BIISS Country Lecture Series Part- 1

Bangladesh Institute of International & Strategic Studies BIISS Country Lecture Series Part 1

Edited by Major General SM Shafiuddin Ahmed, ndu, psc

Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) 1/46 Old Elephant Road, Eskaton, Dhaka-1000 Published by Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) 1/46 Old Elephant Road, Eskaton, Dhaka-1000 Phone: +880 2 9353808, 8315808, 9336287 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.biiss.org

Printed by GraphNet Limited 6/B, Naya Paltan, Ground Floor, Dhaka-1000 Phone : 9354142, 9354133 E-mail : [email protected] CONTENTS SL Topics Page 1. Editorial 01 2. Biography of H. E. Ms. Norlin Binti Othman, High Commissioner, Ma- 07 laysian High Commission in Bangladesh 3. Lecture on Malaysia 08 H. E. Ms. Norlin Binti Othman 4. Biography of H. E. Mr. W. A. Sarath K. Weragoda, High Commissioner, 17 The High Commission of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka in Bangladesh 5 Sri Lanka, Its Foreign Policy, Security Strategy and Relations with Bangladesh 18 H. E. Mr. W. A. Sarath K. Weragoda 6. Biography of H. E. Mr. Lee Yun-young, Ambassador, Embassy of the 29 Republic of Korea in Bangladesh 7. All about Korea and Korea-Bangladesh Relation 30 H. E. Mr. Lee Yun-young 8. Biography of H. E. Mr. Iwan Wiranata Atmadja, Ambassador, The Em- 36 bassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Bangladesh 9. Indonesia-Bangladesh: Forging Ahead to the Future 37 H. E. Mr. Iwan Wiranata Atmadja 10. Biography of H. E. Mr. Alexander A. Nikolaev, Ambassador, Ambassador 47 Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary, The Embassy of the Russian Federation in Bangladesh 11 Russia in Modern International Policy 48 H. E. Mr. Alexander A. Nikolaev 12. Biography of H. E. Mr. Pankaj Saran, High Commissioner, The High 59 Commission of India in Bangladesh 13. India and India-Bangladesh Relations 60 H. E. Mr. Pankaj Saran 14. Biography of H. E. Mr. Li Jun, Ambassador, The Embassy of the People’s 67 Republic of China in Bangladesh 15. China’s Development and the China-Bangladesh Relationship 68 H. E. Mr. Li Jun 16. Biography of H.E. Mr. Dan W. Mozena, Ambassador of the United States 73 in Bangladesh 17. America’s Partnership with Bangladesh: Stronger, Deeper and Broader than Ever 74 H.E. Mr. Dan W. Mozena

Country Lecture Series

Editorial This book is a collection of the lectures presented in the Country Lecture Series (CLS) introduced from 2013 by Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS). BIISS launched this new programme titled “Country Lecture Series” on 25 August 2013 at BIISS auditorium, Dhaka. Dr. Dipu Moni, MP, the then Foreign Minister of Bangladesh, was present as the Chief Guest and inaugurated the “Country Lecture Series”. In essence, it is part of our efforts to explore the potentials and avenues to promote and intensify our relations further with the countries. So far, eight country lectures with Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, South Korea, China, India, Russia and the USA were conducted by BIISS. Precisely, the main objective of the CLS is to strengthen bilateral relations with the respective countries and identify different areas of cooperation through discussion and exchange of views. It is worthwhile to mention that each individual country has its distinct foreign policy which is shaped, modified and rephrased considering the country’s strengths and weaknesses. It needs no mention that the world order is changing fast and there is no alternative to strengthen cooperation with the outside world. Therefore, each country regardless of size, location and strength tries to maintain relations with other countries with whom it has diplomatic ties. Bangladesh is not an exception in this regard. Bangladesh is on the verge of economic advancement and its GDP growth rate is about 6 per cent. Bangladesh needs good bilateral ties to maintain this economic pace in the years to come. This pragmatic realisation led BIISS to take the initiative of organising a series 1 of discussion termed ‘country lecture’. Needless to say that, the continuous endeavour of a state is to deepen and enhance development cooperation with the developed world in the one hand; countries of neighbourhood on the other. Undeniably, political instability, distrust, tension and mutual suspicion with the neighbouring countries shadow positive areas of cooperation. Hence, it is imperative to reduce gaps through discussions and dialogues for the sake of good neighbourly relationship. In line with this, Bangladesh is trying to maintain fraternal relations with the countries of immediate neighbourhood South Asia and South East Asia (SEA). Both two regions are pertinent for Bangladesh as it shares border with two countries of the regions namely India and Myanmar. South Asian countries get significant importance in Bangladesh foreign policy because of major geopolitical and economic interests. Moreover, Bangladesh is in advantageous position due to geographical location as well as its potentiality to serve as a bridge between South Asia and SEA. In Bangladesh’s foreign policy, it is prioritised that concerted efforts are required to get the benefits from each country. It needs to underscore that SEA is also an important destination of skilled and semi-skilled manpower export and one of our foreign policy agendas is to ensure better destination for them. In addition, a crucial aspect of our foreign relations in recent times has been improved engagement with the East. Bangladesh is trying to maintain friendly relations with the Country Lecture Series

East Asian countries. Bilateral relations with these countries are based on the principles of peaceful co-existence, good neighbourliness, partnership in development, mutual trust and confidence. The contribution and cooperation from these countries in Bangladesh’s development has already been highly appreciated. Furthermore, Bangladesh is trying to increase closer partnership with these countries to take the relationship at a new height. Apart from Asian countries, one of the major foreign policy objectives of Bangladesh is to maintain strategic partnership with the big powers namely the USA and Russia. Bangladesh is enjoying good relations with these two countries and the relations are growing substantially from different aspects. Hence, the reason behind introducing the Country Lecture Series, was to understand each other, enhance knowledge and explore untapped potentials of bilateral relationship. Accordingly, the first country lecture in this series was about Malaysia which was held on 25 August 2013. The lecture was delivered by Her Excellency (H.E.) Ms. Norlin Binti Othman, High Commissioner of Malaysia to Bangladesh. Undoubtedly, Bangladesh- Malaysia relation enjoys cultural and religious affinity. Malaysia’s early recognition of Bangladesh after the independence marks the beginning of the relation. Since both the countries are members of OIC, NAM, the Commonwealth, D-8 and ARF as well as strong proponents of multilateralism, Bangladesh and Malaysia share common understanding on major regional and international issues. The major areas of cooperation between Bangladesh and Malaysia have been economic and technical assistance, trade and 2 investment, employment of Bangladeshi work force in Malaysia, defence-cooperation, educational exchange, tourism, culture and sport, technology-transfer and human resource development. The second country lecture of the country lecture series covered Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka which was held on 3 October 2013. In this lecture, Sri Lankan High Commissioner, Mr. W. A. Sarath K. Weragoda, delivered the lecture. The state of warm relations between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka is noteworthy. By now, the growing bilateral cooperation covers a wide range of sectors including trade and investment, tourism, culture, sports, etc. The two countries see eye-to-eye on many regional and international issues and have been working closely in the international fora to advance peace, stability, and development. Bangladesh is the fourth largest trading partner of Sri Lanka in the SAARC region in terms of exports and imports. However, it is also true that the trade potential has not been exploited to the fullest. Nevertheless, over the last few years, several areas of further trade and commerce have been identified. Sri Lanka has shown its eagerness to import medicines from Bangladesh. There are also prospects for investment in jute goods and infrastructural sectors in Sri Lanka. Both countries are now closely working to reduce tariffs at a faster rate and rationalise sensitive lists under multilateral frameworks like SAFTA. The untapped trade and commerce prospects can be realised further by enhancing maritime connectivity between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Bangladesh can also be benefitted by accessing Hambantota sea port for transhipment to reduce time and export costs. It can be said that trade figures will soar much higher Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

when the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two friendly countries will be fully operational.

The third country lecture in this series was about Republic of South Korea (ROK) on 07 November 2013 at BIISS auditorium, Dhaka. The lecture was delivered by H.E. Mr. Lee Yun-Young, Ambassador, and the Embassy of the Republic of Korea to Bangladesh. ROK contributed significantly to rebuild the war-ravaged country. Bangladesh-ROK bilateral ties is a time-tested friendship with mutually beneficial cooperation expanding over many areas. The two countries are closely cooperating in the fields of trade, investment, sharing of skill, development cooperation, technology transfer, education, training, employment, human resource development, cultural exchange and through people-to- people contact. In the international arena, the two countries are working closely to uphold international peace and stability and to promote free trade and fight adverse effects of climate change. Korea has been a significant development partner for Bangladesh which has immense contribution in the development of infrastructure such as the railways, telecommunication sector, transmission lines, e-government, infra-networking sectors, education, health, ICT, rural development and governance sectors etc. Trade between the two countries is increasing at a phenomenal rate. Korea has reportedly invested US$ 1,006 million in Bangladesh in various sectors like ready-made garments, textiles, tanning and shoe factories. Despite the existing close cooperation, there is a huge scope for further expanding and developing this in the days ahead. 3 The fourth country lecture in the series was on Indonesia and titled “Indonesia- Bangladesh: Forging Ahead to the future”. H.E Iwan Wiranata Atmadja, the Indonesian Ambassador to Bangladesh was the guest speaker of the event. Indonesia was the first Muslim country to recognise the independent Bangladesh on 25 February 1972, and since then bilateral relations between the two countries continued to grow in many sectors. Bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Indonesia had expanded to various fields over time, e.g. trade, investment and cultural exchange over years. The strong desire of the two countries to consolidate cooperation was marked by the success of the 2nd Indonesia- Bangladesh Joint Commission in Indonesia in August 2010. Indonesian scholarship programmes for Bangladeshi youth, under the framework of Developing Countries Partnership is also a notable development. Indonesia also offered various training programmes in various fields as a part of technical cooperation with Bangladesh. With the total trade increase averaging 19 per cent for 2007-2011 and the stable economic growth in Bangladesh and Indonesia, the total bilateral trade value between the two countries is expected to reach US$ 2 billion in 2017. Bangladesh could therefore emerge as one of the major trade partners of Indonesia in South Asia. The next country lecture in the series held on 30 March 2014 titled “Russia in Modern International Policy”. Alexander A. Nikolaev, Ambassador, Embassy of the Russian Federation in Bangladesh was the keynote presenter. It is well acknowledged that Russia is always a key player in major international affairs. Recently, Russia seized the world’s attention with its proposal to put Syrian Chemical weapons under international control. Besides, the UN- Country Lecture Series

backed Geneva Conference is an attempt by Russia and the United States to bring stakeholders to the table in order to reach a consensus on how to settle the civil war in Syria. Russia’s bold geopolitical moves towards Iran and Syria issues in 2013 and Crimea in 2014 shows Russia’s growing global influence in the Middle-East and beyond. Russia is also a leading force in world energy sector and a major participant in international energy market as it holds the world’s largest proven reserves of natural gas. More precisely, Bangladesh’s relations with Russia have strong historical roots. During the Liberation War in 1971, the leaders of the former USSR played extraordinary supportive role, particularly at the UN Security Council. Immediately after the Liberation War, the Soviet Union extended its helping hand to the Bangladeshi people and assisted the newly-born war-torn state in the reestablishment and development of its economy. Recently, relations between the two countries are gaining impetus in many spheres such as exploration of prospects for cooperation in peaceful use of nuclear energy, further promotion of bilateral trade and cultural ties. Bangladesh signed its biggest defence deal with Russia worth US$ 1 billion, including US$500 million for the country’s first nuclear power plant. Bangladesh and Russia plan to explore every opportunity to work together to guarantee potential enhancement of these close relations for the sake of progress and prosperity of the common people. The sixth country lecture was on India titled “India and India-Bangladesh Relations”. H.E Pankaj Saran, the Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh, was the guest speaker of the event. Undoubtedly, India is often attributed as a political and economic 4 powerhouse of the world. The uniqueness of Bangladesh-India relations is noticeable as geographically the former is surrounded by the latter. The long and historical ties, cultural affinities, shared values and vision only necessitate that the two countries have a cooperative partnership for achieving mutual national progress and prosperity. The extraordinary assistance India provided during the War of Liberation in 1971 is commendable. Bilateral relations had widened and deepened since then to span numerous aspects. India is a major trading partner of Bangladesh, being the 2nd largest source of imports. However, Non-tariff barriers (NTBs) is a concern in Bangladesh-India trade relation. There are also other unresolved issues e.g. border demarcations, exchange of enclaves, sharing of trans- boundary water resources, maritime delimitation, management of the porous border and related criminal activities etc. However, since 2010, followed by the landmark visit of the Honourable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to New Delhi, a new era in bilateral relations was experienced. Cooperation increased in the areas of energy in terms of electricity import from India. New areas of cooperation also are emerging like traditional medicine, fisheries, Sundarban’s biodiversity, etc. More notable were the enhancement of security cooperation with conclusion of the long waited extradition treaty, security cooperation between the two border forces, and putting in place a MoU on joint border management etc. The sharing of trans-boundary water resources however, needs urgent attention. Both countries equally feel the need to resolve all outstanding bilateral issues while striving for advancing the cooperation and strengthen further inexorable bilateral relations. The next country lecture was on China titled “China’s Development and China- Bangladesh Relations”. H. E. Mr. Li Jun, Ambassador, Embassy of the People’s Republic Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

of China in Bangladesh was the keynote presenter for this lecture. Currently, China is the 2nd largest economy of the world. It is believed by many that, by 2040 China will be the largest economy of the world. The unprecedented economic growth for last thirty-eight years has raised the international profile of China. However, ever since the establishment of diplomatic relations in the mid 1970s, Bangladesh-China relations have only increased in strengths and extensity. In the last nearly four decades, the relationship between these two nations has acquired the characters of ‘all weather’ and ‘tested’ friendship. In last thirty-eight years, all successive Heads of Government of Bangladesh visited China, some even on several occasions, to pave the way for broad based cooperation developed through years with added depth and dimension. The top level state visits, both by the ruling party and the opposition leaders to China have always been on the foreign policy priority of Bangladesh. China is a close friend of Bangladesh and she has extended substantial grants and loans to Bangladesh as well as technical and financial assistance to many projects of significance for the Bangladesh economy. China has also emerged as the biggest source of imports for Bangladesh in recent years. China’s extensive support to Bangladesh in building and maintaining Bangladesh’s defence capabilities is also noted with particular appreciation in the country. Bangladesh and China need to explore every opportunity to work together to guarantee potential enhancement of these close relations for the sake of progress and prosperity of the common people of both the countries. The last country lecture was on the USA titled “America’s Partnership with Bangladesh: Stronger, Deeper and Broader than Ever”. H.E. Mr Dan W. Mozena, the United States 5 Ambassador to Bangladesh, delivered the lecture on the prospects of Bangladesh-US relations. The political and cultural appeal of the US – what Joseph Nye has ascribed as “soft power” – has added to this American superiority since the end of Cold War. Today, the United States is the mightiest nation on the earth with its US$ 16.8 trillion GDP i.e., almost a quarter of the World GDP and more than one-third (36.6 per cent) of world’s defence spending. At this position, Bangladesh and the United States enjoy excellent diplomatic, economic and military relations. While Bangladesh is one of the key US strategic partners in South Asia, the US on the other hand, is one of the major development partners of Bangladesh. The bilateral trade relations have only increased and expanded this partnership between the two countries. American companies are also one of the highest foreign direct investors in Bangladesh, in fact, the 2nd highest with US$ 696.7 million FDI in 2012. The United State’s investment on energy sector in Bangladesh has been playing a catalytic role for both the countries. Besides, the US Military and Bangladesh Armed Forces maintain long-standing cooperation in defence, counter-terrorism, maritime security and disaster management. Bangladesh is a forerunner of the US global counter-terrorism efforts and Bangladesh’s achievement in eradicating and countering extremism within the country is highly acclaimed by the US. Bangladesh also hosts flagship American international development programmes in global food security, health and climate change. Bangladesh and the United States relations have now come a long way and reached into a comprehensive and multifaceted partnership. It is high time now to adopt further robust policy for enhancing their bilateral relations and mutual benefits. Country Lecture Series

Therefore, it is clear from above discussions that improving bilateral relations with near and distant countries is a cornerstone of Bangladesh’s foreign policy and it quite often works as a source of strength. The lectures from ambassadors and high commissioners from Malaysia, Indonesia, China, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Russia, India as well as the USA were thought-provoking and insightful on the thematic issues of the CLS. Their intuitive speeches along with the academic acumen enriched the deliberations of the CLS. The current volume containing the speeches of the ambassadors and high commissioners would certainly help us to understand the challenges of bilateral relations and various means for meeting them for the greater interest of advancement and economic prosperity. I want to extend heartfelt thanks to the ambassadors and high commissioners of the respective countries for their insightful and erudite speeches and especially for managing sometime out of their busy schedule to deliver lecture at BIISS. My sincere admiration extends to Ambassador Munshi Faiz Ahmad, Chairman, Board of Governors of Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) for moderating the country lecture series and contributing to its success enormously. His timely interventions have kept the discussions in-track and helped in generating thought provoking discussion during the questions and answers sessions. I also express my sincere gratitude to the coordinators who worked hard in organising the CLS in different times. Special thanks to Colonel Md Farid Uddin, Research Director, 6 BIISS and his team for coordinating the CLS and editing its proceedings in a book form. I hope that the Country Lecture Series will be a success and will continue to have a positive impact like other regular activities of BIISS. Major General SM Shafiuddin Ahmed, ndu, psc Director General, Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS), Dhaka Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

Biography of H.E. Madam Norlin Binti Othman 7 High Commissioner of Malaysia for the People’s Republic of Bangladesh H.E Madam Norlin binti Othman joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia in 1982 after graduating in Economics from the University of Malaya. She has served in various capacities in the Ministry and Malaysian missions abroad. In the Ministry, she was Assistant Secretary in the Human Resources Management Division; Assistant Secretary in the Americas and Europe Political Division; Principal Assistant Secretary of South East Asia Political Division; and Principal Assistant Secretary of Finance Division. Her overseas postings were as Second Secretary at the Malaysian High Commission in Ottawa; Counselor at the Permanent Mission of Malaysia to the United Nations; Deputy High Commissioner in New Delhi and Consul General of Malaysia in Medan before assuming her current post as the High Commissioner of Malaysia to Bangladesh. During her career in the Foreign Service, she has served as a member of the Malaysian delegation to several international conferences; United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, Social Summit in Geneva, Women Summit in New York, Asia Africa Legal Consultative Organisation (AALCO) in New Delhi and Kuala Lumpur amongst others. An alumni of the Convent Bukit Nenas School in Kuala Lumpur, she also has a Diploma in Public Management from the Institute of Public Administration Malaysia (INTAN) and MA (Foreign Affairs and Trade) from Monash University, Australia. Country Lecture Series

Country Lecture on ‘Malaysia’ 8 Presented by Madam Norlin Binti Othman High Commissioner of Malaysia for the People’s Republic of Bangladesh Bismillahirahmannirrahim Ambassador Munshi Faiz Ahmad, Chairman, Board of Governors of Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) Major General SM Shafiuddin Ahmed, Director General of Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) My fellow colleagues from the Diplomatic Corps Distinguished Guests, Ladies & Gentlemen; Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh and a very good morning to everyone. 1. First and foremost, I would like to thank the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies for taking interest in Malaysia and inviting me to be here today for the Country Lecture Series (CLS) organised by BIISS. I am indeed honoured to address all of you to share my thoughts on Malaysia and its Foreign Policy. 2. As we are still in the month of Syawal, allow me to take this wonderful opportunity to wish everyone here a blessed Eid-ul-Fitr. May your Eid be filled with friends, loved ones and blessings from Allah the Almighty. Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

