Source

Through The Analysis about  about The recent accord between New Delhi and Dhaka

Gowher Rizvi, adviser and special representative to Sheikh Hasina, prime minister of Bangladesh, was part of the team that negotiated the accord between New Delhi and Dhaka recently. Humra Quraishi spoke to Rizvi:

What will Bangladesh gain from this accord?

It would be better to rephrase the question: What do both India and Bangladesh gain from this accord in order to understand the spirit and philosophy that informs the agreements? It is the most complete win-win agreement that has ever been negotiated between any two countries in the region. I believe it has set a benchmark for other bilateral agreements. The accord has sought to remove all the irritants that have dogged the relationship between the two countries. It has made mutual trust and interests as the basis of relations between two equal democracies. The immediate agreements on security, border demarcation, trade, connectivity, environment, water, investments etc are historic and wide-ranging. In fact, this agreement has been correctly described as ‘transformative’ and a ‘game changer’.

Two obvious issues of friction between India and Bangladesh have been sharing of rivers and border skirmishes. Will the accord provide relief?

We want to transform the border of confrontation and conflict into one of peace and prosperity. We have reached substantive agreements on border demarcation, on adverse possessions and for solving the problem of access to enclaves. We are actively working on the demarcation of the last few miles of the border. We hope to complete the border agreements in the next three months. We are working to make sure that our border security personnel engage in confidence-building measures and commanders hold ‘flag meetings’ periodically to resolve outstanding issues before they actually flare up into cross-border firings. We have agreed to set up a number of border markets.

Our starting point in the discussion was that shortage of water is hurting people on both sides. The rivers that run through our countries cannot be managed, trained or harnessed in piecemeal efforts by different countries but rather through a joint strategy for managing the entire basin. The rivers from head to mouth are one single entity and have to be managed as such. Water distribution has to be fair and equitable. So, we have agreed to jointly collect hydrological data and enter into ad hoc interim agreements.

How do you see the relations between the two countries growing?

India has offered one billion dollars in concessional loan to Bangladesh that would have been difficult to imagine a few years ago. India will help Bangladesh build and upgrade its transport infrastructure, which will benefit both countries. The move to give 250 megawatt of electricity as a priority will help to speed up industrialisation in Bangladesh. This is just the beginning. The agreement should be seen as an investment in our vision for the future of South Asia. India is rapidly emerging as an economic superpower and we in Bangladesh hope to become partners with India in our progress and development and can partake of India’s affluence. Our hope is India will give us unrestricted access to its huge market and unilaterally allow us duty-free access. The prosperity and stability of Bangladesh is just as much in India’s interest as it is in our own.

India and Bangladesh are set to launch two-day talks in Dhaka , to work out technical modalities for exchange of electricity in line with an MoU inked during premier Sheikh Hasina’s New Delhi visit last month, officials said .

“This is the second meeting of the joint steering committee for cooperation in the power sector which focus on grid inter-connection and cooperation between our PDB (Power Development Board) and India’s National Thermal Power
Cooperation (NTPC),” Bangladeshi power division spokesman Afrazur Rahman said.
A joint working group in Dhaka discussed the progress of initiatives for power import from India on Thursday, an official said.

A six-strong delegation of the Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) attended a meeting with top officials of Bangladesh Power Grid Company Limited,

The first meeting of the working group was also attended by a joint secretary of power of Bangladesh and the chairman and managing director of PGCIL, which responsible for inter-state transmission of electricity in India.

Both sides shared experiences on the progress of the initiative, taken during the visit of prime minister Sheikh Hasina to India in January, the official added.

India and Bangladesh signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation in power sector during the visit.

Thursday’s meeting was preparatory to the second meeting of the Joint Steering Committee for Cooperation in the Power Sector on Friday.

India’s power secretary HS Brahma and Bangladesh counterpart Md Abul Kalam Azad will lead the two sides.

The meet is likely to focus on grid inter-connection and cooperation between Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) and India’s National Thermal Power Cooperation (NTPC), officials of both sides have said.

Since India has agreed to provide Bangladesh with 250MW from its central grid in the initial stage, grid inter-connectivity is likely to top the agenda of the meeting in Dhaka.

Brahma said that the Joint Technical Team of Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL), the BPDB and the Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB) had estimated that an investment of approximately Rs 869.21 crore (approx. Tk 1300 crore) would be required for grid inter-connection.

While Rs 708.88 crore (Tk 1062 crore) of this would be required for works in Bangladesh, an investment of Rs 160.33 crore (Tk 240 crore) would be spent in India, he added.

The Indian Power Secretary also said that the PGCIL would finance the works to be done in India.

Sources in the Indian power ministry said that Bangladesh was keen to take the consultancy service of the PGCIL for works to be done in the country for grid interconnection.

