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Analysis
Bangladesh:
America’s New Partner
by
Col. Rahul K. Bhonsle
The unfamiliar sight of two women from
different parts of the World, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and
Foreign Minister Dipu Moni of Bangladesh addressing a joint press
conference in Washington are signs of the new smart power being
unleashed by the United States under President Barack Obama who wants to
use, “the tempering qualities of humility and restraint” to engage the
World. In this endeavour Bangladesh could well be America’s new partner.
This is a sharp turnaround for the United States whose Former
secretary of state Henry Kissinger had most uncharitably called
Bangladesh a, “basket case”, in 1974.
The humbling of the United
States in the past few decades and with possible defeat staring in the
face in Afghanistan, reconnecting with the Muslim World has been a
priority for President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Bangladesh is an important constituent of the Muslim world, a populous,
moderate and secular country with a women prime minister. So it was
,“Iftar” diplomacy for Hillary who dined and feted Dipu Moni in
Washington with a possible meeting between Sheikh Hasina and the
President in the offing.
The US President Obama and Secretary of
State seem to be having a similar world view of the country as they see
in it a Muslim majority country which is also very secular in its
approach. This is the Cairo doctrine of the President unfolding in which
Bangladesh and Indonesia are major role players. This was evident in
Hillary’s statement during the joint press meet thus, “As a country with
a strong secular and democratic heritage, a record of respect for women,
a Muslim majority population, Bangladesh embodies the promise that
President Obama spoke of in Cairo”.
That the country also has a
women Prime Minister, Home and Foreign Minister adds to the image of
Bangladesh as a moderate Islamic state even as in other countries as
Malaysia, there is consternation over lashing of a young woman for
drinking beer in public. The second attraction of Bangladesh to America
is democracy ushered in by vibrant, free and fair elections.
Beyond the rhetoric and niceties of diplomacy though a deeper engagement
between the US and Bangladesh will depend on how much economic synergy
develops between the two. Thus it was natural that the two dominating
topics between Hillary and Moni were trade and investment, enhanced
economic engagement and creating an atmosphere for U.S. companies and
investors to expand their activities in Bangladesh.
Not said as
much though were the endemic problems in Bangladesh’s political economy
marred by corruption and extortion. The inability of the Awami League
government to control the same has been its bane and not much hope lies
ahead for many influential members of the party are alleged to be
involved in such activities as per Bangla media.
The Bangla
foreign minister also sought duty-free and quota-free access for
Bangladeshi products into the U.S. market, Hillary assured to look into
the same. The Trade and Investment Framework Agreement was also
discussed, but with the US Congress having the deciding say in such
matters there would be complex negotiations ahead. Dipu Moni also made a
strong plea for drawal from the Millennium Challenge Account and
provision of debt relief. But here again the US was non committal given
the complexity of operating the account and the large number of
aspirants for the same.
Cooperation in counterterrorism was
another key topic as well as social and human rights related issues.
With climate change likely to cause large scale land erosion in
Bangladesh this was also said to be a major issue.
Deporting the
killers of the father of the nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman,
some of whom have reportedly been living in the U.S was one of the
principal pleas by the Bangladesh foreign minister. Here again the US
State department may not have much say given that it has no capacity to
influence the legal processes in the country.
Dr. Dipu Moni also
met key Republican Senator Senator Lugar and thanked him for authoring
the Tropical Forest Conservation Act (TFCA). The Foreign Minister
suggested debt waiver under the TFCA and sought Senator Lugar’s personal
assistance in this regard.
The United States along with India and
Britain played a major role in ensuring that timely elections were held
in Bangladesh after a long hiatus of Emergency in 2007 and 2008. It
obviously wants to carry this relationship forward to build bridges with
the country and through it possibly the Islamic world. How far it
succeeds would depend on how much money it is willing to invest in
Bangladesh economy by supporting trade and providing aid.
These
are complex issues which have no easy solution, but a firm commitment
alone will sustain the bond. Else the Clinton- Moni dialogue may be
smart paper rather than smart power, for it should be noted that there
does not appear to be much interest on Bangladesh in the US media. For
the joint press meet there were only two media persons, one from a
Bangla daily and another AP reporter who in fact questioned Hillary on
the new Japanese government.
So we have to see how far the US
can drive the relationship with Bangladesh purely on the smart power
agenda of the President and Secretary of State.
September 20, 2009
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