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Bangladesh PM proposes 5 points to address weaker economies’ concerns
DALIAN, China, July 2, 2019 (BSS) – Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today
placed a five-point proposal to address the key concerns of smaller
communities and weaker economies for their collective takeoff endeavours,
which she felt crucial for a sustainable global economy.
“We sometimes look just in terms of the capacity of a few large economies
or their needs,” she told the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting at
this Chinese city while placing the proposals.
But, the premier said, “we must address the key concerns of smaller
communities or relatively weaker economies for our collective journey and
sustainable world”.
Sheikh Hasina joined the session as a panel discussant on “Cooperation in
the Pacific Rim” at Dalian International Conference Centre this afternoon.
“Over a five-decade of my journey in politics tells me that any initiative
in Indo-Pacific should include the following . . .,” she said pacing the
proposals, the first of which suggested creation of an environment of peace-
harmony-stability of all countries.
The Bangladesh premier in her second of the proposals urged all to “focus
on entire aspects of sustainable development” and in the third one suggested
engagement of countries based on mutual trust and mutual respect for mutual
benefit.
The fourth proposal stressed focus on wealth creation for all as
“development must be inclusive”.
“Create fair competition not rivalry,” the premier said in her fifth
proposal.
Sheikh Hasina said when she first assumed office as the premier in 1996
Bangladesh resolved a most challenging issue of sharing Ganges river water
with India.
“We amicably delimited our maritime boundary with Myanmar and India. And
now, Bangladesh and India are joining hands to uniquely develop our trans-
boundary river navigation,” she said.
The prime minister said she always believes that despite differences in size
and capacity compared to India, Bangladesh can only secure its peace and
security through sustainable development and connectivity.
“We are for a rule based system. Yes, geo-politics will always be a part of
life. But we have to carefully appreciate and balance issues (as) we cannot
trade off long-term interests for short-term gains,” she said.
Sheikh Hasina pointed out that a cooperative yet competitive environment
among all countries could be the “insurance of their shared prosperity”.
The premier said it was a widely recognized fact that the Indo-Pacific
region is the most dynamic zone in the world while simultaneously “Bay of
Bengal, home for 1.5 billion people, is a rich and growing region”.
“People living around our Bay of Bengal have so much potential to develop
and grow. There is a tendency to look at Indo-Pacific in respect of trade or
security issues,” she said.
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