Towards a New Beginning
I think the first point we need to stress is that the summit is going to take place in a very changed global environment central to which is the need for South Asia to pay more attention to economic cooperation and interaction, both at the inter-governmentary level and, much more importantly, interaction in the private sector.
Of course we have SAARC. We have mutual cooperation within the framework of SAARC. We also have the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
But we felt that these three countries, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, make up a very overwhelming population of Asia, having the three largest economies in South Asia. These countries, in a sense, have a very special role to play because this is really where the very overwhelming section of the private sector is active.
Secondly, there should be a clear signal which goes out to the international community, foreign investors that India, Pakistan and Bangladesh not only provide an excellent location for investors, but that they themselves, through this process of interaction, are planning, to create the necessary environment and climate to attract foreign investment.
We are trying to send these signals to our own private sectors. I think what makes this conference special is it being termed as a 'business summit'. It is an attempt to bring together not simply the prime ministers of the three countries but also the foreign, finance and other ministers of these countries along with senior representatives, major players in the private sectors of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
I think it's important for governments to know and to hear from the private sector what needs to be done, what they need to do to create the right environment.
It is equally important that we recognise that all that we need to do is to respond in the way of our legislation, in our organisation. To cite something very specific, we can start by making our customs laws and regulations more responsive to the changed business environment.
Obviously in a one-day meeting, there is only so much you can achieve. Through this process of dialogue we can get some ideas and suggestions from both the sides, from the government. The essence is that we will, through this process of dialogue, get some important ideas and suggestions from both sides, from the government and the private sector on how to create a better environment for business and investment.
I think it's important that we look at what the current bottlenecks in the area of infrastructure are. I know that in the case of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, we need to improve our own communications. We need to improve our shipping communication, our air links, our road links, our railway links because that is what underpins business and industry.
We need to look at the existing banking facilities. We need to look at capital markets, at how we can have a better interaction in both the financial sector as well as the communication sector which, in a sense, underpins business and commerce.
We see this as something which reinforces regional cooperation, reinforces SAARC. The process of regional cooperation requires building blocs. So just as we felt it was essential in order to optimise, get the full benefit of geographical ambiguity, we talk in terms of sub-regional cooperation, in the same way we think that the India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, link is where the private sector has a special role to play and should be encouraged to do so. We can learn from the example of ASEAN where they have a number of growth triangles, a number of interactions and sub-groupings within ASEAN to reinforce ASEAN and to give it more substance. I think that is really the context in which we should view the initiative.
We must look into the question of how can we make, South Asia as a whole, more competitive. This whole question is of competitiveness, of meeting global standards, of meting the ISO 9000 standards, the role of the chambers. In India the chambers play a leading role in trying to inculcate much higher standards and creating the training infrastructure which is necessary to make this possible.
The strength of ASEAN is to be seen in three different specific areas. One is that they have converted themselves into an effective regional grouping. And they can stand up collectively and defend their interests. That is one very essential element in the new global trading system. That needs to reflect itself in what is happening inside Asia.
The second important element here is the fact that you have the opportunity for joint ventures, for interaction at several levels within the business community. One of our major problems is mindset. Certainly for 25 years and more they have been used to dealing within a certain very restricted business community. But the rules of the game have changed completely and whether we like it or not, we have to play by the new rules of the game.
We need to get a dialogue going between business bodies and the government. In India, Pakistan and in Bangladesh, there have been dialogues between government and the chambers. But I think it would be very useful to see this as a collective dialogue because there are very important points of common interest.
There is an 'either-or' syndrome that exists in Bangladesh and Bangladeshi politics. By 'either-or' syndrome, I mean that no government of Bangladesh can be friendly with both India and Pakistan at the same time. You have to pick one or the other. But times have changed. And anyway I think that it was, if it did exist, a totally erroneous conception. Bangladesh must first and foremost always think of its own interests. Growing from that interest is the imperative of seeing that it has good relations with all countries in South Asia including India and Pakistan. It is equally important that it encourages good relations between India and Pakistan. Politically it's certainly good, economically it's certainly good, and that's certainly what the foreign investor wants to hear and I would certainly like to think that's what our own industrialists want to hear, see and contribute.
I realise the private sector in Bangladesh is experiencing a certain degree of pain, a certain degree of anxiety. This is equally true of India and of Pakistan. Our pain perhaps derives from the fact that we see Indian goods flooding our market. But I think it's important that we conceive of seeing Bangladeshi goods, if not flooding Indian markets, at least entering it in large quantities.
One of the key issues of plugging South Asia in ASEAN, into Europe, is going to be the Asian Highway. There is this mind-set that when goods cross Bangladesh, it's going to be from point A in India to point B in India. But these are goods which are going to be travelling from Paris to Hong Kong, from Singapore to Pakistan. It's a major arterial route we are talking about. I cannot think of a single more important infrastructure for Bangladesh to be plugged into than the Asian highway and railway as soon as possible.
The above are excerpts from the author's speech delivered at a recent Daily Star Roundtable on the Three-nation Summit.
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