3. Feel free to stop me should you do not understand any particular point or I am going too fast, please stop me at anytime. Otherwise, should you have any comments or questions, let us keep it till the end of the lecture for all of us to discuss effectively. 4. Let me start by sharing with you some historical background of Malaysia and its foreign policy. Ladies & Gentlemen. Background 5. Malaysia is a multi-racial, multi-religious society. As a young nation, Malaysia is young in almost every way. We have been an independent country for just over fifty years. We are also young in the sense that 75 per cent of our population is under forty years of age. While our economy continues to grow, we consider ourselves a developing nation and have the drive and optimism to achieve our objectives and take a substantive place in the global community. 6. We are widely viewed as a multi-racial, multi-religious society that has managed its diversity with some success. We have some of the largest and most independent Chinese and Indian communities outside of China and India. We are a majority Muslim Malay country where 65 per cent of the population are Islam followers (19.5 million out of 28 million people) and a leading member of the Islamic world. Within our national school system, the largest network of Chinese medium schools exists here outside of 9 Greater China. Our print, broadcast and online media are multi-lingual. We are Malay, Chinese, Indian, Eurasian, Sarawakian Iban, Sabahan Kadazan and Indigenous people. We are Muslim, Buddhist, Christian and Hindu. 7. There are only few places in the world in which you will find Asian communities so deeply co-mingled, yet distinct. This is because Malaysia is not just diverse in the sense of having people from many cultures and religions. Many countries are diverse in this sense. Malaysia is diverse also in the sense that our people have formed thriving communities each with its own language, culture, history and religion. Our communities have lived side-by-side for centuries and traded influences and ideas, but they remain distinct. That is how we coined the tagline of ‘Malaysia, Truly Asia’ in which the world recognised Malaysia other than our most remembered former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad and having the world’s tallest Petronas Twin-Tower, Sepang International Circuit (SIC), the home of Malaysian Motorsports etc. Ladies & Gentlemen, Foreign Policy of Malaysia 8. As an extension of domestic policy, foreign policy of Malaysia, like many other countries, are designed with the purpose in mind of defending and promoting the country’s national security, economic and other vital interests. Despite the diversity of views regarding the perception and explanation of foreign policy, no foreign policy can be formulated in a vacuum. It must serve to function in a dynamic environment. Country Lecture Series

9. Malaysia’s foreign policy is no exception. Various geographical, historical, social and political determinants contribute to shaping the nature of Malaysia’s foreign policy and the conduct of the country’s international relations. Added to this is the external environment, or what may be termed as the systemic determinant, which becomes increasingly important with the advent of globalisation and in the wake of the era of communication and information technology (ICT). But the basic objective remains the same, i.e. the pursuit of Malaysia’s national interest at the international level. 10. A critical examination of Malaysia’s foreign policy since our independence in 1957 would show its steady evolution characterised by notable changes in emphasis, which took place with the change in Malaysia’s political leadership. 11. A markedly anti-Communist and pro-western posture with close links to the Commonwealth under Tunku Abdul Rahman, our first Prime Minister, gave way to one based on non-alignment, neutrality and peaceful co-existence. 12. Under the second Prime Minister, Tun Abdul Razak, as a member of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC), Malaysia began to identify itself as a “Muslim nation.” The search for new friends substantially increased the importance of Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) to Malaysia. Investments from other than British sources began to be also welcomed. 13. A period of consolidation ensued under Tun Hussein Onn, Malaysia’s third Prime 10 Minister with ASEAN became the cornerstone of Malaysia’s foreign policy following the collapse of Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) in 1975, the withdrawal of the US military presence from Southeast Asia and the invasion of Kampuchea (now Cambodia) by Vietnam. 14. But a more dramatic shift occurred when Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohammad took over as the fourth Prime Minister in 1981. Malaysia’s foreign policy stance began to take a much greater economic orientation than ever before, coupled with a strong and nationalistic defence of the rights, interests and aspirations of developing countries and the advocacy of South-South co-operation. Tun Dr. Mahathir’s premiership saw the pursuit of numerous new initiatives such as;  The Look East Policy (LEP);  The East Asia Economic Cooperation (EAEC) and now ASEAN+3 (China, Japan & Korea);  Regional Development Cooperation - Growth Triangle concept;  Group of 15 (G15);  Championing of the cause of developing countries on major social issues like environment, human rights and democracy;  Islamic Unity through Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC);  Formation of D-8.; etc. Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

Ladies and Gentlemen; 15. Malaysia takes much interest in international peace and security - having membership in UNSC, peacekeeping role in a number of countries such as Cambodia, Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Namibia and East Timor. Malaysia also actively championed against selectivity, double standards and pre-emptive action outside the ambit of the UN. 16. Malaysia also forged strong regional international cooperation in combating terrorism, strongly advocated against profiling by religion or ethnicity, proposed multifaceted approach in combating terrorism including identifying and eliminating the root causes, hosted OIC Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on Terrorism in 2002 and established the Southeast Asia Regional Centre of Counter-Terrorism (SEARCCT), primarily focused on training, research and capacity building in counter-terrorism efforts. 17. During the tenure of Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, other new Frontiers were also opened in activating bilateral engagements with African, Latin American, Eastern Europe and selected Asian countries like Bangladesh, particularly in trade, investment and transfer of technology in the spirit of South-South Cooperation. This includes opening of new Diplomatic Missions as well as the extension of Malaysian Technical Cooperation Program (MTCP) for capacity building initiatives in these countries. Ladies and Gentlemen; 18. In the period 2003 - 2008, under the leadership of the Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, 11 foreign policy initiatives were further refined and fine-tuned to project:  Pragmatic response in meeting the current geopolitical and economic challenges;  More sophisticated articulation of Malaysia’s views;  Substance as a dynamic extension to existing policies;  Influential leadership role as Chair of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), the  Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) and ASEAN; and  Malaysia as a leading example of a tolerant and progressive Islamic Nation through “Islam Hadhari”. 19. The evolution of the country’s foreign policy under successive Prime Ministers reflected a pragmatic response to the geopolitical and economic changes of their times. To be continually relevant to the country’s needs, foreign policy cannot remain static. But whilst change has become a general feature of Malaysian foreign policy, continuity has also been evident. Both the change and continuity mark a higher level of confidence and maturing of the country in the conduct of its international affairs. Indeed, in many ways Malaysia’s leadership role has been recognized on several issues of deep interest to the developing world. 20. As a trading nation, we are very much dependent on a peaceful international environment for our well-being. Naturally, our foreign policy has to be oriented to allow for a greater focus on economic diplomacy. In the past, when we were producing Country Lecture Series

mainly raw materials for the world, Malaysia had to compete with only a handful of countries. But now, when we have become an industrialized trading nation, we have no choice but to work harder, to compete better and to find new markets for our goods and services. We must find better ways to do business with the outside world. We need to find niches in which we have a competitive edge. 21. Towards this end, Malaysia has implemented a number of policies that have a strong foreign policy component that will contribute to the creation of a strong, dynamic and resilient economy. These policies include amongst others in which I did mentioned earlier like:  Look East Policy;  South-South Cooperation;  Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme (MTCP);  Reverse Investment – Prosper Thy Neighbour;  Privatization of Government Body and Malaysia Incorporated; and  Langkawi International Dialogue (LID) Ladies and Gentlemen; 22. Malaysia has repeatedly stressed the importance of adhering to the especially important 12 principle of non-interference in internal affairs, particularly in the context of regional relations. The so-called “constructive intervention” policy advocated by some, involving loud criticism, adversarial posturing and grand standing would only bring more harm than good to the promotion of neighbourly relations. 23. We do make exceptions to the policy of non-interference in certain extreme situations. The bloody cruelty, genocide and atrocities perpetrated by the Serbs against the people of Kosovo struck our conscience, and made Malaysia support Nato’s military action. The peculiar situation in Kosovo calls for pragmatism on our part in the interest of humanity whilst recognising the central role of the UN in resolving the problem. 24. Similarly, our adoption of the “One China Policy”, whilst pursuing close economic relations with Taiwan, bears no paradox but reflects our pragmatism in the face of certain realities. 25. And so are our relations with the West. There is no contradiction between Malaysia’s justifiable criticisms of the West on certain issues and our continued acceptance of Western countries as a market for our products and as a source for investment in our country. 26. Malaysia’s clear foreign policy goals in respect of defence and security strategy, development and trade, international co-operation and diplomacy determine the pattern of relations that we have established with our neighbours, as well as with other countries within the framework of ASEAN, Asean Regional Forum (ARF), Asia- Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), South-South Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

Co-operation, the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC), the Commonwealth, Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), the United Nations (UN) and other regional and international organisations. Ladies and Gentlemen; 27. Developing close bilateral relations with our neighbours remains a high priority. A constructive approach had been taken to resolve outstanding problems including those related to overlapping claims and the determination of land and maritime boundaries. Every diplomatic effort is made to ensure that bilateral relations do not become adversely affected on account of such problems with all our neighbours concerned. 28. At the multilateral level, Malaysia has and will continue to be active in the OIC, Commonwealth, NAM, and the UN. Such platform are useful in promoting co- operation between member states, in finding solutions to global problems and in establishing common ground rules that will guide the peaceful conduct of international relations. Malaysia will continue to use the platform available to speak on global issues like human rights, environmental degradation, terrorism, refugees, democracy, and the reform of the UN Security Council. We believe that the UN should continue to be effective in dealing with global developmental issues, peace and security, humanitarian activities, international crisis and cases of violations of the UN charter and principles of international law - in a fair and equitable manner. On the economic front, Malaysia will continue to adopt a proactive role in the WTO. 13 29. One significant phenomenon that will impact strongly on Malaysia’s foreign policy as we move into the next millennium is globalisation. Our greatest challenge would be to extract the best from the process of globalisation and to give our best to the system; to contribute towards making the world a much more peaceful and equitable place to live in; to provide leadership within the region; and, to demonstrate exemplary and responsible membership of the international community. 30. However, our experience to date with regard to both the political and economic dimensions of globalisation has been less than happy. 31. The economic dimension of globalisation has been even more disappointing. The financial crisis that descended upon East Asia in 1997 brought about not only social misery and economic disaster but political instability as well. Massive unemployment, negative growth, stock market crashes and severe currency devaluation have pulled down millions of people below the poverty lines. The severity of the situation calls for the whole business of economic globalisation and financial and trade liberalisation to be seriously addressed. Malaysia’s biggest foreign policy challenge in the next decade lies in this area. Reforming the international financial architecture to insure against massive currency attacks, manipulators and frequently excessive fluctuations is no small task particularly if we have to persuade those who have been benefiting from the existing system. The years ahead therefore would see our foreign policy specially oriented towards not only ensuring Malaysia’s economic recovery internally, but also our effective role as an influential geopolitical player in this field at the global level. Country Lecture Series

Ladies & Gentlemen; 32. At independence, Malaysia began as a poor country, with more than 50 per cent of our population living in poverty. Malaysia was an agro-based economy, vulnerable to fluctuating commodity prices. Some 80 per cent of our economy then was largely dependent on the exports of two commodities – tin and rubber. Today, five decades later, Malaysia has made great strides. We are a modern industrialising, middle income economy and rank as the 19th largest trading nation in the world. We pursued a national strategy of growth with equity, a strategy that was embraced and accepted by all communities. Malaysians in general are now able to enjoy a high standard of living and decent quality of life. Quite an achievement for a young nation has not given much hope at our conception. 33. This success was not accidental. It has been achieved by hard work and determination, facilitated by our policy of opening up to and engagement with the rest of the world. Because we chose earlier than most not to become isolated, not to look inward, we were able to harness the talents of our people to achieve prosperity that would have astonished our forefathers. 34. There is much to do to achieve developed nation status by 2020. We have talked before about the importance of managing performance of Government, of ensuring we rigorously measure and deliver value using tools such as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Not only our civil servants are to be held accountable, but Ministers as well. But while a disciplined and systematic approach to managing performance is important, 14 Malaysia recognised it is no substitute for clear vision and direction. And that is why there is now a focus on the concept of 1Malaysia. It is central not just how we should view our domestic national priorities, but also to how we should approach our efforts in diplomacy and foreign relations. Ladies and gentlemen, 35. I have said we must recognise that we live in an interdependent world. Of course we will not agree with the policies and practices of every nation. And there will be tipping points when a country threatens another, harbours terrorists, or acts with injustice towards its own people. But it is in our national and collective interest to join together with like-minded nations, both in the region and beyond. Nations whose principles, policies and actions are aligned with Malaysia, with the notion that engagement and cooperation rather than isolationism and unilateral action, will best serve the interests of the people and the country. 36. Malaysia’s approach to economic development clearly recognises this accelerating interdependence with the rest of the world. We welcome others into Malaysia, while maintaining our own special identity and protecting our economic interests. In recognising that we will best flourish through incorporating the strengths of others, we have taken steps to liberalise some 27 subsectors of the services sector, including health and social services, tourism services, transport services, business services and computer and related services. Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

37. Malaysia is not liberalising to conform to some new economic orthodoxy. Nor is it for the sole purpose of attracting foreign investments and capital. Our objective is clear: to ensure that Malaysians – our people and our companies – benefit from the competitive dynamics that are shaping the global marketplace for ideas, talent and funds, so that Malaysian companies and Malaysians can emerge stronger, become more globalise and ultimately thrive in this new world order. Ladies and Gentlemen; New Economic Model and Transformation Policy 38. Malaysia has also developed the New Economic Model (NEM) to reform the 1970s New Economic Policy (NEP) that will upgrade Malaysia’s status from an upper middle income to a high income country. We have established Economic Advisory Council and Multimedia Super Corridor International Advisory Panel (MSC IAP) to be made up of Malaysian and international experts, which will advise the government on implementing and achieving the objectives of this new economic model. The new economic model will be premised on new sources based on innovation, creativity and high value. 39. Other initiatives include the Government Transformation Program (GTP) to improve government services delivery systems; The Economic Transformation Program (ETP) to provide a framework to emphasise private investment and de-emphasize public investment. 40. Malaysia will continue to explore and develop strategic partnerships in trade and 15 investment with new and traditional partners including countries in the Middle-East, Africa, Latin America and other parts of Asia. 41. Diplomacy is not just about dialogue between states. It now encompasses interaction involving governments, businesses, international organisations, civil society and the people at large and to cultivate and establish networking with the media, NGOs, think tanks and civil societies. In a globalised world, diplomacy is everybody’s business. This is a great deal of work – and an extraordinary opportunity. 42. One area on which we have reached agreement already is towards greater integration within ASEAN. With the association becoming a single community by 2015, creating a vast opportunity for Member States and the world of a single ASEAN market of more than 550 million consumers. The ASEAN+3 Government Partners remain our most important multilateral framework for regional economic, political and security cooperation. We should not pause at this crucial stage. Ladies and Gentlemen; 43. In dealing with sensitive political and sovereignty issues, Malaysia has always been guided by three major principles - Malaysia will not interfere in the internal affairs of its neighbouring countries, it will not support any struggle by groups that would affect the territorial sovereignty and integrity of any country, nor support any separatist group; and it will not provide political asylum to any members or leaders of such separatist groups. Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

44. The fundamental principles of sovereign equality, mutual respect for territorial integrity, peaceful settlement of disputes as well as mutual benefit in relations are the guiding principles that would continue to guide Malaysia’s relations with other countries. These principles have stood the test of time. Indeed, our steadfast adherence to these principles, supported by a consistent foreign policy, has established for Malaysia a credible image in the eyes of the international community. 45. As a concluding point, I have said earlier that we must recognize that we live in an interdependent world. Of course, sometimes we will not agree with the policies and practices of every nation or regional forums, and there will also be tipping points when a country threatens another, harbours terrorists, or acts with injustice towards its own people. But it is in our national and collective interest to join hands with like-minded nations and organisations, both in the region and beyond. Nations whose principles, policies and actions are aligned with Malaysia and organisation that we are part of, with the notion that engagement and cooperation rather than isolationism and unilateral action, will best serve the interests of the people in the country, the region and the entire world for peace, security and prosperity. On this note, I end my lecture and thoughts on Malaysia and its foreign policy. I look forward to hear your views, comments and questions as well. Wabillahi Taufiq Walhidayah Wassalamualaikum Warahamtullahi Wabarakatuh.

16 Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

Biography of H.E. Mr. W.A. Sarath K. Weragoda Ambassador of Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka in Bangladesh 17 H.E. Mr. W.A. Sarath K. Weragoda presented credentials as the High Commissioner Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Democratic Socialist of Republic of Sri Lanka in Bangladesh to His Excellency Md. Zillur Rahman, President of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh on 22nd April 2010. Mr. Weragoda received his primary education at St. Anthony’s College, Katugastota (Sri Lanka) and the secondary education at the Central College, Anuradhapura (Sri Lanka). After which he studied his Bachelor’s Degree in the Arts at the Vidyodaya University. Mr. Weragoda was selected to the Sri Lanka Law College, (Colombo) and was called to the Bar as an Attorney-at- law of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka in December 1974. Over a period of 35 years, Mr. Weragoda has developed an extensive and successful practice in the areas of Family Law, Property, Delictual and Administrative Law. Since the establishment of the Provincial High Court in 2007, Mr. Weragoda has handled a significant portion of the cases at Avissawella, being one of the most eminent Counsels in that jurisdiction. Mr. Weragoda set aside his active practice when he accepted the appointment of High Commissioner (Designated) in Bangladesh. Mr. Weragoda was the President of the Avissawella Branch of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (1986) and the Zonal Vice President and a member of the Executive Committee of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka for several years. Mr. Warengoda, over the last three decades, has taken an active role in the maintenance and progression of the high standards and traditions of the Bar among his peers and whole new generation of advocates and legal officers in Sri Lanka. Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

Country Lecture on “Sri Lanka, Its Foreign Policy, Security Strategy and Relations with Bangladesh” 18 HE Sarath K Weragoda High Commissioner, Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

Ayuboyan (Long Live) Assalamu Alaikum Introduction 1. Known as the ‘Pearl of the Indian Ocean’, Sri Lanka has a rich cultural history, which dates beyond thousands of years. In days gone by this island was called ‘Lanka’ itself in the great Indian epic ‘Ramayana’. The seafarers of old Arabic world called her ‘Serendib’, a word that has since evolved to mean a soothing state of mind is serendipity. The adventurers came up with the sobriquet ‘Pearl of the Indian Ocean’ and later invaders called her ‘Zeylan’, which became ‘Ceylon’. For us and ‘Sri Lanka’ bear the traditional Sanksrit name. 2. Under present 1978 Constitution named as Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. Location 3. The island of Sri Lanka lies in the Indian Ocean, to the southwest of the Bay of Bengal and to the southwest of the Arabian Sea. It is separated from the Indian subcontinent by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait. Sri Lanka lays 29 km off the South Eastern tip of India. Sri Lanka lies between 5 to 10 North latitudes and 79 and Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

82 East longitudes. It measures 65,525 sq kms in area, 445 kms from North to South and 225 kms at its maximum width. Maximum height is Pidurutalagala in Nuwara- Eliya central Sri Lanka.

