Bangladesh-Singapore ties

The summitry between Bangladesh Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia and her Singaporean counterpart has produced a mutually satisfactory outcome of a far-reaching import to top it off.

A new, or shall we say, an overarching element of understanding has been forged as a result of Goh's visit. It consists in Bangladesh accepting an offer by Singapore to join an eight-country Nucleus Steering Committee (NSC) in a bid to remove misperceptions of Islam in the west. Of the eight four will be Arab countries. And, given the preliminary or conceptual stages in which the Goh initiative happens to be, the names of all eight likely partners in the endeavour await finalisation.

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The post-nine-eleven stereo-profiling of Islam with a terrorist stigma has to go. And, the countries with large Muslim populations and traditions of moderation anchored in the true spirit of their faith, could take a role in removing the 'misperceptions of Islam'. But the initiative will have to be complemented by appropriate policy changes in the western world to bear fruit. That a non-Muslim state Singapore has taken up the cause adds a cathartic value to the initiative. This is welcome.

Bangladesh and Singapore being co-signatories to various UN conventions and resolutions against terrorism have very rightly agreed to share intelligence and information 'as the first step' towards combating terrorism in the region and beyond.

On the strictly bilateral plane, the two governments have signed an agreement on protection of investment and a protocol on foreign secretary-level annual consultations. In addition to agreements, a good number of assurances have been given by the Singaporean side to reduce the trade gap tilted towards the city state, increase manpower import from Bangladesh, and help Dhaka become a member of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF). Free Trade Agreement related negotiations are also on the horizon.

What will be keenly awaited in Bangladesh from here on is a growing and intense interaction between the private sectors of both countries.