PM at the UN

Insofar as terrorism is concerned we feel that her comment on the issue is likely to be seen, at least to some extent, in the context of what is happening in Bangladesh, both in the way the phenomenon has germinated as well as in the way it was seen to be tackled by the government. She is right in suggesting that this cannot be combated in isolation but would require global efforts and the first step must be to go into the root causes before recommending an appropriate antidote. We commend her call to the member-states to draw up a comprehensive convention against terrorism, a pressing need if it has to be combated effectively.

While, how terrorist acts are impacting on other countries should also be our concern, our main emphasis should be on how we should deal with it in Bangladesh. The PM's call, to address the matter with urgency, being committed to the common stand against terrorism in all its forms, enhances even more her responsibility to root out extremism from our soil.

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There is no doubt that action against poverty must be taken on war footing, as the PM rightly emphasises. While we have made progress in meeting some of the social targets on the road to redeeming the MDG pledges by 2015, the economic targets of poverty alleviation are lagging behind. This will have to be stepped up to a 2.2 percent per annum reduction of poverty, from the current rate of only .52 percent, as a recent study shows.

There cannot be any second opinion either on trade being the vehicle of growth and development, and about countries like ours, which are in transition from agrarian to industrial economy, requiring ODA in critical areas of investment apart from a liberal regime for our exports.