a. Population: Sri Lanka is a Diversity multi-ethnic and multi- religious country where Sinhala 75% all the communities have coexisted peacefully SL Tamils 11% since ages. Sri Lankan are Indian Tamils 4% known world over for

their kind hospitality and SL Muslims 10% cheerfulness from the known days of history. Being a country with Buddhist religious influence which revolves around “Ahimsa” or peace to all, Sri Lankans are found to be peace loving and sober in nature. Sri Lanka has a population around 20 Million and they are of various ethnic groups, the percentages are as follows: Sinhala are 75 per cent, SL Tamils are 11 per cent, Indian Tamil are 4 per cent and SL Muslims are 10 per cent. b. Religion: Sri Lanka is predominantly a Buddhist country. 70 per cent of the population is Therawada Buddhist followers. Buddhism gave the Sinhalese people a sense of national purpose and 19 identity, and also inspired Religious Diversity

the development of their Buddhists 70% culture and literature. Sri Lanka is the land Hindus 13% of religious freedom and tolerance. The Muslims 10% percentage of religious observance in the Christians 7% country are given below: Buddhists (70 per cent), Hindus (15 per cent), Christians (8 per cent) and Islamic (7 per cent). c. Economic and Social indicators: Sri Lankan key economic and social indicators reflect that its population is 20.3 million. Labour force of Sri Lanka is 8.5 million. The GDP of the country at current Market Place USD 59.4 billion and GDP per capita is USD 2,923. GDP growth rate is 7.8 per cent. Inflation rate is 7.6 per cent. Total Export is worth USD 9, 774 and total Imports worth 19,183 million. History 4. Sri Lanka has a recorded history of more than 2500 years. Mahawamsa or the Great Chronicle, which is regarded as the greatest of all records of Sri Lankan history, was written by Buddhist monks and continues to up to date. This unbroken documentation Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

is considered as unique in its own right for its continuity. An Indo Aryan force led by Prince Vijaya from Bengal arrived in Sri Lanka in year 543 BC. His followers who settled down in various parts of the island, mixed with indigenous tribes. The country was first united by King Pandukabhaya who made the ancient city of Anudhapura as his capital. Since then, Anudhapura remained as the capital of Sri Lanka for over 1400 years, which itself is a record. No other capital of the world has so far remained as a capital for over 1400 years in a stint. 5. The greatest of treasure that Sri Lanka inherited was Buddhism. Buddhism arrived in Sri Lanka through Arahat Mahinda and Arhat Sanghamitta, son and daughter of Great Emperor Asoka. Buddhism gave birth to a unique civilization. It gave us a serene life style, fostered arts and inspired creation of Daganas, Temples, Statues and vast man made irrigation systems, which even defy today’s engineering interpretations. The majestic ruins of the ancient cities, Anuradhapura, Sigiriya, Polonnaruwa and Yapahuwa Dmbadenitye Kotte and last was Kandy till 1815. Colonial Invasions 6. Portugese rule- 1505-1656. Dutch rule- 1656 to 1796 British rule- 1786-1948. 20 Independent Sri Lanka 7. On February 4, 1948, then Dominion of Ceylon became an independent member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The newly independent nation retained the name Ceylon until the 1972 constitution, which renamed it as Sri Lanka. Since independence Sri Lanka has maintained a democratic multiparty system of government. Contemporary Sri Lanka 8. Constitutional Development: 1948-1972: Ceylon Constitution Order-in-council 1947. After 1948 the nation was called and known as Dominion of Ceylon and the constitution was the Ceylon Constitution-Order in council 1947 was given to us by the King George the VI King of England then. The need of the constitutional amendments were long felt, became so necessary, as it was not a constitutions comes from its own soil, home grown or rather not an autochthonous constitution. With the mandate given by people in the 1970 general Elections, the representatives of the people elected at the election, gathered outside Parliament for the purpose of forming a Constituent Assembly to draft, enact and adopt a new constitution. On the 22nd of May 1972 Sri Lanka became a Republic by naming Democratic Republic of Sri Lanka on the adaptation of 1972 Republican Constitution. Further going ahead with a fresh mandate given by the people, in 1977 general Elections, the present constitution was passed by the Legislature in 1978. The nation is called Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. The main features of the present Constitution are: Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

a. The State: Sri Lanka is a free, sovereign, independent and Democratic Socialist Republic and shall be known as the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. b. Unitary State: the Republic of Sri Lanka is a unitary state. c. Sovereignty of the people: In the Republic of Sri Lanka sovereignty is in the people and is inalienable. Sovereignty includes the powers of government, fundamental rights and the franchise. d. Fundamental Rights: Freedom of thought, conscience and religion; Freedom from torture; Right to equality; Freedom from arbitrary arrest, detention and punishment, and prohibition of retroactive penal legislation; Freedom of speech, assembly, association and movement. e. Every person shall be entitled to apply to the Supreme Court, as provided by Article 126, in respect of the infringement or imminent infringement, by executive or administrative action, of a fundamental right to which one such person is entitled under by the constitution. Executive 9. The Chief Executive is the President elected by the people with a 50 per cent plus one form the total polled at the presidential elections held 6 yearly or after 4 years from the assumption of office. Prime Minister and the Cabinet of Ministers shall be appointed by the President. 21 Legislature 10. Parliament shall consist of 225 members; 195 elected under proportional representation and 30 nominated elections in 6 years unless dissolved early. 11. The provincial administration was introduced by the 13th amendment to the constitution. There are 9 provincial councils for each province which are Northern, Southern, Eastern, Western, North Central, North Western, Central, Uva and Sabaragamuwa. The Judiciary 12. Civil law is based on Roman-Dutch law introduced during the period of Dutch rule, but in the area around up country, an indigenous type of law prevails. Criminal law is common to all. Kandyan Sinhalese, Tamils of Jaffna and Muslims have their own customary laws governing property devolution, Donations, marriages and adoption of children etc. Sri Lanka’s judicial system includes the Supreme Court, Appeal courts, high courts, District courts, Magistrates’ courts and Primary courts. The capital penalty is death but it was not exercised since 1975. 13. The President appoints Judges to the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals and the High Court. A Judicial Service Commission appoints transfers and dismissed lower court judges. Sinhala is the official language of the courts. The constitution declares the independence of the judiciary and the courts appear to be independent in practice. Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

Administration 14. The administrative capital of Sri Lanka is Sri Jayewardenepura and the commercial capital is Colombo. Sri Lanka is divided into nine Provinces and 25 Districts. Each province is administered by a directly-elected Provincial Council. Economy 15. Agriculture is the largest sector of the economy in terms of employment, but services and manufacturing generate the majority of export earnings. The economy has depended for a long time on agricultural exports, garments and tourism. It is only recently that industrial exports have begun to figure prominently. Tourism too makes a large contribution of GDP. Currency used in the country is Sri Lankan Rupee (1$= 114 LKR). 16. The latest economical reports show that 8 per cent economic growth was achieved by Sri Lanka in 2009. The country has achieved stable macro economic conditions in recent years. While the production and export of Tea, Rubber, Coconut and other agricultural commodities remains important, the nation has moved steadily towards an industralised economy with the development of food processing, textiles and telecommunications. Tourism 22 17. Given the destinations diversity, Sri Lanka does offer a variety of landscapes and natural settings that are unsurpassed anywhere in the world. The destination’s diversity coupled with accessibility and shorter travel time further enhances Sri Lanka’s appeal as a prime tourist destination. With the termination of the long fought war against separatist terrorism in the country, which affected negatively to this sector, the country’s tourist industry is poised to become a vibrant industry with the next winter season prospects looking bright. It is anticipated that the number of tourist arrivals would exceed 2.5 million by the end of the year 2016. In 2012 Sri Lanka exceeded 1 million tourists. Sri Lanka at a Glance (Social Statistics) 18. The social statistics of Sri Lanka reflect that the country is enjoying universal franchise since 1933 over 21 and since 1965 over 18. The population is recorded as 20.2 Millions according to 2012 census. The life expectancy is 72 years for male and 79 years for female. Literacy rate is 97 per cent while education is free from kindergarten to university. Free health care is offered to its entire population. Sri Lanka is a middle income country and per capita income is US$ 3000. Sri Lanka achieved these status while fighting a prolong war as well as the face of Tsunami devastation. Foreign Policy of Sri Lanka 19. The foreign policy of Sri Lanka traditionally follows a nonaligned foreign policy but has been seeking closer relations with all the nations. It participates in multilateral diplomacy, particularly at the United Nations, where it seeks to promote sovereignty, Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

independence and development in the developing world. Sri Lanka was a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). IT also is a member of the Commonwealth, the SAARC, the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Asian Development Bank, and the Colombo Plan. Sri Lanka continues its active participation in the NAM, while also stressing the importance it places or regionalism by playing a strong role in SAARC. 20. Prime Minister S.W. R. D. Bandaranaike, rightly regarded as a sharp break from the past. He had a vision of universality as the appropriate foreign policy for Sri Lanka, which he saw as a potential Asian Switzerland. Prime Minister Bandarnaike, one of the greatest Asian thinkers on foreign policy, envisaged a world order where even small countries like Sri Lanka could help to resolve international problems and create peace and harmony in an embattled Cold War world. He shared with then Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru the belief that through a policy of dynamic neutralism. The Third world could play a mediatory role in the resolution of international conflicts through the United Nations. His policy of universality had another manifestation in his establishment of diplomatic missions in the Communist world as an expression of open hearted diplomacy. 21. In the next phase of Sri Lanka’s post independence diplomatic history the policy of Non-Alignment fully unfolded. Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike played a role in the development of the Non-aligned Movement. In her first administration a highlight was the mini Summit of December 1962 where on her own initiative she convened 23 a meeting of six Heads of State to help to resolve the Sino Indian border conflict. The phase of Non-Alignment really blossomed forth in her second administration between 1970 and 1977, Non-Aligned Summit of September 1976 when the Prime Minister and Sri Lanka became the centre of attention of the world. From being the world’s first woman Prime Minister Madam Bandaranaike had gained recognition as a figure of international stature. 22. The next phase under President Jayewardene cannot be characterised by a single caption as it was multidimensional and a blend of several elements, such as ties with the Commonwealth, the launching of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SSARC), faith in the United Nations and the commitment to disarmament as seen in his proposal for a World Disarmament Authority. 23. The 1989-1993 periods under the stewardship of President Ranaginghe Premadasa Sri Lanka’s chairmanship of the SAARC was widely regarded to have given the organisation renewed vigour and dynamism. The assumption of office by President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga in 1994 has seen a dramatic transformation in Sri Lanka foreign relations giving Sri Lanka a new dignity and a new image. 24. These policies have been further enhanced after the assumption of office by the President Mahindra Rajapaksa in 2005. The Foreign policy of Sri Lanka took a new course under the ‘Mahinda Chintana’ policy of the government. In the ‘Mahinda Chintana’ policy framework of the Government the President Rajapaksa declared that: Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

a. “I will follow a non-aligned, free and progressive foreign policy. Priority will be given in the political, defense, economic, trade and cultural spheres to the cordial and friendly relationships that we already have with countries in the Asian region including India, Japan, China and Pakistan. It is my belief that the United Nations Organisation and the International Financial Institutions should be more democratic in their approach. We will actively intervene in this regard. It is my intention to strongly implement international treaties, declarations on anti-corruption. This will enable us to act under the international law against those found guilty of corruption, when engaging in trade with foreign countries or foreign institutions. I will create a foreign service which has a correct awareness of our history, economic needs and cultural heritage.” 25. Therefore the foreign policy of Sri Lanka can be dignified as non-aligned policy by non interference of internal matters of other countries, respecting of territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty of all other countries. Sri Lanka expects the same reciprocal respect from other countries for the Sri Lanka’s territorial integrity independence and sovereignty. Sri Lankan Conflict at a Glance 26. Genesis of the conflict: Sri Lanka became independent in 1948 but it continued with the colonial policy and system until 1956. It became need of the day to give proper place to the Swabhasha Sinhala Language the official language. It shall be recalled that 24 reasonable use of Tamil language was guaranteed by successive governments. 27. The tactics used against Sri Lanka and its governments were: a. Spreading and giving publicity of false information to the world. b. Supporting political personalities in other countries and wining their sympathy. c. Purchasing of arms from underworld arms dealers. d. Civil human shields to safeguard the invasions. e. Deploy suicide cadres for assassination of leaders and their targets. f. Crippling the economy. g. Recruiting as many as possible to their forces including child brigades. h. Killing all the moderate and far thinking Tamil politicians and personalities. i. Sabotaging all the peace talks and aim nothing but Elam. 28. Post War issues a. Burdens: i) Maintaining law and order in the liberated areas. (reestablishing police stations and divisional secretaries) ii) Up keeping of 400,000 IDPs iii) Providing food shelter and sanitation for IDPs and education for their children. b. Responsibility: i) Rehabilitation 1) LTTE cadres: 11,000 out of them 352 hard core terrorists were found. a) Integration to the society after mind rehabilitation. b) Vocational traning were given Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

i) Tailoring-welding-motor mechanism etc. ii) Technical education at governmental technical school. c) Family Re-union process d) Higher education 2012-3 entered medical college e) Special programme for child soldiers for rehabilitation. 2) IDPs: 300,000 a) Launched 180 day resettlement programme b) Resettlement in their former villages c) Support for land disputes d) Re-engagement in their former trade vocation and employment i) Agriculture: supply of seed paddy-Rs 4,000 per acre for land preparations- subsidy of fertilizer. ii) Fishing-providing of fishing nets-assistance to repair of fishing boas by navy. iii) Trade-facilitation to open shops and transport of goods. Establishing of economic centers in Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Medawachchiya and Batticaloa. iv) Other vocations like cottage industries-bank loans and training of women. c. Resettlement of IDPs 1) Mopping out land mines 2) Hosting 25 a) 10 cement bags. b) Cash payment of Rs. 25,000. c) Roofing materials with the assistance of Indian government. d) Advance supply of dry rations worth Rs 5,000 for six monthes. e) Potable water supply. d. Reconstructions 1. Roads 2. Railways 3. Airports 4. Communication 5. Electricity 6. Water supply 7. Schools 29. There are challenges head of Sri Lanka after the war a. Withdrawal of GSP+ concessions (by USA and EU). b. Appointment of Darusman committee by the UNSG. c. Resolution of UNHCR against Sri Lanka fr Accountability for alleged violations of hu- man rights. d. Adverse propaganda by Tamil Diaspora to tarnish the image of Sri Lanka. e. Under estimation, under mining, mitigation and belittling of the importance of the wip- ing out terrorism form Sri Lanka. Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

f. Non-recognition of the development projects commenced by the government in North and East after ending of the war. g. Futile attempts were made by certain Commonwealth countries to prevent the holding of Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting which will be held on 15-17 in Sri Lanka. 30. Elections in Northern Province i) Northern Province predominantly a Tamil inhabited region. ii) Before war Tamil 95 per cent, Muslims 4 per cent, Sinhala 1 per cent. (Today 100 per cent Tamils). iii) From 1993 since the gaining of universal franchise Northern Province was represent- ed by Tamil Racial Parties (All Ceylon Tamil Congress, later Federal party). iv) They confined their activities to North and East (Provincial Politics). 31. Election Results v) Pre-dominantly a Tamil area, Local Parties captured all the electoral seats. 32. Jaffna District-Presidential Elections 2005 Kayts Vaddukkoddai Kankesanturai Manipay Kopay Udupiday Registered Votes 52,986 62,781 67,133 68,783 63,752 58,499 Total Polled 276 278 267 357 388 65 Point Pedro Chavakachcheri Nallur Jaffna Kilinochchi Postal IDPs Grand Total Registered 47,188 60,022 70,251 62,089 89,454 7,01,938 26 Votes Total 39 53 313 455 01 2326 3706 8524 Polled (1.21 per cent) 33. 1982 Presidential Election Results in Northern Province J.R. Jayawardene, UNP 218,802 Hector Kobbekaduwa, SLFP 207,005 G. G. Ponnambalam, ACTC 183,771 (Tamil Minority Candidate)

34. Sri Lanka-Bangladesh Relationship a. Political i. 49th country to recognize Bangladesh as a free sovereign and independent country after 1971 liberation: 15th April 1972 ii. Establishment of diplomatic relations in 1979. iii. Strong understanding between the two countries on political issues. iv. Mutual support in international issues  Unforgettable consistence and vibrant support to Sri Lanka at the recent UNHCR sessions in spite of pressure from powerful countries. Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

 Support at CMAG for holding of CHOGM in Sri Lanka.  Sri Lanka support for Bangladesh candidates in international organisations.  Stood with Sri Lanka during war against terrorism. b. Defence i. Consistent support extended by Bangladesh during the war. ii. Training of Armed forces in elite military institutions. iii. Armed forces chiefs’ mutual visits. iv. Study tours in Sri Lanka by course mates in NDC and Staff College. c. Economic relations i. Joint Economic Commission 2012. ii. Ongoing discussions for MOU on Promotion and Protection of Investment. iii. Joint Working Group on Shipping and Connectivity. iv. Free Trade Agreement between two countries. v. Ongoing talks on purchase of Pharmaceutical products from Bangladesh on G to G basis. vi. Training of nurses in Sri Lanka. vii. Technical support for jute industry in Sri Lanka. viii. Participation by Top Bangladesh Industrialist at the Commonwealth Business Forum 2013 and at Reflection of Sri Lanka Exposition on trade and tourism and investment fair 2013. 27 ix. Air and Shipping connectivity. x. Tourism 1. 2011-----5060 2. 2012----- 4892 3. 2013-----3179 up to July xi. Investments in Bangladesh and in Sri Lanka- Commercial Bank- Ceylon Biscuits. xii. Hotel industry Royal Park. xiii. Garments industry- Chemical industry- Freight and Travel services. xiv. Trade between two countries by Sri Lanka. 1. 2011- Import USD 12.60 M; Export USD 35.54 2. 2012- Import USD 24.35; Export USD 46.34 d. High level visits i. Sri Lanka presidents’ visits to Bangladesh. ii. High level visits by head of governments of Bangladesh. iii. Ministerial level visits. iv. Secretary level and other higher officials level visits. e. Religious i. Close relations with Buddhist temples in Dhaka and Chittagong. ii. Donation of hair relics to Sri Lanka is unforgettable. iii. Governor of central province together with Two chapters Asgiri-Malwatu Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

Maha Theroes donated TK 100,000 for reconstruction of temples in Ramu and Cox’s Bazaar which will be handed over to them this month. iv. Making arrangements to donate 28 Buddha statues at the sponsorship of IIE the president of Sri Lanka. v. Sri Lankan Muslims also come to Dhaka to attend the congregation of River Turag annually. f. Social i. Cultural teams annually visit Dhaka from Sri Lanka organised by Seva Vani- tha and Sri Lanka Association of Bangladesh. ii. Annual New Year festival in parallel with Pohela Baishakh is celebrated in Dhaka. g. Education i Scholarship by and from for Medical and Engineering. ii Medical education. iii Nurses training. iv Promotion of education in Sri Lanka. Conclusion 35. Expecting many questions on

28 a. Devolution of Power under 13th Amendment. b. Northern Provincial Council election. c. Areas of Investment promotion and prospects in Sri Lanka. I conclude first session of my presentation with thanks to BIISS for inviting me as a guest speaker. Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

Biography of Ambassador Lee Yun-young 29 Ambassador of Republic of Korea in Bangladesh Ambassador Lee Yun-young was born on 8 February 1959. He did his bachelor in Economics at Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, Korea in February 1981. In 1987, he did his Masters in Economics from Seoul National University at Seoul in Korea. He also did his second Masters in Economics and M.Phil in European Politics from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), London, UK in 1990. In 1987, Ambassador Lee Yun-young Passed High Diplomatic Service Examination and joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). In 1993, he was the Second Secretary of Korean Embassy in the United States of America. In 1993, he took up Second Secretary position at the Korean Embassy in the United States of America. 1996, he was assigned as the First Secretary at Korean Embassy in the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire. In 2001, he served as the Assistant Secretary, Office of the President. In 2003, Ambassador Lee Yun-young was assigned as the Director, Trade Policy Planning Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT). In the following year, he served as the Director, FTA Division, MOFAT; Director, FTA Policy Division, MOFAT; and Counselor, Korean Embassy in the Kingdom of Belgium and Korean Mission to the European Union. After 4 years in 2008, Mr. Lee Yun-young was appointed as the Advisor to Minister for Trade, MOFAT. Later in 2009 and 2011 respectively, he was posted to the Deputy Director-General, FTA Policy Bureau, MOFAT and Director-General for FTA Negotiations, MOFAT. Since September 2012, he has been serving as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. He is married with one son and one daughter. Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

Country Lecture on “All about Korea and Korea-Bangladesh Relations” H. E. Lee Yun-Young Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Bangladesh