The PGCIL will associate the PGCB engineers in the works to help them gain experience. The PGCIL and PGCB may discuss the modalities of cooperation and decide on the terms during the meet in Dhaka.

A technical team of the NTPC will also be a part of the delegation from India. The NTPC and BPDB are also expected to discuss the areas of cooperation and finalise the deals.

In the first Joint Steering Committee’s meet in Delhi on Jan 12 last, the NTPC and BPDB had agreed to prepare a feasibility report for two coal-based power projects at Khulna and Chittagong, each with generation capacity of approximately 1320 MW.

The NTPC chairman and managing director RS Sharma said that that the Indian company was keen to develop one of the two projects in joint venture with the BPDB.

The NTPC is also likely to carry out technical assessment for the BPDB’s old thermal power stations for efficiency improvement, renovation and modernization. It may also take up operation and maintenance of some power stations in Bangladesh.

Asia forms the crossroads of success or failure for Barack Obama’s grandest foreign policy designs. This impression has crystallized over a year in which the president has shown himself indifferent to Europe, sentimental and somewhat conflicted about Africa, perplexed by the Middle East and largely oblivious to Latin America.
Obama’s choices about China, India, Japan and Pakistan loom at least as large as the urgent challenges of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The president has outlined the need for the United States to shed burdens abroad to help repair the badly damaged American economy. That means that Obama must settle discarded U.S. burdens — and power — across a range of international organizations in which Asian nations are becoming increasingly influential.

The president consigned the Group of Eight industrial countries to leadership oblivion in his recent State of the Union message, omitting any mention of it while singling out the G-20 forum of developed and developing nations. This was no oversight: His administration hopes to shift climate change negotiations out of the unmanageable U.N. format that doomed the Copenhagen summit in December and place these talks in the G-20 process, according to U.S. officials.

Asia’s giants, India and China, present differing and opposed models of international cooperation. A G-20 world needs at its center a dynamic U.S.-Indian relationship to help bridge that organization’s divides between haves and have-nots and their different political systems. But here in New Delhi, Indian officials increasingly fear that the Obama team does not see it that way.

Indians are flattered that the only state dinner Obama hosted last year was given for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, whose remarkable intelligence and gracious manner would make him a welcome guest anywhere. But they also detect an air of ambivalence blowing their way from Washington — and are reacting by hedging against a quick U.S. pullout from Afghanistan that would bring greater U.S. reliance on China and Pakistan, at India’s expense.

Romanced by the Bush administration to balance China’s inexorable rise in military and economic power, India finds itself out of sync with the Obama administration on some key issues. There is no open conflict. But neither is there the air of excitement and innovation about the U.S. relationship that I found on my last trip here 18 months ago.

Since then, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has explicitly rejected balance-of-power politics as a relic of the past. Yet India, Japan and other Asian states fear that without a supportive U.S. hand on the scales, they will be swamped by China’s growing military capabilities and its increasingly aggressive, and effective, diplomacy.

The somewhat fanciful notion of a G-2 directorate in which the United States and China collude to determine global economic and political direction is increasingly colliding with reality. Tensions over Taiwan, trade and Tibet make the G-2 unworkable, as recent events have again shown. But the specter lingers for Asians as well as Europeans that Obama will be tempted to try — even though a failed G-2 would be the worst possible outcome for everyone.

“The G-2 carries the implication that the United States would leave Asia to China to run,” says B.J. Panda, a rising young political star here. Adds another Indian strategist: “We have to balance the Chinese, irrespective of what the U.S. and others do.”

Obama’s emphasis on setting an initial date for withdrawal from Afghanistan in his Dec. 1 policy speech, even as he sent additional U.S. troops, stirred doubt here about U.S. strategic patience. So have the frequent U.S. military visits to and overblown praise for Pakistan’s army leadership, despite credible evidence of high-level Pakistani involvement in cross-border terrorism directed at India.

The dominant impression from three days of informal conversations organized here by the Aspen Strategy Group with Indian officials and analysts is that Pakistan has become a second-tier problem for India, even as it increasingly preoccupies Washington. What one Indian analyst described as “Obama’s nuclear alarmism” also gives Pakistan increased leverage over Washington.

India has recently moved troops away from the Pakistan frontier while increasing deployments into border areas that China is claiming in pugnacious and offensive rhetoric. In a break with its past opposition to foreign bases in the region, India has secured military transit and stationing rights at an airbase in Tajikistan. And Singh’s government lavishly welcomed Japan’s new prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama, on a recent three-day visit that included publicity about plans for joint military maneuvers in the Indian Ocean.

These are clear signs of Indian hedging: seeking allies for worst-case scenarios while accommodating China on economic matters. The Obama administration’s failure to reaffirm clearly that India’s rise is in U.S. strategic interests has contributed to this hedging. That is a mistake the president should quickly correct, in the interests of his own vision of a new world order centered on the Pacific and Indian oceans.

