries. The vast potential of Latin America in Global affairs was for long neglected in our foreign policy. Prime Minister Sheikh Hansina wanted to change this trend and embarked on a policy to exploit the potentials of a more active relationship with the Latin countries. The wisdom of her farsighted was vindicated by the visit of the President Alberto Fujimori of Peru to Bangladesh on 24-25 May 1997. This was the first ever visit by a Head of State/Government of a Latin American State. The 39 member strong delegation including top businessmen that accompanied the Peruvian President has set the stage for a grand era of our relationship with Latin America.

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