30 Thank you very much for your kind and wonderful remark. Major General Shafiuddin Ahmed, Director General of BIISS, colleagues, excellencies, dignitaries, all other guests, ladies and gentlemen, Assalamu-alaikum and a very good morning to you all. I really would like to convey my gratitude to BIISS and Director General Ahmed for giving me very special opportunity to share my views as well as for inviting me as the guest speaker in the third presentation of the Country Lecture Series. I will try my best to give my view of Korea-Bangladesh relationship. We have very effective, meaningful relationship. This is the 40th anniversary of our diplomatic relations. Bangladesh became independent in 1971 and diplomatic relations between Korea and Bangladesh established in 1973. In the last decades, we have enjoyed very effective relationship and friendship. This year is very much important for the foreign policy of both countries. In June this year (2013) we held a joint seminar with BIISS and shared the interest and opinion from both sides. I was very impressed to see the interest about fostering the relationship All the big leaders of various sectors presented their views and hopes to strengthen Korea- Bangladesh relationship. My presentation is divided into two parts: first part is ‘All about Korea’ and second part is ‘Korea-Bangladesh Relations’. In ‘All about Korea’, I will discuss Korean history, economic success, major directions of foreign policy and inter-Korean relationship. In the second part I will discuss our bilateral relations and what we are aiming at Bangladesh. Korea is located in East Asia. The population is 49 million (73 million including North Korean population). Total area of the country is 100,210 square km. Area of Korean peninsula as a Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

whole is 219,140 square km. The size of Bangladesh is two-third of Korean peninsula. The country’s per capita GDP is $23,680. The size of Korea may be small but it is a rising middle power in Asia. It is member of G20 and OECD. In the last five decades, we have successfully-transformed our economy and democracy. Domestically, we are experiencing rapid change of society. For example, we have almost lowest rate of birth, so, we are worried about an aging society and shortage of labour. We are now a growing soft power; we are promoting regional cooperation, politically and economically, facilitating green growth regime and expanding cultural communication with all countries. Therefore, we are trying to be a responsible country and contribute to the international community in many ways. Korea hosted G20 summit in Seoul (2010) as the only Asian country to host a G20 summit. The G20 grouping itself started in 1999 to monitor the international financial elements. The Seoul Action Plan of 2010 was composed of comprehensive, cooperative and country-specific policy actions to move closer to the shared objective. In 2011 we hosted the Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness on how to improve the aid effectiveness. This September (in 2013) we hosted the Seoul Conference on Cyberspace where high-level officials from 87 countries, 18 international organizations and 80 companies participated. The Korean wave or “Hallyu” is a phenomenon that reflects the growing influence and popularity of Korean pop and traditional culture across Asia, Europe, Middle East and Americas. We are very surprised that in 2002, Korean drama named Winter Sonata got so much 31 attention and interest from Japanese women. 2002 is the turning point in our cultural export. TV dramas, films and Korean pops (K-pops) started to enjoy tremendous popularity among the Asian people. In 2004, a film named ‘Old Boy’ won grand prix in the Cannes Film Festival. Some other Korean films were also recognised with the best film / director / actress awards in other film festivals. I was surprised to see that many Europeans enjoyed Korean films in theaters during my visit to Europe. The ‘Gangam Style’ of Psy broke the record of YouTube view. Almost 1.8 billion views were recorded in November 2013. These have positive impact in tourism, export and national image of Korea. During the last five years, foreign visitors to Korea have nearly doubled. Social networking like YouTube, Facebook have contributed a lot in the expansion of Korean wave even into South America and Africa. About Korean modern history, I think you already know that in 1950, there was the outbreak of the Korean War by North Korean attack. After the political turmoil, in 1961, there was military coup and the new government pushed ahead with the 5-year economic development plan. In 1964, our national exports reach $100 million. In 1976, Korea won the first Olympic gold medal and it was also one of the top five countries in 2012 London Olympics. By 1977, the national export of Korea increased ten times and exceeded $10 billion. In 1996, Korea joins OECD. 1997 is the turning year of Korean economy; since this is the year of the Asian financial crisis from Thailand. Korea suffered severely in the crisis and it changed our economic structure. In 2000, President Kim Dea-jung received Nobel Peace Prize and the first inter-Korean summit took place in Pyoungyang. Korea and Japan co-hosted the 2002 World Cup. Ban Ki-moon was elected as the UN Secretary General in 2006. In 2013, the new administration of President Park Guen-hye takes office in Korea. Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

In 1945, we freed from colonialism and in 1950s, the Korean War took place. Our land was devastated and we had no hope. But fifty years later, the size of our economy grew 485 times and per capita income grew 254 times. Our exports grew more than 30 per cent annually for the last three decades. There was dramatic improvement in the quality of life with average life expectance becoming 81 years with zero illiteracy rates. It is the 13th largest economy in the world being the top in several sectors like shipbuilding; cellular phone etc. Nearly 12 Korean companies are among the 500 big companies in the world. The foreign exchange reserve of Korea is US$ 343 billion. In terms of UNESCO cultural heritage, we are ranked fifth in the world. Regarding our economic development, at the starting point, we needed to identify our lacks of economic pattern in the 1960s. We found three lacks: no focus on the right direction; no motivation for development; and, no knowledge of change. We tried to deal with our three lacks in a serious manner. The first way is focus. In 1960s there was international debate between balanced and unbalanced approach. Balanced approach means import substitution strategy; some countries try to adapt to import substitution strategy. But in Korea, we have very limited resources and small market so we needed to adopt unbalanced approach. We needed export to get foreign reserve. We supported some strategic sectors for export through close coordination between government and industry. Strong political leadership and the blueprints of the professional institutions have helped in developing focus. A five year economic plan was developed by Economic Planning Board, and in 1966 and 1971, there was establishment 32 of science and economic institutions like KIST and KDI. We received 10 million USD from US in return for dispatching Korean army during Vietnam War side by side with the US military. We used that money for establishing Korean Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) in 1966. KDI is an economic institute established in 1971 in order to prepare for economic development plan. Korea, during that time, adopted consistent outward-looking, growth-oriented economic policies. In 1960s we were focusing on light industries. Our main export items were textile, wig, plywood etc. In late 1970s we started to develop five heavy industries that include electronics, automobiles, shipbuilding, steel and chemicals. We export automobiles to Canada and Ecuador. In 1985 we also started to export to US market. So our government’s strategy to get sustainable economic growth turned out to be very successful. Almost 80 per cent of our export comes from heavy and chemical products. Second, to motivate people and industry, the individuals were to catch up with the ‘can-do’ spirit. The firms and entrepreneurship learned by imitation and benefited from export promotion policy of the government. The government provided motivation to people and firms with right vision. The Samuel movement, since 1970s, also known as new village movement, aimed to educate and encourage farmers to develop their village on their own. Free cement was provided to 35 thousand villages under the condition that these cements were ‘to be used for the good of the village’. After two years their performance were assessed. More rationing was given to good performers. Competition was created among the villagers. Within five to ten years all the villages changed totally. Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

The third way is capacity building. Emphasis was given on education and human capital, both universal and elite. Six to nine years of education was obligatory; vocational high schools and operation of evening school inside factories was also recommended. Government scholarship for over 2,000 PhDs were provided. Entrepreneurship with regard to manufacturer to contractor was encouraged. The concept of contractors was they developed their own brand and developed their own marketing network. Samsung, Hyundai, Daewoo, Posco etc. have now developed into world leaders with their own brands which became now household names in the world. Therefore, entrepreneurship and education were very much significant in Korean capacity building. That has contributed to our last five decades of economic success. This year (2013) in February we saw the first female President assuming office so the new policy of our current administration is to open up a new era of hope and happiness. The basic goal for the new administration is to become a trustworthy government. The focus moved away from national size and wealth to each individual’s welfare and happiness. During the last five decades we have put too much emphasis on size of the nation and growth, and now it is time to shift attention to individual happiness and individual welfare. The objectives are: a job-centered creative economy, tailored employment and welfare, creativity-oriented education and cultural enrichment, safe and united society and strong security measures for sustainable peace on the Korean Peninsula.

A real economy cannot be sustainable without innovative development. The locomotive of 33 world economy is new enterprise like Google, Microsoft and new creative enterprises. Therefore, our economy should be changed to the new paradigm to adapt to the new environment. Our objective is to shape economy with new information and innovation. So, the objective of the new administration is to change the structure of the economy to a creative system. Our catchphrase is innovation and information based economy. Another factor is China. China is catching up Korean economy in course of time. Not only Korea, many countries are concerned about adapting to the Chinese development and rising Chinese power. That is our challenges as well as our opportunity. Since China is closely connected to our country and economy, we need to accommodate the change of China. As part of the efforts, we started FTA negotiations with China. The US, Israel, Ireland, France, Korea and Australia are some of the most innovative countries of the world when compared with their size and population. In the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s Korea was very much dependent of foreign export and foreign trade. Our recommendations for Bangladesh are: (1) to improve national image and attract FDI, especially heavy and service industries; (2) to develop ‘local brand’ and export on their own; (3) to prepare for liberalisation of economy since Bangladesh will be middle-income country in years to come and prepare for negotiation for FTA/RTA. Thanks to world liberalisation trend and global expansion of FTAs, total 379 FTAs took in effect with more than 50 per cent of share of global trade as of 2013. If compared with the number of FTAs in 1995, it is certain that it continues to proliferate. Korea has concluded ten FTAs and the number of counterparts is forty-seven. China has twelve FTAs with twenty-one Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

countries and Japan has thirteen FTAs with fifteen countries. Number of FTAs has increased because: 1. Delays in multilateral trade liberalisation (DDA) 2. Global economic downturn and trade protectionism since 2008 3. Economic growth with tailored liberalisation 4. FTA followed by counter FTA 5. Regional integration success stories (European Union, NAFTA) have created a domino effect. Korea, Japan and China have very similar export structure; therefore, if one country among these concludes FTA with other countries, we suffer from trade diversion effect. Japan started trade negotiation with ASEAN in 2002 and then China concluded FTA with ASEAN in 2004 and Korea in 2006. Likewise, Korea concluded FTA with Chile in 2004. China and Japan followed the same in 2006 and 2007. Prior occupation effect was obvious. During the first three years, Korea dominated Chilean market. Even though China and Japan came with FTAs, Korea could maintain its market share in Chile’s market. This was quite opposite in case of FTAs with Mexico where Japan took the lead. Japan enjoys high level of market share in Mexico but Korea does not. We realised this importance of prior conclusion effect in the past ten years. 34 In 2003, Korea adopted FTA roadmap with a number of policy objectives: to increase foreign market access; to induce foreign direct investment; to increase consumer and national welfare; and to enhance economic efficiency and competitiveness. Domestic reform cannot be made only with domestic regulations and reform. So, we use FTA to open our market and liberalise our economy. As part of Korea’s FTA policy, two proposed agreement are RCEP and TPP. RCEP includes ten countries of ASEAN plus Korea-China-Japan and Australia-New Zealand- India. On the other hand, TPP includes countries of NAFTA, four countries of ASEAN, and others. The major direction of Korean foreign policy is to ensure sustainable peace on Korean peninsula and to contribute to international peace and prosperity as principal power. The aim with regard to Korean peninsula is developing inter-Korea relations and resolving the North Korean nuclear issue. The other agenda includes developing relations with neighbours, promoting peace in the Northeast Asia and playing role as a responsible middle power contributing to world peace and progress. Korea-China-Japan is economically very interlinked, but they do have historical legacy and conflict over islands. Resolving this Asian paradox is the crucial agenda for our government. It initiated new regional cooperation from soft issues. Next is to resolve hard issues and lay the path to promote cooperation in the region. In the diplomatic sphere, two recommendations for Bangladesh by Korea are: (1) to try to join the ASEAN as a member; and (2) to participate in the regional trade initiatives as well as increase its influence. With regard to Korea-Bangladesh relations, it is notable that excellent bilateral relations prevail Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

between Bangladesh and Korea in all fronts from economy and development cooperation to governance, education, culture, military etc. In 2013, during the 40th anniversary of the diplomatic relations, Korea organised joint seminar in June, hosted business roundtable in Korea in July and bilateral meeting between the foreign ministers in October. As one of the largest investors in Bangladesh, Korea invested not only in garments but also in infrastructure such as power plant, R&D sector, ICT and business service areas. So far Korea invested more than US$ 600 million. Trade with Korea is in upward trend with the highest amount recorded in 2011 at USS$ 1.9 billion. Korea’s major export items include steel products, printing paper, and cement and textile machine. Major import items of Korea include garments, leather, footwear and frozen fish. From 2012, 95 per cent of total tariff lines were opened for Bangladeshi products as part of Korean government’s duty-free and quota-free scheme. Korea also receives a large number of Bangladeshi workers through its Employment Permit System (EPS). Until now about 7,500 qualified Bangladeshi workers have found jobs in Korea. Korean construction companies have also recruited hundred thousands of Bangladesh workers all over the world. The idea of Korean Export Processing Zone (KEPZ) developed in 1995 summit meeting between the two countries. This is the largest in size and the first private EPZ in Bangladesh that is expected to generate US$ 1.5 billion annual export revenue and 150,000 jobs in the country. But there are still pending issues. These include: execution of the Deed of Transfer of the entire KEPZ land, lifting the restriction on ranges of products in KEPZ and allowing the KEPZ authority to provide one-stop service. 35 In spite of these difficulties, one of the largest shoe industries started its operation in November 2011. There are plans to build eight more factories that will create more than 40,000 jobs. I hope that KEPZ will be normalized as soon as possible. Bangladesh is now one of the largest recipients of Korean ODA. Total ODA of Korea has increased to 0.16 per cent of its GNI in 2013. As part of KOICA program, EDCF, KSP a total of US$ 2.1 billion ODA has been provided. Korea is also making an Integrated Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) for Bangladesh. Korean soft loan to Bangladesh through Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) were nearly US$ 584 million as of December 2012 through seventeen projects to Bangladesh. It also has plans to provide more US$ 300 million. In addition, grant assistance, mainly by Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), to Bangladesh in the years 1991-2011 was almost US$ 47 million. In the current year, Korea has tried to broaden the area of cooperation like cultural sector, so the Embassy has arranged several cultural performances of Korean dance, music and martial art in Bangladesh. Through culture and people-to-people contact, I am sure that our relations can build up more solid foundation and we become long-lasting valuable partners in the coming years. Country Lecture Series

Biography of H.E. Mr. Iwan Wiranata-atmadja Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 36 Of the Republic of Indonesia to the People’s Republic of Bangladesh Mr. Iwan Wiranata-atmadja, was the Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the Republic of Iran, Republic of Azerbaijan and Republic of Turkmenistan for the period of 2008-2011. Currently, he is the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Bangladesh and Nepal. He began his career in the year of 1980 by joining Department of Foreign Affairs and was assigned in the Directorate of the International Organisations. In 1982, he took up staff position at the Sub-Directorate of the Political and Security Affairs where he was later promoted as Acting Deputy Director of the Security Council from 1983 till 1984. In 1998, Mr. Wiranata-atmadja served as Deputy Director of the Security Council Section of the Sub-Directorate of Political and Security Affairs, Directorate of International Organisation, Department of Foreign Affairs from 1988 till 1991. Later that year, he was posted to the Indonesian Permanent Mission in New York as Deputy Head of the Political Division from 1991 to 1996. Mr. Wiranata-atmadja was reassigned to the Indonesian Permanent Mission in Geneva as Head of the Political Division from 1999 to 2003. From 2006-2008 he assumed his post as Deputy Chief of Mission at the Indonesian Mission in Tokyo, Japan. Ambassador Iwan Wiranata-atmadja has also participated in numerous conferences of highly organisations such as the United Nations Conference on Disarmament, OPEC, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, ASEAN etc. He was born in Bandung, Indonesia, on 21 September 1952. He obtained his Doctorandus degree in International Relations from Padjadjaran University in Bandung, in 1978. He is married and has three children. Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

Country Lecture on “Indonesia – Bangladesh: Forging Ahead to the Future” Ambassador Iwan Wiranata-atmadja 37

Of the Republic of Indonesia to the People’s Republic of Bangladesh Introducing Indonesia Indonesia: Geographic Features Comprising 17,508 islands (around 6,000 are inhabited), Indonesia is the largest archipelagic state in the world, recognised by UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The Indonesian archipelago spans 5253 km from west to east, more than twice the distance from London to Moscow (2500 km), around 1.3 times the distance from New York to Los Angeles (3940 km), and longer than the distance from Dhaka to Jeddah (5241 km). More than eighty percent of Indonesia’s areas are seas and oceans, and out of Indonesia’s land area of 1.9 million sq km, nearly 5 per cent consist of lakes and rivers. The five largest islands in Indonesia are Papua, Kalimantan, Sumatra, Sulawesi and Java, which are respectively the second, third, sixth, eleventh and thirteenth largest islands in the world. Indonesia is located around the equator between Asia and Australia, and between the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Indonesia sits on the Ring of Fire, as it lies on the edges of Pacific, Eurasian and Australian tectonic plates which makes it the site of more than 120 active volcanoes. Indonesia has a tropical climate with two seasons: rainy and dry. Humidity is generally high, averaging about 80 per cent, and temperatures vary little throughout the year. Indonesia has Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

the world’s second highest level of biodiversity (after Brazil) and is also second (after Australia) in terms of total endemic species. Indonesia: Population Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world, with a population of 237.6 million in 2010. More than 87 per cent of its population, or more than 205 million people, are Muslim. Apart from Islam, Government recognised 5 other religions, namely Protestant Christian, Roman Catholic, Hindu, Buddha and Confucianism. Indonesia has more than 300 ethnic groups which speak in more than 700 ethnic languages. Among the ethnic languages, several have their own alphabet, for example Javanese, Sundanese, Balinese, Bataknese and Bugis language. The largest ethnic group is Javanese, more than 40 per cent of total population, followed by Sundanese (15 per cent), Malays (3.4 per cent) and Madurese (3.3 per cent). Other notably large ethnic groups are Batak, Minang, Betawi, Bugis, Bantenese, Banjarese and Balinese (respectively ranging from 3 per cent to 1.5 per cent). The Indonesian language is the national language, used universally in schools, business, politics, national media, education, and academia. The Indonesian language or Bahasa Indonesia was declared as the national language in 1928, 17 years before the Indonesian independence, by the Second Youth Congress in the then Dutch East Indies. The language developed from Riau Malay, a small minority ethnic group in Sumatra Island. The Indonesian language is 38 understood and spoken by more than 260 million people including in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam. Indonesian Government Indonesia follows the presidential system of government; the President of the Republic is the Head of State and Head of Government. The President, and the Vice President, is directly elected by the people in one package. The current President, Dr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, is the sixth president since independence and on his second and final term in office. President is assisted by the Cabinet, comprising 34 ministers and 4 cabinet level officials, including Attorney General, Chief of Armed Forces, and Chief of National Police. Unlike in Westminster system, in Indonesia ministers and other cabinet members are not members of parliament. A member of parliament must resign from his office if appointed as a minister in the Cabinet. Indonesia is a unitary state; the central government holds the supreme power, but regional governments are given autonomous power to govern and administer the Regencies and Cities. Powers on defence and security, the judiciary, monetary and fiscal, and religion affairs remain at the central government. Indonesia has 34 provinces, further divided into regencies (412) and cities (93). Governors, Regents and Mayors, as well as members of regional legislatures, are directly elected. Among the 34 provinces, 5 are given distinct status and special autonomy, namely Nanggroe Aceh Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

Darussalam, Special Capital Region of Jakarta, Special Region of Yogyakarta, West Papua Province and Papua Province. Legislative power at the national level is held by two councils: ‘People’s Representative Council’ (DPR) of 560 members and ‘Regional Representative Council’ (DPD) of 132 members, all directly elected. Judicial power in Indonesia is shared by three institutions: Supreme Court, Constitutional Court, and Judicial Commission. Indonesia’s Economic Outlook Indonesia is now the largest economy in Southeast Asia and the 16th largest economy in the world. Indonesia’s GDP was US$ 878.04 billion in 2012, representing 1.42 per cent of the world economy. Indonesia’s GDP on purchasing-power-parity (PPP) has even reached US$ 1.237 trillion in 2012, growing by 6.3 per cent. Indonesia’s GDP per capita has reached US$ 1,700 in 2012, or US$ 4,200 on purchasing-power-parity (PPP). Indonesia’s foreign exchange reserves stood at US$ 99.4 billion at end of December 2013. In 2012, Indonesia’s annual export value reached US$ 190.04 billion while import was slightly larger at US$ 191.57 billion. However, values of Indonesia’s export are increasing steadily: in July 2013 monthly export value reached US$ 15.11 billion, showing 2.37 per cent increase from June 2013. Indonesia’s exports encompass broad range of products, from pulp and paper to aircraft parts. 39 Manufacture products such as electrical equipments/appliances and automotive (i.e. vehicles and parts) have large contributions to Indonesian export, apart from raw and processed commodities such as rubber and rubber products (e.g. tires), palm oil, cocoa and coffee. According to the World Bank and Goldman Sachs, Indonesia will be among the world’s ten largest economies by 2050 with GDP growing to over USD 6,000 billion. The OECD predicted that by 2042 Indonesia will become a high-income economy, defined as a country with a gross national income per capita above USD 12,000. Indonesia in Regional and Global Scene: Indonesia in ASEAN Indonesia is one of the founding countries and active member of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), now consists of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam. In 2011, Indonesia held the Chairmanship of ASEAN for the third time after 1976 and 2003. The theme of Indonesia’s chairmanship of ASEAN in 2011 was “ASEAN Community in a Global Community of Nations”. Indonesia’s proposal for the importance of ASEAN’s vision after the establishment of ASEAN Communities in 2015 was well received with the signing of the Bali Declaration on ASEAN Community in a Global Community of Nations, or the Bali Concord III. Through Bali Concord III, ASEAN affirmed its commitment to build a joint platform to address global problems more cohesively and coherently. Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

