"עס איז קיין קורץ דורכשניט צו אַרבעטן שווער": פירער פון באַנגלאַדעש פּאַרליאַמענטאַרי דעלאַגיישאַן

Senior member of Bangladesh Parliament Muhammad Faruk Khan has underscored the “enormous” strides made by Bangladesh in the last half century, while also highlighting the challenges faced by the country.

The MP, Chairman of Bangladesh’s Parliamentary Standing Committee on Ministry of Foreign Affairs was in Brussels leading a 5-member delegation to talks with key EU MEPs and officials. 

די 8^th Bangladesh-EU Inter-Parliamentary meeting, which concluded on Friday, came at the invitation from the Chair of the Delegation for Relations with the countries of South Asia (DSAS) of the European Parliament.

The MP acknowledged that the country still faced “challenges”, including quality of education for its huge population. Being a democracy, Bangladesh also faces its fair share of challenges but “democracy is a continuous process and we are constantly learning and evolving”.

But Mr Khan stressed that he believes Bangladesh is no longer the “basket case” it was once dismissed as, by former U.S statesman Henry Kissinger.

“We are now a role model for economic development,” he said, pointing out that, 50 years ago when Kissinger made his comments, some 80 per cent of the population lived below the poverty line. Today, he said, the figure has come down to 20 percent.

“The friendship and cooperation we enjoy with the EU and other development partners has contributed immensely in our developmental journey,” said Mr Khan. He appreciated the EU particularly for its “technical support” and the Everything But Arms (EBA) arrangement which provides least developed countries with duty-free, quota-free access for all products except arms and ammunition, in exchange for commitments to respect the principles of core international conventions on human rights and labour rights.

אַדווערטייזמאַנט

These were some of the underlying themes of the 3-day visit to  Brussels during which the delegation met the members of DSAS and other committees including the Chair of Subcommittee on Human Rights (DROI),  Vice-Presidents Nicola Beer and Heidi Hautala, European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee Chair David McAllister, Rapporteur of the South Asia Monitoring Group under the Committee on International Trade Maximilian Krah, other senior MEPS and EU officials.

He pointed that, with a population of some 165 million, his country is the most densely populated nation on earth (it is just 148,000 square kilometres).

Huge progress has been made in other areas over the last five decades, he said, including in education where 75 per cent of the population now receives a formal education compared to less than 20 percent in 1971.

Female political representation has moved on too. “50 years ago women hardly left the house but now we have a woman Speaker of Parliament, the Hon’ble Prime Minister is a woman, as is the leader of the opposition party.”

Bangladesh, he highlighted, is also the leading contributor to UN peace keeping missions around the globe.

Mr Khan said there is “no room for complacency”, adding, “There is no short cut to working hard and we do face challenges, particularly in education where we need to more effectively equip our young people with knowledge of technology, sciences and engineering.”

An estimated 10 million Bangladeshis work abroad, said Mr Khan, and it was important to continue to ensure that those who choose to work abroad are well educated and contribute to society.

The value of the Bangladesh’s expatriate workers is evident by the fact that they provide some $20 billion in remittances. This is second only to exports ($52 billion) for the Bangladeshi economy, he said.

Another key challenge for the country is the voluntary and safe return to their homeland in Myanmar of the estimated 1.1 million forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals (Rohingyas) currently receiving shelter in Bangladesh.

“This is very important for us and for the rest of the world too.”

Climate change is yet another issue which makes Bangladesh vulnerable. The country has, however, well equipped itself to deal with climate related disasters, including floods and is willing to share best practices on adaptation with other climate vulnerable regions of the world.

He said, “The message we have tried to convey during this visit is that we want the friendship and cooperation we enjoy with the EU to continue as I am sure it will.”

The visit was the first made to Brussels by a Parliamentary delegation from Bangladesh – all the previous 7 meetings had been held in Bangladesh. The delegation comprised one MP from the opposition party and four members from the ruling party, including one woman MP.

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