Among ways to nurture such commitment was the establishment of ASEAN Committees in third countries, consisted of Embassies of ASEAN countries. In Dhaka, the ASEAN Dhaka Committee has been established since 12 September 2013. Indonesia in APEC Indonesia is also a member of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), a forum of 21 member economies in the Pacific Rim. In 2013, Indonesia became the host of APEC Summit for the second time. The APEC Summit in Bogor, Indonesia in 1994 produced an agreement listing the APEC’s objectives and its time frame, better known as the Bogor Goals. In the Bogor Goals, APEC’s main objectives are set to further enhance economic growth and prosperity for the Asia Pacific region. This is done by encouraging and facilitating free and open trade and investment in the region, as well as increasing cooperation for capacity building of Member Economies. The goal is to be achieved by industrialised economies no later than year 2010 and by developing economies no later than year 2020. The theme of APEC Indonesia 2013 is “Resilient Asia-Pacific, Engine of Global Growth.“ To support the achievement of the theme, Indonesia proposed three main priorities, namely Attaining the Bogor Goals, Achieving Sustainable Growth with Equity and Promoting Connectivity. Indonesia in G-20 40 In 2009 Indonesia joined the Group of Twenty (G-20), the premier forum for international cooperation on the most important issues of the global economic and financial agenda. The G-20 brings together leaders from 19 countries plus the European Union, which are the world’s major economies. Since joining the G-20 Indonesia has been encouraging inclusion of various dimensions of development as an integral part of the G-20, formation of a global financial safety net (GFSN), through close cooperation with various regional financial arrangement (RFA), and attention on the need for increased investment in infrastructure in developing countries. Indonesia continued to contribute constructive ideas and measures to promote developed countries’ understanding of developing countries as equal partners for global cooperation. For instance, Indonesia led Working Group 4 (WG4) together with France in 2008 to discuss reform in Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs). It came after Indonesia proposed that the MDBs (e.g. World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank) should create instruments of budget supports for emerging markets, to support the counter-cyclical policy to mitigate the adverse effects of global crisis and to ensure the achievement of the MDGs. In G-20 meeting in 2013 Indonesia focuses its attention on increasing global economic growth, investment in infrastructure, inclusive financing, and food security. Indonesia in WTO Indonesia since 1995 has been an active member of World Trade Organisation, which oversees international trade and seeks to broaden market as well as to eliminate barriers to Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

trade. Indonesia believes in gaining benefit from the WTO trading system, and attempts to base its policy-making within the WTO framework. Indonesia is actively involved in the settlement process of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) negotiations. Indonesia joined coalitions of developing countries such as the G-33 and NAMA-11 (seeking to strengthen Non-Agricultural Market Access negotiation), as well as other groups such as the Cairns group and the G-20, to build a general position that prioritizes DDA’s development goals. On 3-5 December 2013 Indonesia hosted the 9th Ministerial Conference WTO in Bali, which succeeded in producing the “Bali Package” of 10 different trade agreements covering 4 areas: trade facilitation, agriculture, cotton, and development & LDC issues. Bali Package’s agreements on trade facilitation aims to speed up customs procedures; make trade easier, faster and cheaper; provide clarity, efficiency and transparency; reduce bureaucracy and corruption, and use technological advances. Agreements were also achieved on agriculture, public stockholding for food security program, agricultural product export competition, and the administration of Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ). Also agreed was improvement of market access for cotton products from least developed countries, and development assistance for production in those countries. Lastly are agreements on special interest to least developed countries, such as duty free-quota free (DFQF) for LDCs, the provision of a certificate of origin, and market access services to developed countries. 41 Indonesia and Bangladesh have common interests in WTO, among others in Agriculture issues including Food Security and cotton. Indonesia also works with Bangladesh on other issues such as Duty Free – Quota Free (DFQF). Highlights of Selected Sectors of Development Tourism Tourism is an emerging sector in Indonesia as world interest is growing and tourism infrastructure developed. In year 2012, more than 8 million international visitors entered Indonesia, on average stayed in hotels for 7.7 nights and spent more than US$1,130 per person during their visit, or around US$147 per person per day. Development of Tourism: Bali Among best destinations in leading publications such as Travel + Leisure and Condé Nast Traveler, Bali continues to be awarded as an enchanting island of rich cultural traditions, scenic beauty and warm hospitality of its people.

The number of world-class accommodations, business and leisure facilities has grown considerably in the past few years and upgraded transportation and communication network give Bali easy accessibility. Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

Development of Tourism: Jakarta The capital of Indonesia, Jakarta is the centre of government, commerce and industry. Jakarta’s unique characteristics and identity borne of a unique mixture of cultures encompass a broad range of tastes. Shopping malls, museums and historical sites are worthy to be explored. Tourism, transportation and communication infrastructures are constantly being improved. Jakarta boasts no less than 35 golf courses in and around it, which include some of the most beautiful and exciting designs in Asia. One of those, Pondok Indah Golf Course, was the venue of the World Cup in 1984. Other highlights include Emeralda, whose 18 out of its 27 holes were designed by Arnold Palmer and the other 9 by Jack Nicklaus; Riverside, perfected by Greg Norman; and Jagorawi course that meanders through 45 holes of spectacular jungle and rice fields. Development of Tourism: Other Regions Effort has been taken to promote other regions in Indonesia as tourist destinations. Development of tourism infrastructure (e.g. hotels, restaurants, access to tourist objects) has been stepped up. Some popular tourism destinations include Yogyakarta, Lombok island, and Bandung area. How to get there − Bali: Visitors from Dhaka can use Singapore Airlines (5 direct flights daily from Sin- gapore), Malaysian Airlines (4 direct flights daily from Kuala Lumpur), or Malindo Air 42 (daily flight from Kuala Lumpur) − Jakarta: Visitors from Dhaka can use Singapore Airlines (8 direct flights daily from Singapore), Malaysian Airlines (7 direct flights daily from Kuala Lumpur), or Malindo Air (daily flight from Kuala Lumpur) − Yogyakarta: Visitors from Dhaka can use Malaysian Airlines (12 direct flights per week from Kuala Lumpur) or Singapore Airlines (6 direct flights per week from Singapore) − Lombok: Visitors from Dhaka can use Garuda Indonesia (daily flight from Kuala Lumpur with short stop in Jakarta) or Singapore Airlines (3 direct flights per week from Singapore, operated by Silk Air) − Bandung: Visitors from Dhaka can use Tiger Airways (daily flight from Singapore) or simply fly to Jakarta and go by road (approx. 3 hours total) Defence and Strategic Industries Indonesian defence industry was firstly created to supply the domestic need of Indonesian Armed Forces. In its developments, Indonesian state-owned strategic enterprises not only supply the military with quality armaments but also produce internationally competitive defence and strategic products. Light Weapons The government-owned arms manufacturer PT Pindad produces ammunition of various calibers, SS-1 and SS-2 assault rifles as well as Anoa armored personnel carriers and Komodo tactical vehicles. Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

Aircraft The government-owned aircraft manufacturer PT Dirgantara Indonesia has produced light and medium aircraft, including NBO-105 helicopter, NBell-412 EP transport helicopter (both under licence), and CN-235 in various versions, including maritime patrol. Naval Ships The government-owned shipyard PT PAL built the Landing Platform Dock (LPD) vessels named KRI Banjarmasin 592 and KRI Banda Aceh 593 for the Indonesian Navy, built in cooperation with South Korea. PT PAL also has successfully developed smaller crafts with varied capabilities, the latest being Todak class Fast Patrol Boats, which can be equipped with guided missiles in order to function as anti-surface ships. A privately-owned shipyard in Indonesia, PT. Batam Expresindo Shipyard (BES) through direct cooperation with Indonesian Navy maintenance facilities, has been able to build Krait/PC-40 class Patrol Crafts, 190 DWT with a range of 2,500 miles, made of aluminium alloy. Similar cooperation has also enabled another privately-owned shipyard, PT Palindo Marine Industries in Batam, to build Clurit class Missile Patrol Boats for the Indonesian Navy. Indonesian Navy maintenance department, through its facilities in Manokwari, Batam and Jakarta, has also been able to build missile patrol boats and patrol boats. In the long run, Indonesian defence industry is expected to further foster the Indonesian economic growth and reduce dependence to international manufacturers and suppliers. 43 Developments in this sector would also open for cooperation with friendly countries like Bangladesh. Shipbuilding Industry There are around 200 shipyards in Indonesia, some of which have capacity to build 50,000 DWT vessels. Total shipbuilding capacity reach 800,000 DWT for ship production and 10 million DWT for ship repairs each year. Government expects to have vessels up to 70,000 DWT built locally in 2015 PT PAL is the largest, government-owned Indonesian shipyard located in Surabaya, East Java; was set up with the original objective to build military naval vessels, and continues to develop its original potential. The company, however, has also been successful for more than a decade in developing various non-military ships, such as 50,000 ton cargo vessels, large oil and chemical tankers and passenger ships. Other leading shipyards include government-owned PT Dok and Perkapalan Kodja Bahari and PT Dok and Perkapalan Surabaya, as well as privately-owned companies PT ASL Shipyard Indonesia, PT Batam Expresindo Shipyard, PT Batamec Shipyard, PT Drydocks World Pertama, PT Graha Trisaka Industri, PT Marcopolo Shipyard, PT Nanindah Mutiara Shipyard, PT Palma Progress Shipyard, PT United Sindo Perkasa, PT Caputra Mitra Sejati, PT Daya Radar Utama, PT Samudra Marine Indonesia, and PT Dumas Tanjung Perak Shipyard. Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

Bangladesh-Indonesia Relations Overview Indonesia was among the first Asian countries that recognised the Independence of Bangladesh as a sovereign State on 25 February 1972. Indonesia was also among the first countries that established diplomatic relations with Bangladesh, soon followed by official opening of the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Dhaka on 1 May 1972. Late President of Bangladesh Ziaur Rahman visited Indonesia in 1978, and late President Soeharto of Indonesia visited Bangladesh in return in 1979. The then President Ershad of Bangladesh also visited Indonesia in 1987. Visit by the then PM of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina in 1997 was followed by visit of the then Vice President of Indonesia Megawati Soekarnoputri in 2001. The then President of Indonesia Megawati Soekarnoputri made a state visit in 2003, her second visit to Bangladesh in two years. The then PM of Bangladesh Khaleda Zia made a return visit in 2004. PM Sheikh Hasina also returned to Indonesia in 2011 to co-chair the 4th Bali Democracy Forum (BDF), with President Yudhoyono of Indonesia. Cooperation between the two nations is further nurtured through common memberships in multilateral fora: Non Aligned Movement (NAM), D-8, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), Centre on Integrated Rural Development 44 for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP), Partnership in Population and Development (PPD), and ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), as well as in other international organisations within or outside the United Nations framework. Both countries have common views on many regional and international interests such as environment, women empowerment, health, food and energy sustainability, poverty and disaster management, global peace and security. Bangladesh Participation in BDF As democratic countries, both Indonesia and Bangladesh considers that democracy can promote peace as well as increase cooperation among countries. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh co-chaired the 4th Bali Democracy Forum (BDF), held in Indonesia on 8th December 2011, with President Yudhoyono of Indonesia. The Bali Democracy Forum (BDF), initiated by Indonesia in 2008, is an annual, inclusive and open intergovernmental forum on the development of democracy in the Asia Pacific region. The BDF is aimed to promote and foster regional and international cooperation in the field of peace and democracy, to be achieved through dialogue and sharing of experiences and best practices that adhere to the principle of equality, mutual respect and understanding, with the participating countries sharing its ownership. In BDF VI (2013), for instance, President Yudhoyono highlighted four key factors to which Indonesian government paid most attention in developing democracy, namely: Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

√ guarantee of constitutional rights for all citizens, including the freedom of religion, expression and protection of minorities, √ supremacy of the rule of law, √ involvement of people in decision-making processes so they share a sense of ownership in government policy, and √ continuous dialogue among community groups of different faiths, ethnicities and socioeconomic standing to promote tolerance In 2013, 86 countries participated in the BDF, including Bangladesh. It is Bangladesh’s sixth participation in the forum since its inception. Recent Bilateral Exchanges Indonesian Foreign Minister H.E. Marty Natalegawa made a working visit to Dhaka on 14 March 2013 to meet with the Bangladesh Foreign Minister H.E. Dr. Dipu Moni. The visit was followed in less than three weeks later by the Bangladesh Foreign Minister’s visit to Indonesia to attend the Bali Process meeting. In their meeting in Dhaka, the two Foreign Ministers welcomed many initiatives in furthering the bilateral cooperation in various areas, including trade and investment, agriculture, defence, education, food security, good governance, counter-terrorism, research and technology as well as disaster mitigation and management. 45 The meeting was concluded with, among others, an exchange of notes for the ratification of the Agreement on Visa Exemption for Holders of Diplomatic/Services Passports signed by the two countries in August 2010. The visa exemption will surely ease and increase the exchange of visits at diplomatic and official levels between the two countries. The two Ministers also agreed to explore ways and means to establish direct air connectivity between the two countries. Direct flight route between the countries can play a significant role in order to maximise potential economic market. Not only the trade and tourism sector volume can increase but people’s leisure and cultural experience will also expand. Ideas and Recommendations Indonesia and Bangladesh has similar terms of interest in the field of domestic consumer market. Both are middle income countries and expanding as an Emerging Market with the contribution of the middle class. Geographical and cultural proximity between Indonesia and Bangladesh made constructive relationship indispensable. Economically, Bangladesh and Indonesia are becoming more important trade partners to each other due to the ongoing export-import relations and increasing trade value In Bangladesh, recent data shows small & medium enterprises (SMEs) are accounting for 25 per cent of GDP, 80 per cent of industrial jobs and 25 per cent of the total labour force. Empowerment of SMEs will create new entrepreneurs, generate more jobs and contribute to the national economy to a great extent. Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

Bangladesh has globally-recognised capacity and experience in microfinancing, which are crucial to further development of SMEs. Microfinancing can also support achievements in various social indicators of development, such as Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Sharing of experiences between the Government of Bangladesh and the Indonesian Government on the promotion of SMEs would be beneficial to both. At the same time, more involvement of SMEs can also contribute to increase the trade volume between the two countries. Indonesia and Bangladesh is connected by the Andaman Sea, Java Sea and the Indonesian Ocean. Bay of Bengal – Andaman Sea – Malacca Strait – Karimata Strait – Java Sea naturally linked Chittagong and Mongla ports with Batam, Tanjung Priok, Tanjung Perak and other Indonesian ports. Fostering connectivity between the said ports will boost economic exchange as well as support the two countries’ shipping companies and shipbuilding industries to grow Both Bangladesh and Indonesia are large contributors of troops for peacekeeping operations, and both have peacekeeping training facilities. Cooperation between the two centres or the two armed forces could be increased in terms of number of personnel or frequency of joint/ exchange training program. Bangladesh and Indonesia have committed to combat terrorism and other forms of international crimes. To build better capacity to combat such crimes Indonesia has Jakarta Centre for Law Enforcement Cooperation (JCLEC) in which Bangladesh law enforcement/ military personnel may also receive training. Both Bangladesh and Indonesia has high expectations toward its youthful population, and 46 would benefit from increasing of exchanges of students, lecturers and researchers. Indonesia annually invites students/youths from Bangladesh to study in Indonesia under various scholarship schemes. Under the Darmasiswa Program, foreign students/youths studied Indonesian language, arts, music and crafts for 1 year or 6 months (non degree). Since 2006, 38 students from Bangladesh have participated in this program, and in this year 17 candidates have applied for selection into this program in 2014. Under the KNB Program, 27 students from Bangladesh studied for Master Degree at various universities in Indonesia since 2007. Both Bangladesh and Indonesia has similar patterns of food consumption, hence similarities in food production. Training and exchanges of government officials in agriculture and fisheries, as well as other forms of technical cooperation in other field, could be stepped up to benefit the two nations. Since 2010, 25 government officials and relevant individuals from Bangladesh participated in the technical cooperation program to provide training in various fields, such as fisheries, farming and family planning. Conclusion  Bangladesh and Indonesia have large Muslim population and share common views on many issues of regional and international interests, which shall serve as a solid foundation for the on-going and future cooperation.  Bangladesh has shown astounding progress and is undoubtedly a promising partner for Indonesia to bring our bilateral relation to new heights in the coming years. Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

Biography of H.E. Alexander A. Nikolaev 47 Ambassador of Russian Federation in Bangladesh

Ambassador Nikolaev is one of Russia’s finest serving diplomats with a checkered career of more than three decades, spanning both bilateral and multilateral responsibilities. He was born in 1950. He is married and has two daughters. In 1973, he graduated from the Moscow State University of International Relations (MGIMO). In the same year he joined the diplomatic service and worked at the Embassy of the USSR in Vietnam (1973-1977), Embassy of the USSR in the Philippines (1981-1984), Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the European Union in Brussels (1993-1998). In 1998-1999, he headed the Reconstruction Division in the OSCE’s Mission to Kosovo (ex-Yugoslavia). From 2003-2008 he was Consul General of the Russian Federation in Simferopol and Sevastopol (Crimea, Ukraine). From 2008-2009 he acted as Head of Division of the Federal Agency for Commonwealth of Independent States’ Affairs, Compatriots Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation (Russian Cooperation Agency). He was the Deputy Director of Second Asian Department under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russian Federation since 2010. He presented his credentials as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Bangladesh on 08 March 2012. Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

48 Country Lecture on “Russia in Modern International Policy” H.E. Alexander A. Nikolaev Ambassador Embassy of the Russian Federation in Bangladesh The modern world is going through fundamental and dynamic changes that profoundly affect the interests of the Russian Federation and its citizens. In this context, its foreign policy becomes one of major instruments of steady national development and of ensuring its competitiveness in a rapidly changing world. It has become obvious that traditional military and political alliances can no longer provide for counteracting the whole range of modern challenges and threats such as international terrorism, drug trafficking, organised crime, spread of weapons of mass destruction, regional conflicts, climate change, etc. These threats are transnational in their nature. Bloc approaches to international problems are being replaced by a network diplomacy based on flexible forms of participation in international structures for the search of joint solutions to common tasks. Economic, scientific and technological, environmental, demographic and informational factors are coming to the fore as important installment of influence. Economic interdependence of states increasingly serves the interests of international stability. The reaction of the Western countries to the imminent loss of their superiority in global affairs finds its expression, in particular, in the political and psychological policy of “containing” emerging economies. For that purpose, the West often resorts to the use of double standards and selective approach to various international issues. The unilateral Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

action strategy provokes tensions and arms race, exacerbates interstate differences, stirs up ethnic and religious strife, and endangers security of other states. Coercive measures with the use of military force circumvention of the UN Charter and Security Council undermine basic principles of international law. The globalisation process confronts the increasing desire of individual states to protect their economic sovereignty. The cultural identity of the overwhelming majority of countries and peoples also suffers the increasing onslaught of globalisation. Another important trend is strengthening of a polycentric world order. Enhanced economic potential of the emerging global growth centers is a result of a more equal distribution of development resources due to liberalisation of global markets. The economic growth in some countries and regions converts into their political influence. Against this background, it is vitally important for Russia to strengthen its statehood, achieve stable economic growth, resolve social problems, overcome the resource-based model of economy and encourage its transition innovations, improve demographic situation and strengthen civil society institutes. Russia pursues an open, predictable and pragmatic foreign policy determined by its national interests. The country develops cooperation with foreign partners on the basis of equality, mutual respect for interests and mutual benefit. Balanced character of Russia’s foreign policy is its distinguishing feature. Our national interests today make it imperative to actively promote positive agenda covering the whole spectrum of 49 international problems. Russia attaches great importance to improving the manageability of the world development and establishing a self-regulating international system. So, Russia wants to make itself more involved in such formats as the Group of 20, the BRTCS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, etc. Russia consistently calls for diminished role of the force factor in international relations with simultaneous enhancement of strategic and regional stability. With this aim in view, Russia fulfils its international obligations in the sphere of non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, arms control and disarmament, as well as takes confidence-building measures in military sphere on the basis of the principles of equality and indivisibility of security. Russia favours political and diplomatic settlement of conflicts on the basis of collective actions of the international community, because, modern conflicts cannot be solved by the use of force. Their settlement should be sought through dialogue and negotiations of all parties rather than through isolation of any of them. Russia regards international peacemaking as an effective instrument for settling armed conflicts and resolving post-crisis nation building tasks and intends to participate, whenever it deems necessary, in international peacemaking activities under the auspices of the United Nations. Russia, in accordance with international law and its legislation, takes all necessary measures to repel and prevent terrorist attacks against itself and its citizens, to protect them against terrorist acts, prohibit activities within its territory aimed at organising such acts against citizens or interests of other countries. Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

The Russian Federation stands for expanding international cooperation in order to ensure environmental security and counter climate changes on the planet, including through the use of brand-new energy-saving and resource-saving technologies. Among priorities in this sphere are further development of science-based approaches to the preservation of the healthy natural environment and increased interaction with all the states of the world in the area of environmental protection with a view to ensuring sustainable development. Russia is committed to universal democratic values, including protection of human rights. In this sensitive sphere, it is highly important to prevent hypocrisy and double standards, respect national and historic peculiarities of each state and avoid forced imposition of borrowed value systems on anyone interlay Russia itself or Bangladesh or any other nations. The main objective of the Russian foreign policy on the European track is to create a truly open, democratic system of regional collective security and cooperation in such a way as not to allow its new fragmentation and reproduction of bloc-based approaches which still persist in the European architecture that took shape during the Cold War period. Russia builds its relations with the USA taking into account not only the vast potential of that country for mutually advantageous bilateral trade, economic, scientific, technological and other cooperation, but also its key influence on the state of global strategic stability and international situation in general. The development of friendly relations with China and India forms an important track of Russia’s foreign policy in Asia. Russia builds up its strategic partnership with China in all 50 fields on the basis of common fundamental approaches to key issues on international agenda. Bringing the scope and quality of economic interaction in line with the high level of political relations constitutes a major task in the field of bilateral ties. While deepening strategic partnership with India, Russia keeps by its line aimed at strengthening interaction on topical international issues and comprehensive strengthening of the mutually advantageous bilateral ties on all fronts, particularly in ensuring a substantial growth in trade and economic spheres. In the list of foreign policy priorities of Russia, the People’s Republic of Bangladesh holds an important place as well. Our countries started to develop friendly and mutually beneficial ties in the early 70’s, from the very first days of Bangladesh as an independent state. The people of the Soviet Union at that time raised their voice against the atrocities committed against the people of Bangladesh by the then military administration. That was not simply a political decision but the manifestation of deep and sincere sentiments of the Soviet people who were always supportive of national-liberation movements all over the world. Immediately after the Liberation War, our country extended its political support to Bangladesh in order to facilitate its admission to the UN. Russia also assisted the newly-born state to restore and develop its war-ravaged economy. Co-operation between Russia and Bangladesh has always been comprehensive as it covers a wide range of spheres from politics to culture. Russia and Bangladesh share common approach to ideas of multi-polar global architecture and fair international economic system. These basic postulates were reconfirmed on numerous occasions, for example, during the Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

talks between H.E. Mr. Sergei Lavrov Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation, and his Bangladeshi counterpart H.E. Dr. Dipu Moni in Brunei on July 1, 2013 on the sidelines of ASEAN Regional Forum. Russia appreciates the constructive foreign policy of Bangladesh that is aimed at deeper integration and connectivity in South Asia, as well as at solution of all the problems of the sub-continent in the spirit of good neighborhood and solidarity. We support the interest of Bangladesh to collaborate with the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. The economic relations between our two countries have yielded remarkable results. Our country contributed substantially to the construction of thermal power plants in Bangladesh. The power plants of Siddhirganj and Ghorasal commissioned in the mid 70th still produce about 1/5 of total power output in Bangladesh. Last year our company “Technoproniexport” completed modernisation of the 2nd unit of Ghorasal thermal power plant. It will be formally commissioned after a trial period, though it already works almost in full-swing. The same company and few others are ready to take part in tenders for modernisation of other units of Ghorasal TPP. Russian company GAZPROM is involved in development of natural gas resources in Bangladesh. In 2012, its subsidiary company GAZPROM International concluded two contracts with Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company (BAPEX), Bangladesh Gas Fields Company Ltd. (BGFCL) and Sylhet Gas Fields Ltd. (SGFL). The Russian company undertook to drill 10 production wells: four at the Titas field, one each at the Rashidpur, Shrikail, Semutang and Begumganj fields and two at Shahbazpur field. Despite 51 all the hartals in 2013, that were major obstacles for carrying on the drilling work, the wells of Shrikail-3, Begumganj-3, Titas-20 and Titas-21 have already been completed. The output of natural gas in Bangladesh increased by approximately 30 million cubic feet a day. Strategic decision to construct the Rooppur nuclear power plant has already been taken the governments of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh and the Russian Federation. During the historic visit of H.E. Honourable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to Moscow in January 2013 an intergovernmental agreement on the Russian state loan for this purpose was signed. Russian experts will participate in construction of the Rooppur NPP. When commissioned, it will add 2000 MW to the national grid. In 2012 and 2013, turnover of bilateral trade surpassed the level of US$700 million. Nevertheless, our two countries have all the potentials to increase the figure rapidly up to US$1 billion. The experience of more than four decades proves that there is nothing impossible in the field of the economic cooperation between the two nations, I mean the appropriate commercial contracts, two-sides or multilateral industrial joint ventures, etc. Everything is possible! Offshore exploration and extraction, different types of joint ventures, collaboration in LNG and compressed gas etc, everything is possible in future as our relations, I am sure, will only be strengthened in the years ahead. Now with your permission, I would like to touch the recent development in Ukraine and re- unification of Crimea with Mother-land Russia. More than 82 per cent of the electorate took part in the vote. Over 96 per cent of them spoke out in favour of reuniting with Russia. These numbers speak for themselves. Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

To understand the reason behind such a choice, it is enough to know the history of Crimea and what Russia and Crimea have always meant for each other. Everything in Crimea speaks of our shared history and pride. This is the location of ancient Khersones, where Prince Vladimir was baptised. His spiritual feat of adopting Orthodoxy predetermined the overall basis of the culture, civilisation and human values that unite the peoples of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. The graves of Russian soldiers whose bravery brought Crimea into the Russian empire are also in Crimea. This is also Sevastopol – a legendary city with an outstanding history, a fortress that serves as the birthplace of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. Crimea is a unique blend of different peoples’ cultures and traditions. This makes it similar to Russia as a whole, where not a single ethnic group has been lost over the centuries. Russians and Ukrainians, Crimean Tatars and people of other ethnic groups have lived side by side in Crimea, retaining their own identity, traditions, languages and faith. Incidentally, the total population of the Crimean Peninsula today is 2.2 million people, of whom almost 1.5 million are Russians, 350,000 are Ukrainians who predominantly consider Russian their native language, and about 290,000-300,000 are Crimean Tatars, who, as the referendum has shown, also lean towards Russia. In people’s hearts and minds, Crimea has always been an inseparable part of Russia. This firm conviction is based on truth and justice and was passed from generation to generation, over time, under any circumstances, despite all the dramatic changes, our country went through during the entire 20th century. 52 After the revolution, the Bolsheviks, for a number of reasons – may God judge them – added large sections of the historical south of Russia to the Republic of Ukraine. This was done with no consideration for the “ethnic make-up” of the population, and today these areas form the southeast of Ukraine. What matters now - is that, this decision was made in clear violation of the constitutional norms that were in place even then. The decision was made behind the scenes. Naturally, in a totalitarian state, nobody bothered to ask the citizens of Crimea and Sevastopol. They were faced with the fact. People, of course, wondered why - all of a sudden - Crimea became the part of Ukraine. But on the whole – and we must state this clearly, we all know it – this decision was treated as a formality of sorts because the territory was transferred within the boundaries of a single state – USSR then. Back then, it was impossible to imagine that Ukraine and Russia may split up and become two separate states. However, this has happened. Unfortunately, what seemed impossible became a reality. The USSR fell apart. Things developed so swiftly that few people realised how truly dramatic those events and their consequences would be. It was only when Crimea ended up as part of a different country that Russia realised that it was not simply robbed, it was plundered. Ten years later, when in 2003-2008 I served in capacity of the Russian Consul General in Crimea, I heard every day the Crimean residents saying that back in 1991 they were handed over like a sack of potatoes. This is hard to disagree with. And what about the Russian state? What about Russia? Then it humbly accepted the situation. Our country was going through such hard times then, that realistically it was incapable of protecting its interests. Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

Time and time again attempts were made to deprive the Russians of Ukraine off their historical memory, even of their language and to subject them to forced assimilation. Moreover, the Russians, just as other citizens of Ukraine were suffering from the constant political and state crisis that has been rocking the country for over 20 years. I understand why Ukrainian people wanted changes. They have had enough of the authorities in power during the years of Ukraine’s independence. Presidents, Prime Ministers and Parliamentarians changed, but their attitude to the country and its people remained the same. They milked the country, fought among themselves for power, assets and cash flows and did not care much about the ordinary people. They did not wonder why it was that millions of Ukrainian citizens saw no prospects at home and went to other countries to work as day labourers. I would like to stress this: it was not some Silicon Valley they fled to, but to become day labourers. Last year alone, almost 3 million people found such jobs in Russia. According to some sources, in 2013 their earnings in Russia totaled over $20 billion, which is about 12 per cent of Ukraine’s GDP. I also understand those who came out on Maidan with peaceful slogans against corruption, inefficient state management and poverty. The right to peaceful protest, democratic procedures and elections exist for the sole purpose of replacing the authorities that do not satisfy the people. However, those who stood behind the latest events in Ukraine had a different agenda: they were preparing yet another government takeover; they wanted to seize power and would stop short of nothing. They resorted to terror, murder and riots. Nationalists, neo-Nazis, Russophobes executed this coup. They continue to set the tone in Ukraine to this day. 53 The new so-called authorities began by introducing a draft law to revise the language policy, which was a direct infringement on the rights of ethnic minorities including Russians, Crimean Tartars and other nations living in Ukraine. It is obvious that, there is no legitimate executive authority in Ukraine now, nobody to talk to. Many government agencies have been taken over by the impostors, but they do not have any control in the country, while they themselves – and I would like to stress this – are often controlled by radicals and neo-Nazi. In some cases, you need a special permit from the militants on Maidan to meet with certain ministers of the current government. This is not a joke – this is reality. Those who opposed the coup were immediately threatened with repression. Naturally, the first in line here was Crimea, the Russian-speaking Crimea. In view of this, the residents of Crimea and Sevastopol turned to Russia for help in defending their rights and lives, in preventing the events that were unfolding and are still underway in Kiev, Donetsk, Kharkov and other Ukrainian cities. However, the people could not reconcile themselves to this outrageous historical injustice. All these 23 years, citizens and many public figures came back to this issue, saying that Crimea is historically Russian land and Sevastopol is a Russian city. Yes, we all knew this in our hearts and minds, but during all 23 years we had to proceed from the existing reality and build our good-neighbourly relations with independent Ukraine on a new basis. However, this is not how the situation developed. Naturally, we could not leave this plea unheeded; we could not abandon Crimea and its residents in distress. This would have been Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

betrayal on our part. First, we had to help create conditions so that the residents of Crimea for the first time in history were able to peacefully express their free will regarding their own future. However, what do we hear from our colleagues in Western Europe and North America? They say we are violating norms of international law. Firstly, it’s a good thing that they at least remember that there exists such a thing as international law – better late than never. Secondly, and most importantly – what exactly are we violating? True, the President of the Russian Federation received permission from the Upper House of Parliament to use the Armed Forces in Ukraine. However, strictly speaking, nobody has acted on this permission yet. Russia’s Armed Forces never entered Crimea; Next. As Crimea declared its independence and decided to hold a referendum, the Supreme Council of Crimea referred to the United Nations Charter, which speaks of the right of nations to self-determination. Incidentally, I would like to remind you that when Ukraine seceded from the USSR it did exactly the same thing, almost word for word. Ukraine used this right, yet the residents of Crimea are denied it. Why is that? Moreover, the Crimean authorities referred to the well-known Kosovo precedent – a precedent our western colleagues created with their own hands in a very similar situation, when they agreed that the unilateral separation of Kosovo from Serbia, exactly what Crimea is doing now, was legitimate and did not require any permission from the country’s central authorities. On my own, I should say the Rjjvj precedent is not a single or unique one in the recent history of 54 self-determination – there are South Sudan (2011), East Timor (2002) and Bangladesh (1971) as well. By the way, pursuant to Article 2, Chapter 1 of the United Nations Charter, the UN International Court agreed with this approach and made the following comment recently, and I quote: “No general prohibition may be inferred from the practice of the Security Council with regard to declarations of independence,” and “General international law contains no prohibition on declarations of independence.” Crystal clear, as they say. I do not like to resort to quotes, but in this case, I cannot resist the temptation. Here is a quote from another official document: the written statement of the United States of America dated 17 April 2009, submitted to the same UN International Court in connection with the hearings on Kosovo. Again, I quote: “Declarations of independence may, and often do, violate domestic legislation. However, this does not make them violations of international law.” End of quote. They wrote this, disseminated it all over the world, had everyone agree and now they are outraged. Over what? The actions of Crimean people completely fit in with these instructions, as it were. For some reason, things that Kosovo Albanians (and we have full respect for them) were permitted to do, Russians, Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars in Crimea are not allowed. Again, one wonders why. We keep hearing from the United States and Western Europe that Kosovo is some special case. What makes it so special in the eyes of our colleagues? It turns out that it is the fact that the conflict in Kosovo resulted in so many human casualties. Is this a legal argument? The ruling of the International Court says nothing about this. This is not even double standards; this is amazing, primitive, and blunt cynicism. One should not try so crudely to make everything suit their interests, calling the same thing white today and black tomorrow. Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

I will state clearly - if the Crimean local self-defence units had not taken the situation under control, there could have been casualties as well. Fortunately, this did not happen. There was not a single armed confrontation in Crimea and no casualties. Why do you think this was so? The answer is simple: because it is very difficult, practically impossible to fight against the will of the people. Other thoughts come to mind in this connection. They keep talking of some Russian intervention in Crimea, some sort of aggression. This is strange to hear. I cannot recall a single case in history of an intervention without a single shot being fired and with no human casualties. Dear colleagues, Like a mirror, the situation in Ukraine reflects what is going on and what has been happening in the world over the past several decades. After the dissolution of bipolarity on the planet, we no longer have stability. Key international institutions are not getting any stronger; on the contrary, in many cases, they are sadly degrading. Our western partners, led by the United States of America, prefer not to be guided by international law in their practical policies, but by the rule of the gun. They have come to believe in their exclusivity and exceptionalism, that they can decide the destinies of the world, that only they can ever be right. They act as they please: here and there, they use force against sovereign states, building coalitions based on the principle “If you are not with us, you are against us.” To make this aggression look legitimate, they force the necessary resolutions from international organisations, and if for some reason this does not work, they simply ignore the UN Security Council and the UN overall. 55 This happened in Yugoslavia; I myself remember 1999 very well because in 1998-1999 I was as the OSCE Verification Mission in Kosovo. And then, they hit Afghanistan, Iraq, and frankly violated the UN Security Council Resolution on Libya, when instead of imposing the so-called no-fly zone over it they started bombing it too. There was a whole series of controlled “colour” revolutions. Clearly, the people in those nations, where these events took place, were sick of tyranny and poverty, of their lack of prospects; but these feelings were taken advantage of cynically. Standards were imposed on these nations that did not in any way correspond to Western way of life, traditions, cultures or religions. As a result, instead of democracy and freedom, there was chaos, outbreaks in violence and a series of upheavals. The Arab Spring turned into the Arab Winter. A similar situation unfolded in Ukraine. In 2004, to push the necessary candidate through, at the presidential elections, they thought up some sort of third round that was not stipulated by the law. It was absurd and a mockery of the Constitution. And now, they have thrown in an organised and well-equipped army of militants. We understand what is happening; we understand that these actions were aimed against Ukraine and Russia and against Eurasian integration. And all this while Russia strived to engage in dialogue with our colleagues in the West. We are constantly proposing cooperation on all key issues; we want to strengthen our level of trust and for our relations to be equal, open and fair. But we saw no reciprocal steps. Country Lecture Series

On the contrary, they have lied to us many times, made decisions behind our backs, and placed us before an accomplished fact. This happened with NATO’s expansion to the East, as well as the deployment of military infrastructure at our borders. They kept telling us the same thing: “Well, this does not concern you.” That’s easy to say. It happened with the deployment of a missile defence system. In spite of all our apprehensions, the project is working and moving forward. It happened with the endless foot-dragging in the talks on visa issues, promises of fair competition and free access to global markets. Today, Russia is being threatened with sanctions. But we already experience many limitations, ones that are quite significant for us, our economy and our nation. For example, still during the times of the Cold War, the US and subsequently other nations restricted a large list of technologies and equipment from being sold to the USSR, creating the Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls list. Today, they have formally been eliminated, but only formally; and in reality, many limitations are still in effect. In short, we have every reason to assume that the infamous policy of containment, led in the 18th, 19th and 20thcenturies, continues today. They are constantly trying to sweep Russia into a corner because now, 23 years after the dissolution of USSR, Russia obtains an independent position, because we maintain it and because we call things like they are and do not engage in hypocrisy. But there is a limit to everything. And with Ukraine, our Western partners have crossed the line, playing the bear and acting irresponsibly and unprofessionally. After all, they were fully aware that there are millions of Russians living in Ukraine and in 56 Crimea. They must have really lacked political instinct and common sense not to foresee all the consequences of their actions. Russia found itself in a position it could not retreat from. If you compress the spring all the way to its limit, it will snap back hard. They must always remember this. Today, it is imperative to end this hysteria, to refute the rhetoric of the Cold War and to accept the obvious fact: Russia is an independent, active participant in international affairs; like other countries. It has its own national interests that need to be taken into account and respected. At the same time, we are grateful to all those who understood our actions in Crimea. First of all, we express our heartfelt thanks to these 11 fraternal nations who voted in our favour at the UN General Assembly session on March 28. We are not less grateful to the people of China, whose leaders have always considered the situation in Ukraine and Crimea taking into account the full historical and political context. We greatly appreciate India’s, Brazil’s, South Africa’s and other….countries’ reserve and objectivity while considering this drafted by the West resolution of the General Assembly. In capacity of the Ambassador of Russia to Bangladesh I am very enthusiastic about position of Dhaka delegation to the UN who abstained this anti- Russian voting as well as other nation’s delegations who two days ago did not participate in casting their voice at all. I sincerely want you to understand: Russia doesn’t want to harm Ukraine in any way, or to hurt Ukrainians national feelings. We have always respected the territorial integrity of the Ukrainian state. Unlike this unconstitutional government and neo-Nazi inherits with all their supporters and advisors from abroad, who sacrificed Ukraine’s unity for their political ambitions. They flaunt slogans about Ukraine’s greatness, but they are the ones who did everything to divide Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

the nation. Today’s civil standoff is entirely on their conscience. Dear colleagues, do not believe those who are shouting that other regions will follow Crimea. We do not want to divide Ukraine; we do not need that. As for Crimea, it was and remains a Russian, Ukrainian, and Crimean-Tatar land. Just as it has been for centuries - Crimea will be a home to all the peoples living there. What it will never be and do - is follow in neo-Nazi’s footsteps! Crimea is our common historical legacy and a very important factor in regional stability. And this strategic territory should be part of a strong and stable sovereignty, which today can only be Russian. Otherwise the Russians and the Ukrainians could lose Crimea completely, and that could happen in the near historical perspective. Please think about it. Let me note too that we have already heard declarations from Kiev about Ukraine soon joining NATO. What would this have meant for Crimea and Sevastopol in the future? It would have meant that NATO’s navy would be right there in this city of Russia’s military glory, and this would create not an illusory but a perfectly real threat to the whole of southern Russia. These are things that could have become reality were it not for the choice the Crimean people made. Fortunately, such a choice was made and Russia respect and recognise this choice. Historical logic and truth are re-established in complete accordance with the people’s will and international law guaranteed by the UN Charter. Definitely! Russia is not opposed to cooperation with NATO, for this is certainly not the case. For all the internal processes within the organisation, NATO remains a military alliance, and we are 57 against having a military alliance making itself at home right in our backyard or in our historic territory. I simply cannot imagine that we would travel to Sevastopol to visit NATO sailors. Of course, most of them are wonderful guys, but it would be better to have them come and visit us, be our guests, rather than the other way round. Let me say quite frankly that it pains my heart to see what is happening in the Ukrainian continental territory at the moment, to see the people’s suffering and their uncertainty about how to get through today and what awaits them tomorrow. These concerns are understandable because we are not simply close neighbours but we are one people. Kiev is the mother of all Russian cities. Ancient Russian is our common source and we cannot live without each other. Millions of Russians and Russian-speaking people live in Ukraine and will continue to do so. Russia will always defend their interests using political, diplomatic and legal means. But it should be above all in Ukraine’s own interest to ensure that these people’s rights and interests are fully protected. This is the guarantee of Ukraine’s state stability and territorial integrity. We want to be friends with Ukraine and we want Ukraine to be a strong, sovereign and self- sufficient country. Ukraine is one of our biggest partners after all. We have many joint projects and I believe in their success no matter what the current difficulties. Most importantly, we want peace and harmony to reign in Ukraine, and we are ready to work together with other countries to do everything possible to facilitate and support this. But only Ukraine’s own people can put their own house in order. Country Lecture Series

Biography of H.E. Mr. Pankaj Saran 58 High Commissioner of India in Bangladesh Mr. Pankaj Saran presented his credentials as India’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh to the President of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh on 14 March 2012. In his career as diplomat, he has served in different capacities in different Indian Missions in Moscow, Washington D.C., Cairo and Geneva. He has earlier served as the First Secretary (Political) in Bangladesh from 1989 to 1992. At Headquarters of Ministry of External Affairs, he has served at the East Europe Division, as Deputy Secretary in the Foreign Secretary’s Offi ce and headed the Division in capacity of Joint Secretary (North) that deals with India’s relations with Nepal and Bhutan. He served twice on deputation to the Prime Minister’s Offi ce, fi rst as the Director from 1995 to 1999, dealing largely with economic, energy, science and technology issues, and subsequently as Joint Secretary in the Offi ce of Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh from 2007 to 2012. In the latter capacity, he worked in the external affairs, defense, national security, atomic energy and space sectors. Mr. Pankaj Saran has done his Masters in Economics from the Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University after which he joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1982. He is married with two sons. His interests include tennis, bridge and reading. Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

Country Lecture on “India - Bangladesh Relations”

H.E. Mr. Pankaj Saran 59 High Commissioner of India in Bangladesh 1. Thank you very much for your warm words of welcome. It is a privilege for me to be invited to the Country Lecture Series of one of Bangladesh’s premier institutions. I know, I follow very distinguished speakers before me, which is no surprise given BIISS’s reputation for intellectual rigour and contribution to strategic studies. I remember reading its publications and talking to its scholars even as a young diplomat in Dhaka in the late 1980’s. 2. The institute has only grown in stature over this period, as has the strategic community in Bangladesh. In this context, I should say that the intensification of the dialogue between different think tanks in Bangladesh with those in India is a most welcome development. Of equal significance is the explosion in the media and the spawning of a whole new and extremely vibrant TV talk show tradition in Bangladesh. It has brought issues of national importance to the doorstep of people across the country. 3. Fortunately, this is not a TV talk show! I will have more than a few seconds to make my point, though I am not sure if even the extended time I have been given will do justice to the scope of the topic. 4. I propose to divide the subject into three parts. A brief overview of today’s India, a review of the state of our bilateral relations and lessons learnt and the way forward. I, of course, look forward to your questions and comments after that. Country Lecture Series

5. Today is a historic day for India. Starting today, 814 million voters will, over the next five weeks, cast their votes in the largest democratic exercise in the world. On May 17th, the 16th Parliament will stand elected. The consolidation of democracy and strengthening of pluralism, federalism and secularism are among the major achievements of post- Independent India. 6. This was by no means ‘a given’ when we began in 1947. On the night of 15th August, India was faced with the twin challenges of coping with new found independence and partition of the country. It faced grave internal challenges and international skepticism about its ability to survive as a nation. India fought two wars with Pakistan, one with China, a long drawn proxy war of terror over Kashmir and insurgencies and secessionist movements in the North East. We found ourselves stuck at the ‘Hindu rate of growth’ of 3 per cent. Internationally, our leaders took a decision that was not easy but one that came naturally to them of refraining from joining any military or political alliance. 7. It could well be argued that India is where it is today because it was able to keep its democracy and fundamental values intact. It focused on institutions and learnt as it went along. It learnt to manage differences, protect fundamental freedoms, respect dissent and build coalitions. The people of India ensured that there would not be a totalitarian or unitary state. Today, the body politic is more resilient, the states are stronger, and national identity is well defined.

60 8. Of course, the history of India predates 1947. There is a running thread of the Indian civilization, which is one of very few continuous civilizations in the world. In the contemporary world it has become somewhat fashionable to talk of the ‘Idea of India’ to describe India. This is a gross simplification. India is not an idea. In fact, using the same metaphor, India has an idea about herself and about the world - in fact, more than an idea. 9. Coming back to the modern era, the country’s growth trajectory changed with the ushering in of economic reforms in 1991. The country is more connected within itself, the spirit of enterprise is strong, and sentiment is positive about the future. India can actually be thought of as a large common market with vast economies of scale. The size of the middle class has grown. The media, communications and IT revolutions have shrunk distances and empowered the marginalised and the vulnerable. 10. In concrete terms, poverty levels have fallen to a record low of 22 per cent in 2011-12 compared to a figure of close to 60 per cent in the early fifties. The number of poor is estimated at 270 million, of which 217 million live in rural areas. About 20 million people were pulled out of poverty every year since 2004-2005. Food grain production has grown from 51 million tons in 1950 to 258 million tons in 2011-12, and female life expectancy has increased from 32 to 68 years in the same period. 11. India has become the fourth largest economy in the world but is still the poorest in terms of per capita income among the G-20 countries. Its per capita income stood at 1527 US dollars in 2011, but has grown further in the last three years. The gross Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

savings rate is 30.5 per cent while the gross investment rate is 35.3 per cent of GDP. Foreign exchange reserves have grown from 1.9 billion US dollars in 1950 to 303 billion US dollars in April 2014. 12. Admittedly, statistics hide more than they reveal. It is said about India that for every short sentence about India there is an equally short opposite sentence that is also true. India lives at different levels. If the successes are impressive equally daunting are the challenges. One in six people on this planet is an Indian. India’s population is more than the population of Africa’s fifty-four countries combined and twice the population of the European Union. 13. I would highlight the ten key challenges India currently faces as follows:  Evolving a model of development that suits India’s conditions.  Elimination of poverty, illiteracy and disease.  Ensuring rapid economic growth, without which we cannot generate the surpluses we need to meet our social and equity objectives.  Ensuring food, water and energy security.  Ensuring that growth is inclusive and employment generating.  Correcting regional imbalances. 61  Empowerment of our women and other disadvantaged sections of society.  Focus on education, health and the values on which the Republic rests.  Protection of the environment.  Building infrastructure 14. Externally, India’s priority is to shape an environment that is conducive to its growth and to the widening of its development choices. In this, the first priority is to work with our immediate neighbours to build a partnership of equals based on a common vision of peace, stability and prosperity. 15. Globally, the world is continuing to witness important shifts which began when the Cold War ended. Power is more diffused today. After the western financial and economic crisis of 2008, and its contagion effects around the world, the centre of economic gravity is moving in a more discernible manner to the Asia-Pacific region where the future sources of growth increasingly lie. India seeks to play a constructive role in shaping a stable world order which upholds the principles of sovereignty, non-interference and which advances the goals of development, trade, environment and security for all. We believe that sooner or later global institutions will have to be reformed to reflect contemporary realities. 16. This brings me to the second segment of my talk - as to how all of the above fits into, impacts and shapes India’s relations with Bangladesh. Country Lecture Series

17. The manner in which Bangladesh has grown in economic terms tells its own story. I believe it is not a coincidence that Bangladesh’s growth rates have been high exactly at a time when India’s have also been high. We have two contrasting examples before us, on India’s East and on India’s West. The former is a case of normal inter-State relations between India and Bangladesh, the latter of a difficult and often estranged history, with little interaction between the two economies. By all economic indicators, whether GDP growth, volume of exports, foreign exchange reserves and most importantly, future growth projections, Bangladesh is significantly ahead of Pakistan. Closer economic ties and cooperation between India and Bangladesh may not be the reason, but they have certainly not been harmful for each other’s growth. In fact, they may have been mutually reinforcing and complementary. 18. Both of our countries have matured. We are today dealing with a new generation - one that has learnt about the events of 1947 or 1971 from text books and word of mouth. We have to constantly ask them what they want and expect from their policy makers. I am not sure they would be satisfied with living in the past. Most would like to look ahead, and wish for a more rapid pace of development of our relations. History has taught us that it is easy to arouse animosities and create stereotypes but it is difficult to build bridges of understanding. I believe we are making progress in this direction. 19. Whether we look at trade and commerce, investment, political and security cooperation, border management, development cooperation, water management and 62 the environment, energy cooperation or cultural and people-to people exchanges, the India-Bangladesh relationship today touches almost every sphere of human activity. A key attribute of our relationship is therefore its complexity, richness and overlapping jurisdictions. I would say that the scale of our interaction today is much more than has been in the past. 20. A corollary to this is that the number of stakeholders has grown on both sides. Of particular note is the fact that the relationship has gone beyond the narrow confines of government. This is a welcome sign. Another corollary to this is that it has become more difficult to draw a balance sheet of gains and losses for either side. 21. To my mind, the Framework Agreement on Cooperation for Development that the two Prime Ministers signed in September 2011 in Dhaka captures this complexity well and lays out a roadmap for the future. Its greatest strength is its simplicity and open ended character. 22. There are many initiatives that we have taken in the last few years for the first time in our history. These have been in areas of interest to both sides, and almost all of these have a lasting value going beyond governments and partisan politics. Let me illustrate with a few examples:  We have put in place a comprehensive border management system which comprises a web of institutional mechanisms, a Coordinated Border Management Plan, an Extradition Treaty, opening of border haats, revival of DC/DM level talks and up gradation of border infrastructure. Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

 There are better contacts between our security establishments.  We have not ratified the Agreement and the Protocol to the Land Boundary Agreement but an audience such as this would appreciate that we have agreed and signed off on the terms of the settlement for the enclaves, adverse possessions and undemarcated areas. This was a herculean exercise involving house to house surveys by teams from both sides. All strip maps pertaining to the 1974 Agreement have been signed and exchanged.  24 hour access has been given across Tin Bigha to Dahagram and Angarpota enclaves and their electrification has been done.  It is regrettable that we have not been able to sign the agreement on sharing of the Teesta waters. However, we have the elements of a solution in place. On February 10, 2012, for the first time, both sides exchanged the flow data at Gazaldoba in India and Dalia in Bangladesh between 1998 and 2010. We have also agreed on the elements of a solution for sharing of waters of Feni River. The Ganges waters sharing Treaty is working to mutual satisfaction. We have identified six other rivers for initiating discussions on water sharing. On Tipaimukh, we have set up a sub-group for joint study to assess the impact of the Project in Bangladesh. We are cooperating on providing flood data, dredging and bank protection works.  To help address the trade imbalance, we have opened the Indian market to all Bangladeshi products except for 25 tariff lines on zero duty zero tariff basis. Bangladesh’s exports to India last year were the highest ever recorded. Bangladesh 63 is emerging as a prospective destination for major Indian investments.  There have been concrete improvements in trade infrastructure. New Integrated Check Posts are coming up.  SOPs have been signed to facilitate road and rail transit traffic between Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.  A 1 billion dollar Credit Line, the largest single such Line, is in advanced stage of implementation involving 15 projects, of which 200 million dollars has been converted to grant.  New initiatives are underway in social sectors such as IT, education, health, environment and Small development Projects.  For the first time, inter-grid connectivity for flow of power has been established and is functional with flow of 500MW of power. Bangladesh has sought and we have agreed to facilitate purchase of much higher amounts of power by Bangladesh from projects in India’s North East. In the meantime, we have agreed on additional flows of power in the immediate future and building the requisite infrastructure to enable the flow of both short term and long term power.  India and Bangladesh have jointly taken the initiative to open discussions with Bhutan and Nepal for exploitation of their hydro power potential.  An Indian Company has offered to supply diesel through pipeline to Bangladesh on a long term basis. Country Lecture Series

 Our cooperation in the railways sector is stronger than ever before, and measures are underway to make travel easier on the Maitree Express. Air connectivity is the best we have had so far.  We have for the first time opened discussions on coastal shipping, and direct contacts have been established between different ports of Bangladesh and ports on India’s Eastern coast.  People to people links have become more streamlined and regular. We have significantly increased our cooperation in the area of training, capacity building and skill development. Cultural exchanges are taking place in both directions. 23. As will be seen, these initiatives are systemic. They are designed to directly benefit the people. Some of them are quick in making impact while in case of others the impact will be felt over a period of time. 24. In the course of working on our relations over the last many years, we have learnt a number of lessons. We are also in a constant process of planning ahead, as it should be. This therefore brings me to the third and last part of my speech. 25. First, the lessons learnt. 26. Our two countries are united by geography, history and culture. We have to survive and prosper together. This relationship is far too important for both countries. We have made mistakes in the past; the question is how we can avoid them in the future. 27. A strong, stable and prosperous Bangladesh is not only in the interest of Bangladesh 64 but also in the interest of India, the region and beyond. 28. Our security is mutual. A policy which is aimed to harm the other side or to exploit the other’s weakness is a sub-optimal one. History has shown that there are no winners in this game. All sides stand to lose. We share a common security space. It is human nature to want to live in a stable and peaceful environment, not the reverse. We should not allow a few to hold our nations hostage to instability. 29. Cooperating on security issues does not imply that we are sacrificing our sovereignty, or reducing our policy options. In fact, cooperation in combating criminal, insurgent, terror, smuggling and trafficking activities is the best way to enhance national strength. 30. India and Bangladesh are natural partners, and we have to solve our problems ourselves. This does not exclude, for example, joint agreement to accepting international arbitration under UNCLOS to delimit our maritime boundary or agreeing to invite Nepal and Bhutan for discussions on power, water and connectivity. 31. The more we cooperate and connect, the better we both do. The rate of growth of our economies and progress in other social indicators that I earlier mentioned eloquently bear this out. At the same time, we should respect each other’s differences and way of life. 32. We have to share the burden of scarcity of resources. Water is a major challenge for both our countries as well as for this entire region. We have to find ways to manage this precious resource, to share it and to make the best possible use of what we have. Since this is a resource which affects millions of people, we have to share the pain and find equitable solutions which will involve burden sharing and that have broad consensus among all stakeholders. Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

33. There is still huge unfinished business ahead of us. The potential for our cooperation is immense. It is important for us to plan and prioritise and ensure that we communicate better with each other. 34. Based on the above, what do we do in the future? I would venture to suggest the following menu: 35. We should continue to broaden our relationship in terms of sectors and in terms of involving wider cross sections of society. We should focus on bridging the knowledge gap between us. We may know each other but we should ensure that we understand each other. 36. We should address each other’s core interests, and be sensitive to each other’s aspirations. We should listen to each other better. We should make life for the innocent and law abiding citizen easier. 37. We should learn from each other. Both countries have their own success stories and national experiences. Exchange of experience should be a two way street. 38. We should allow each other to benefit from our respective strengths and allow our comparative advantages to play out. India has a large and growing market. Bangladesh should have access to it. Similarly, Bangladeshi companies should have the freedom and opportunity to source raw materials, intermediate goods or even machinery and equipment from India if it is cost effective and makes the Bangladeshi economy more competitive. Bangladesh’s strength is its abundant work force, vibrant culture and geographical location. This can be leveraged in a way that creates prosperity and 65 generates employment in Bangladesh. 39. We should enhance people-to-people exchanges and better connectivity between us. Many important initiatives are underway to make business and travel between us easier and smoother. 40. We should start coastal shipping and have a long term inland waterways usage plan. We should try to convert illegal trade into legal trade. Areas like food security, environment protection and water management need greater focus. 41. We should make further progress in sub-regional and regional cooperation, and work together on global issues. 42. These are some of the thoughts I wished to share with you today. I am conscious that I may not have addressed all the issues for which I seek your indulgence but I would be happy to respond to your questions and comments. 43. In conclusion, let me reiterate the high importance that India attaches to its relations with Bangladesh. This is a key partnership for us on which the prosperity of both of our countries rests. 44. I thank you once again for inviting me today, and for the patient hearing that you have given me. Thank you. Dhaka, April 07, 2014 Country Lecture Series

Biography of Ambassador Li Jun, Ambassador of 66 China in Bangladesh

Ambassador Li Jun was born in August 1959. He is married and has one daughter. Ambassador Li Jun, a fl uent Japanese speaker, did his postgraduate degree in Japanese Literature from Graduate School of China’s Jilin University. He also did his further studies from Tokyo University during 1989-1990. Ambassador Li is an infl uential member of the Communist Party of China. Hewas instructor in China Northwest Institute of Politics and Law from 1982-83. He served as the Director General (Research) in the International Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2008-2011. In his diplomatic career Ambassador Li, earlier, served as First Secretary and Minister in the Chinese Missions in Japan and to the European Union. Ambassador Li presented his credentials as Ambassador extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of China to Bangladesh on March 6, 2012. Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

“China’s Development and China-Bangladesh Bilateral Relations” 67 Lecture by Ambassador Li Jun Ambassador of China in Bangladesh My speech will be divided into three parts, namely new move of China’s development, China’s neighborhood policy and the prospect of China-Bangladesh relations. I hope it will catalyse the discussion that follows later. 1. China is on its third version of reform and opening up Reform and opening up has been the main driving force for China’s development. Having registered rapid growth over the past three decades and more, China’s social and economic development has entered a new stage. There are conditions in place for the Chinese economy to achieve sustained sound growth. There is steady and coordinated progress in advancing the new type of industrialisation, IT application, urbanisation and agricultural modernisation. At the same time, there are challenges, like constraint of resources and environment, in- come disparity and the fading away of demographic dividend, lying ahead. To meet these challenges, a new round of reforms and opening up is going on in China since last year. From my understanding, the third version of China’s reform and opening up is much more comprehensive to compare with the previous two and mainly focuses on the following three aspects. First, deepening reform and upgrading opening-up. We will work harder to streamline administration and delegate more power to lower level of governments. We will introduce a system of listing government powers, consider the adoption of a management model based on a negative list approach. This will enable us to expand market access, foster a better Country Lecture Series

business environment, encourage fair competition, develop a law-based economy and contain government and official powers into the cage. Opening-up is also a kind of reform and can boost reform. An important part of this endeavor is to further open up the services sector, including the capital market. For example, we will actively create conditions to establish a Shanghai-Hong Kong stock exchanges connectivity mechanism, and further promote two-way opening-up and healthy development of the capital markets on the mainland and Hong Kong. We will continue to raise the level and quality of opening-up through deeper integration with the international market. Second, adjusting economic structure. We will narrow urban-rural and regional development gaps and address the unreasonable industrial structure .We will speed up efforts to improve service sector, which is our weak link, extend the pilot VAT reform to postal, telecommunications and other services sectors, use tax tools to develop producer and consumer services, and use more private capital to increase the supply of old-age support, health, tourism, cultural, sports and other services. We will implement a new type of people-centered urbanisation, address the disparity between urban and rural areas and within cities, and grant urban residency in an orderly manner to rural people who have moved to cities. We will also promote the development of green industries, new energy, and energy-conserving and environment friendly technologies and products to foster new growth areas, and resolutely eliminate backward production facilities in this process to ease the resources and environmental constraints. We will increase the size of the national guidance fund for venture capital in emerging industries, leverage the 68 role of innovation in spurring development, move industries up the value chain, and raise the productivity of factors of production. Third, improving people’s livelihood. The purpose of development is to improve people’s standard of living. The 1.3 billion Chinese represent the largest consumer market and source of demand in the world. And as people’s lives improve, the domestic demand will play a greater role in driving economic growth. We need to increase people’s income as the economy grows. And employment is the source of income and crucial for people’s lives. We will implement a more preferential policy for employment and entrepreneurship and give greater fiscal, tax and financial support and services to university graduates and unemployed people when they seek jobs or start their own businesses. We will also introduce more tax breaks to encourage individually-owned businesses and enterprises to hire more. We will improve the social security net and public services so that people will have no worries. We will take a comprehensive set of policies to boost consumer spending, raise people’s spending power, increase consumption of goods and services and reduce distribution costs so that consumption can provide greater support for economic development. China’s deepening reform will also create new and greater opportunities for China’s relations with the external world. It is estimated that in the next five years, China will invest an additional $500 billion in other countries, import over $10 trillion of products and send 400 million tourists abroad. Among these, the neighboring countries, including Bangladesh should have a good share. Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

2. Building community of common destiny with neighboring countries Asia is China’s neighborhood. It is critical to China’s development and prosperity. As a Chinese saying goes: Water afar cannot put out a fire at hand. A distant relative is not as helpful as a near neighbor. China is deeply committed to friendly relations with its neighboring countries. China’s foreign policy places top priority on its neighboring countries. The more developed China becomes, the more China values a peaceful and stable neighborhood. China is determined to build an Asian community of common interest, common destiny and common responsibility. To this end, First, we should stick to the overarching goal of common development .In the age of economic globalisation, no Asian countries can achieve development in isolation from each other, still less can they pursue development as a “zero-sum game”. Rather, with our interests closely entwined, we the Asian countries need to seek mutually beneficial cooperation. In the past decade and more, intra-regional trade in Asia has expanded from US$1 trillion to US$3 trillion, and its share of total trade of all Asian countries increased from 30 per cent to 50 per cent. Yet this is still far less than that in the EU. Regional economic integration serves the interests of all Asian countries. We need to work in unison to promote trade liberalization and investment facilitation, and upgrade regional and sub-regional cooperation. Second, we should foster a general environment for integrated development. Economic integration is the core of achieving common development in Asia. Asia’s beautiful future hinges upon not only the development of each and every country but, more importantly, the 69 common progress of the whole region. Infrastructure connectivity is a basic condition for integrated development. Countries in the region should join hands and speed up infrastructure construction including rail, road, air and water transportation. China is ready to work with countries involved to draw up plans for building the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) Economic Corridor and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, and upgrade China-ASEAN FTA. China will continue to promote the important projects of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road this year. China is ready to intensify consultations with relevant parties in and outside Asia on the preparations for the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and hopes that the bank can be officially launched at an early date. Industrial complementarities are the key aspect of integrated development. Asian countries should take advantage of our geographical proximity to deepen cooperation across the upstream, mid-stream and downstream industrial chains, and build an industrial network and economic system that draw on our respective comparative strengths. Third, we should maintain the general environment of peaceful development. Regional turbulence courts disaster while stability in the neighborhood brings prosperity. Asia owes its progress to a peaceful and stable regional environment, and peace and stability are the fundamental safeguards for Asia’s development. To achieve peace and stability in Asia, the Asian countries should build consensus, make active efforts and jointly fulfill our due responsibilities. We should promote security dialogue and consultation, strengthen cooperation on non-traditional security issues, including disaster management, maritime search and rescue, counter-terrorism and combating transnational crimes, and actively explore the establishment Country Lecture Series

of a regional security cooperation framework in Asia. China is committed to peaceful development. We pursue a neighborhood policy of building amity and friendship, and we are firm in our resolve to uphold China’s territorial sovereignty. We also follow a clear-cut policy of seeking peaceful solutions to disputes. China loves peace and cherishes development. It is ready to work with other countries in the region to build a peaceful, prosperous and open Asia and maintain peace, stability and tranquility in our neighborhood by enhancing political mutual trust. 3. Two engines will pull China-Bangladesh cooperation to a new height Bangladesh is a big power in South Asia. It has maintained 6 per cent plus GDP growth rate in the past decades and successfully transformed into an export-oriented economy, now the second largest apparel exporter in the world and the second largest foreign currency reserve country in South Asia. The strategic location and abundant labor forces suggest the nation’s huge potential for further development. Bangladesh is also an important member of the developing world. It plays a unique role in safeguarding the legitimate rights of developing countries, in maintaining world peace and anti-terrorism and extremism. China and Bangladesh are near neighbors and traditional friends each other. In bilateral relation, we neither suffer for the problems left over from the history, nor face conflicts at present. What we all share is common interest, friendship and cooperation. All that we should do is turn the potentials into reality with concerted efforts. We mutually benefit from each 70 other’s development. China welcomes a prosperous, stable and united Bangladesh and will continue to take an active part in Bangladesh’s social and economic development. Thanks to the concerted efforts of both sides, our bilateral relation has maintained good momentum. In the aspect of political and people to people exchanges, a series of high level visits are on schedule this year. From Bangladeshi side, the Honorable President is to go to Shanghai in the end of May for Asia Confidence Building Summit, the Honorable Prime Minister and political party leaders are invited to visit China in a mutually convenient time. From Chinese side, Vice Chairperson of China’s National Congress, Vice Chairperson of China’s National Military Commission will successively come to Bangladesh early next month. Vice Minister of China’s Ministry for Water Conservancy has also planned to visit Bangladesh later this year for renewing the agreement of hydrological data and information exchange between the two governments. People to people exchanges have crossed 70 thousands last year and the number is still increasing and it leads my Visa sector complains about short of hands to me. The application for Chinese government scholarship is going on. In economic field, the bilateral trade volume reached 10.3 billion USD last year. Although there is still a big deficit for Bangladesh, but with the implementation of duty-free treatment provided by China and China’s economic structural adjustment, the growth rate of Bangladesh’s export to China is 4 point higher than the general growth rate. In terms of investment, the total amount of FDI from China doubled last year, reaching nearly 1 billion USD. So far as I know, at the movement, several more big investment projects are in the process of negotiation. Grants and soft loans from Chinese side are also quickly increasing. Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

Turn our sight into the near future, the complementary economic structure, proximity of geographical location and peaceful regional situation indicate the huge potentials for our bilateral co-operations. While the ambitious Vision of both countries and dynamic development of regional integration will serve as two engines to pull the co-operation to ever- growing new heights. The first engine--- I’d take it as a common destiny, rather than coincidence, that China and Bangladesh share almost the same vision for development both in time schedule and standard requirement. China is striving to double its GDP and per capita income and build up an all round moderate prosperous society by 2021 and accomplish the modernisation by 2049. In Bangladesh, you are to be a middle income country and developed country by the respective period. In a time of globalisation, no country could develop and meet challenges alone without co-operate, co-ordinate or help with others. The two development visions are certainly inspiring each other and give tremendous impetus to the bilateral co-operations. Three waves would possibly arise in the coming years. The first will be the export wave from Bangladeshi to Chinese market with RMG in the core. A Chinese importer told me one month before that the volume of Bangladesh RMG export to China will climb to US$1billion scale form the current 100 million within 3 to 5 years. Thinking that the Chinese market for RMG is over US$200 billions and the labor cost sky-rockets in China, I do not think his prediction is unreasonable. The second wave will be Chinese investment. China now is restructuring its economy and the labor- intensive industries will be relocated. The annual outbound Chinese investment has been around USD100 billion in the last few years. I believe Bangladesh is its 71 best destination. For an even easier access for the investors, an exclusive EPZ for China will be much helpful. The third wave must be infrastructure construction co-operation. This is of vital importance for Bangladesh’s rapid development and China accumulated very rich experiences both internal and external. In this field, a practical consideration and recognition of China standard would make things much easier. The second engine—the establishment of Bangladesh –China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor (BCIMEC), the regional co-operation. Transportation connectivity will lay an important foundation, but the Economic Corridor must not be confined in transportation. It must be a connectivity of development policy, of market, of industrial layout as well as cultural and people to people exchanges. In one word a connectivity of relative advantages. I guess a more dynamic industrial chain will emerge in the process of BCIMEC building. Bangladesh will play a decisive role and benefit most from the Corridor. It will serve as a bar of dumbbell that connects the two weights—Chinese market and Indian market. The second official level joint working group meeting will be held in Chittagong this year and the third session is to be held in India. I am looking forward to a courageous Master Plan. Country Lecture Series

Biography of Ambassador Dan W. Mozena, Ambassador of the United States in Bangladesh 72 Since presenting his Letters of Credence to the Honorable President of Bangladesh on November 24, 2011, Ambassador Dan Mozena has endeavored to strengthen, deepen and broaden relations between the United States and Bangladesh. He has worked to advance the interests of the people of America, Bangladesh and the region by promoting a Bangladesh that is peaceful, secure, prosperous, healthy and democratic. To take America to the people and to better understand the diversity of Bangladesh, Mozena has undertaken to visit all of the country’s 64 districts. Ambassador Mozena had previously served in Bangladesh as Political/Economic Counselor from 1998-2001. The Ambassador has served with the US missions in Islamabad, Kinshasha, Lusaka and New Delhi. Immediately before his return to Bangladesh, Mozena was a professor at the National War College for a year. A member of Senior Foreign Service, Dan Mozena was U.S. Ambassador to Angola from 2007-2010. He was the Director for the Office of Southern African Affairs from 2004 to 2007 when, among other responsibilities, he provided leadership to the US bilateral relations with Angola. As Director, Dan Mozena established as his highest priorities developing and supporting US policies to help southern Africa fight and win the war against HIV/AIDS, strengthen democracy and improve governance, enhance regional stability and promote economic growth to reduce poverty. He graduated from Iowa State University (Political Science and History), and later from graduate school at the University of Wisconsin, Madison (Public Administration and Political Science). He lived in Nepal in 1970-1971 as part of a cultural exchange. Ambassador Mozena’s wife of is a retired elementary school teacher. Both Mozenas served as Peace Corps volunteers in then-Zaire. The Mozenas are proud parents of two adult children, Anne and Mark. Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

“America’s Partnership with Bangladesh: Stronger, Deeper and Broader than Ever” 73 Remarks by Dan W. Mozena, US Ambassador to Bangladesh Asalaamu Alaikum and good morning November 19, 2011 … … seems like yesterday … that was the day Grace and I arrived in Dhaka to take up our new assignment as America’s ambassador to Bangladesh … it was a great day. We were so tired as the plane taxied up to the terminal … Grace got off first … and I followed behind, dragging a huge bag … it was so heavy, but I dragged it down the jetway and through the terminal. I thumped it down the stairs and into the VIP lounge, where I held a press conference. Just as the press event was ending, a hand shot up, and a journalist queried, “What do you have in that big bag?” “Oh,” I responded, “that is my mandate … my mandate to broaden, to deepen, to strengthen America’s partnership with Bangladesh … and the sky is the limit.” I still drag my mandate with me everywhere I go … in fact, it is outside right now in my car … and I will continue to work to fulfill that mandate … to the benefit of the people of both America and Bangladesh. Perhaps, you wonder why my mandate is so big … well, the answer is simple … Bangladesh is big … the world’s eighth largest country … the world’s third largest Muslim-majority country … Bangladesh matters … Bangladesh is a country of deep strategic importance to America … that’s why my mandate is so big. Bangladesh is a moderate, tolerant country that offers a viable alternative to violent extremism in this much troubled part of the world … Bangladesh matters … Bangladesh matters to America in so many ways … as it bolsters relations with its neighbors, Bangladesh fosters greater regional stability … as one of the greatest contributors to international peace support operations, Bangladesh sustains global peace … Bangladesh matters … among the world’s most populous countries, Bangladesh is critical to achieving global food security for the world’s surging population that might cross 9 Country Lecture Series

billion in my lifetime, ‘nhallah Bangladesh matters to America in so many other ways. We are important trade and investment partners: America is the largest investor in Bangladesh … the largest single country market for Bangladesh … our trade and investment relationship holds great promise to be so much more. America also has an important valuable agenda in Bangladesh, as we believe that a democratic Bangladesh, a Bangladesh that respects its citizens “human rights” will be a stronger partner for us … America also seeks to help Bangladesh cope with the many natural disasters that occur too often … we have helped Bangladesh build or rebuild 550 cyclone shelters and are now building another 130, and we are partnering with Bangladesh, as it thinks the unthinkable of responding to a major earthquake that hits Dhaka or some other city. I have quickly sketched America’s considerable interests in Bangladesh: countering terrorism and violent extremism, fostering regional security, sustaining global peace, achieving global food security, expanding trade and investment, promoting democracy and respect for human rights, and helping Bangladeshis cope with disasters, especially earthquakes. To advance these many interests, America and, more specifically, my mission undertake to promote a Bangladesh that is peaceful, secure, prosperous, healthy and democratic. So, if any of you is ever curious about what the Americans are doing in Bangladesh, you now have the answer: we are working with our Bangladeshi partners to promote a Bangladesh that is peaceful, secure, prosperous, healthy, and democratic. So, this is the context in which US Mission Dhaka has endeavored to broaden, deepen, strengthen the partnership between America and Bangladesh … and I am pleased with the great progress that America and Bangladesh have made to that end. Some of you may recall from those first days after my November 2011 arrival that my dream was 74 to have the Secretary of State come to Bangladesh to institutionalise the partnership between the two countries. That dream came true in May 2012, when then Secretary Hillary Clinton visited Bangladesh and signed an agreement with her Bangladeshi counterpart to establish a Partnership Dialogue, which provides for annual high level engagement to review the partnership, acknowledge the successes, and identify the areas where more could be done. The third Partnership Dialogue is slated for late summer/early fall in Washington, and, if the past is any guide, this exchange will be a most productive exchange as delegations likely headed by the American Undersecretary for Political Affairs and the Bangladeshi Foreign Secretary will undertake a comprehensive assessment of the relationship, making course corrections, as necessary. Complementing this strategic review, the two countries instituted a Security Dialogue to dig more deeply into the security aspects of the partnership, with security defined broadly. We just held the third session of the Security Dialogue last month, when US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Tom Kelley and MFA’s Secretary Mustapha Kamal led their respective delegations for an excellent bilateral review of security considerations around the region and of prospects for deepening our security engagement. The specifics of our deepening security partnership will be agreed this fall during the third annual bilateral military-military dialogue that will take place in October in Hawaii, where working-level delegations from the two countries will hammer out a schedule of military training and other engagement for the next five years. This year we added a new annual bilateral engagement to the mix. Last month, here in Dhaka, we held the first ever Trade and Investment Cooperation Framework Agreement meeting. Although negotiations to conclude TICFA were spread over twelve years, the agreement is actually quite simple: the two countries get together at least once a year to identify obstacles to increasing trade and investment and how to overcome those obstacles. Our maiden TICFA meeting was a good success in launching this new forum. Each side was clear and candid in sharing its views on the obstacles to increasing bilateral trade and investment. I was so pleased with the TICFA meeting. Country Lecture Series Country Lecture Series

To recap, America and Bangladesh over the past two and one-half years have created a broad, comprehensive framework that has now institutionalised our partnership. As Secretary Clinton observed during her 2012 visit, the relationship is so important to each country, that it must have its own framework for engagement, apart from the ever-changing interests and priorities of the incumbent Secretary and Foreign Minister. If I may, I would like to divert the flow of my discourse for a moment, and address an issue that received considerable attention during the recently-concluded TICFA meeting. I am often asked about US suspension of Bangladesh’s GSP privileges in America and when will those privileges be reinstated. Actually, in my view, this is not issue. I believe the issue is when will Bangladesh have taken the steps needed to ensure that the country never again experiences another Rana Plaza, that it never again experiences another Tazreen Fashions fire. I believe Bangladesh may well be on the road to transforming the apparel sector and bringing it to international standards in terms of fire safety, factory structure soundness and respect for workers’ rights. I believe President Obama’s decision last June to suspend Bangladesh’s GSP privileges is an important driving force in effecting this transformation. The Sustainability Compact that was agreed last July by Bangladesh, the US and the EU codifies Bangladesh’s commitment to undertake the measures identified in the Action Plan for restoring Bangladesh’s GSP privileges in the US. Additionally, the brands and the buyers, for the first time in history have set aside their competitive differences and are now contributing nearly $100 million to undertake inspections in their over 2000 source factories. Many have also made available large amounts of resources for revolving loans to help factory owners undertake needed remedial actions to bring their facilities to standard. Meanwhile, Canada, Netherlands and the UK contributed 75 funds to enable the ILO to undertake inspections in the rest of the factories. The ILO has launched the largest Better Work program in its history with the goal of bringing as many as 800 factories to standard. America and other donors are engaged; many workers have undertaken to organize real unions, and the government has recognized 150 of them over the past year and a half; many owners support deep change in the sector; and the government has given strong leadership to these efforts. Of course, there are those owners and others who oppose change, but I am hopeful that in the end this transformation will take place and Brand Bangladesh will become a Premium Brand, a Preferred Brand, the number one brand in the world. I would like now to return to my examination of the ever broadening, ever deepening, ever strengthening partnership between America and Bangladesh. Our security partnership has four key elements: countering violent extremism, maritime security, international peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance and disaster response. We jointly have made so much progress on all of these fronts. I am pleased that the US contributed a cutter to the Bangladesh Navy, now called the Somudra Joy, which at 378 feet is the largest vessel in the Bangladesh Navy. Bangladesh has already put the vessel to good work, providing disaster relief when it visited the Philippines and joining the international search for Malaysian Air Flight 370. Bangladeshi success with this vessel is so great that I am hopeful that America will be able to provide a second cutter, though no decision has yet been made on this. We also help the Navy enhance the Special Warfare and Diving Salvage (SWADS) or, as I call them, the Bangladeshi Navy Seals. The US also provided the Navy and the Bangladesh Coast Guard with an array of 25 foot and 38 foot ultra-fast boats, the fastest on the Bay. Using these enhanced capabilities, Bangladesh has already slashed robberies in the Bay by nearly 70%, reduced insurance rates by 40 per cent, and had Chittagong removed from the international listing of high-threat ports. Country Lecture Series

America and Bangladesh are also partnering with the First Para Commanders and the Border Guard Bangladesh to enhance Bangladesh’s ability to secure its land borders, too. Increasingly, along both its land and maritime borders, Bangladesh is now better able to interdict trafficking of drugs, of arms and of people, to stop the movement of terrorists, and to protect its fish and other economic assets in the Bay. The stage is now set for even deeper cooperation following the recent signing of two important MOUs, one on counterterrorism and one on drug trafficking. Another critical element of our partnership is our engagement on helping Bangladesh prepare for responding to an earthquake. Although no one wants to imagine the unimaginable, the Bangladesh government is doing just that as it strategizes on how best to respond to a devastating earthquake. We have another major training exercise coming up later this year, involving extensive field exercises to test emergency communications, preparations for receiving and utilizing assistance from other countries, and coping with the tragedy of disaster. As Bangladesh focuses ever more sharply on responding to an earthquake, I hope the government will give consideration to establishing an earthquake proof disaster response center, where decision makers would come together to take control of the rescue and recovery efforts. Our partnership also has helped Bangladesh make historic strides in achieving Millennium Development Goals for slashing maternal mortality, child- under-five mortality, and enabling families to have the family size they want. We support Bangladeshi efforts to achieve food security. Last year, for example, we worked with 2.2 million farmers to help them utilize guti urea, which increased their yields while reducing fertilizer costs; we helped 350 thousand 76 farmers use new saline-tolerant, drought-tolerant, or flood-tolerant seed varieties; and so much more. We partner with Bangladesh to help the nation adapt to the effects of global climate change. There is so much more to tell about our development partnership, but the clock moves on and so must I. As I prepare to close, I would like to speak to another vital aspect of our partnership: people- to-people connections. In Bangladesh, I am continuing my quest to visit all the districts with the aim of both learning more about this wondrous country and fostering connections between America and Bangladeshis all across the land. In the US, I continue to reach out to Bangladeshi Americans to keep them engaged in Bangladesh. I have a four-part message for them: explore investing in Bangladesh, advice that a growing number are taking; mentor emerging Bangladeshi entrepreneurs, and we have created a new program to hook up Bangladeshi-American mentors with budding entrepreneurs here; donate to Bangladesh … we have set up an online portal that allows Bangladeshi-Americans to receive a US tax deduction when they donate to vetted Bangladeshi NGOs; and expand the number of Bangladeshis studying in the US. That’s my message to the impressively prosperous Bangladeshi-American community. There is so much more to tell about the US-Bangladesh partnership, but I hope that I have made my point that this partnership is now broader, deeper and stronger than ever … never have the relations between America and Bangladesh been broader, deeper and stronger than they are at this very moment. This is not to say that the two countries converge on every point … there is no relationship in the world with complete convergence … that is the nature of bilateral relationships. As I look back over the past two and one-half years, I am pleased with the great progress America and Bangladesh have made in fostering our partnership to the benefit of both nations. I look forward to building more on this strong foundation in the months ahead. Country Lecture Series

Mailing Address

1/46, Old Elephant Road (West of Ramna Police Station), Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh. Fax: 88-02-8312625, Website: www.biiss.org