Obama, Dalai Lama meeting could ‘irritate China very much’
Despite strong objections from the Chinese government, President Obama will meet the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, at the White House on Thursday.

The meeting has the potential to further complicate Sino-U.S. tensions, rising in recent months.

China has warned that it will certainly damage ties to Washington.

“It will seriously undermine the Sino-U.S. political relations,” Zhu Weiqun, a senior Communist Party leader in charge of ethnic and religious affairs, said recently. “We will take corresponding action to make relevant countries see their mistakes.”

The Dalai Lama has said he favors genuine autonomy for Tibetans, not independence for Tibet. Beijing regards the Nobel Peace Prize laureate as a dangerous “separatist,” a politician who wishes to sever Tibet from China.

Obama did not meet with the Dalai Lama when the latter visited Washington last fall, making it the first time since 1991 that such a meeting did not occur. Ahead of a summit with Chinese President Hu Jintao, Obama persuaded Tibetan representatives back then to postpone the meeting with the Dalai Lama.

Now, the meeting will take place as several prickly issues have come between Washington and Beijing including trade disputes; a recent U.S. arm sales deal for Taiwan, which China considers an illegitimate breakaway province; and a censorship row over Internet search engine Google Inc.

“It’s going to be another event in the recent, one has to say, downward spiral in U.S.-China relations,” said China scholar David Shambaugh.

Obama’s meeting is also troublesome for the Chinese for one other important reason, Shambaugh said.

“He could have met him as a spiritual leader in a neutral place like a church,” he said. “But he is going to receive him in the White House, and that is a political act. And that is going to irritate China very much.”

The Dalai Lama also is scheduled to meet Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the State Department.

Some analysts said the Chinese could retaliate by cutting off political exchanges as they did after the Dalai Lama met with the heads of state of France and Germany. And Hu could turn down an invitation to visit Washington in April.

Neither China nor the United States can afford strained relations, said Douglas Paal, a diplomat and investment banker who has served as a presidential advisor on China.

“We both need each other,” he said. “We need each other for a number of international security issues — to deal with the global climate crisis, to deal with the global financial crisis.”

Lots of reason for the importance of India bangladesh Relation. Its obseves that the both contry is growing their friendly atitude to develop the regional joint benificiary facts.
Dr. K. K. Jhunjhunwala
A Christmas sermon reads, “There is an idea abroad among moral people that they should make their neighbours good. One person I have to make good – myself. But my duty to my neighbour is much more nearly expressed by saying that I am to make him happy – if I may.” – Robert Luis Stevenson (1850 – 1894)

It is rightly said that if our neighbour is facing a crisis, the impact of which will always be felt by us. It is a geographical fact that Bangladesh is our neighbour and a consequence of the partition of India that both countries suffered economic and social losses during the past few decades. However, India has emerged in a better condition than its neighbour from these past tribulations. Bangladesh, has not fared as well.

Though India brought freedom for Bangladesh, after the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first Prime Minister of Bangladesh, the fundamentalists took over the reins of power and as a consequence of this, Indian terrorist groups were granted a safe haven and aid from the then Bangladesh Government. This in turn resulted in a lot of pain and loss both in terms of lives and property in India as these terrorists ran amok and perpetuated numerous cross – border crimes. Things took a turn for the better with Sheikh Hasina Wajed being elected as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh on the 6th of January 2009. In stark contrast to the previous leaders of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina is pro – India and knows all too well that a friendly relationship with India will only help Bangladesh to grow as Bangladesh is a land locked state with boundaries with India on three sides.
As a first step, Sheikh Hasina, as a good neighbour declared that Bangladeshi territory would not be used by anti – Indian groups and that none of these groups would be given shelter there.

On the 4th of December 2009, Arbinda Rajkhowa, the Chairman of the post – scribed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) along with his family members and other senior members of the organisation surrendered at the Dawki area of Meghalaya. This is perhaps due to the fact that they realised that Bangladesh no longer afforded them safe refuge. Caught between the mountain and the sea, they had no other option but to surrender to the Indian authorities. This is a direct result of this new move by the Awami League led by Sheikh Hasina which is presently in power in Bangladesh. This event further endeared Sheikh Hasina and her efforts to curb the terrorism that has plagued India ever since it attained its independence way back in 1947. This also reiterated the fact that Sheikh Hasina means business and is not all talk, a prevalent quality in most political leaders.

After this high profile surrender, Sheikh Hasina began 2010 with a visit to India in the first week of the year to receive the prestigious Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace which was instituted in 1986, two years after the assassination of Indira Gandhi.

Interestingly, Sheikh Hasina’s visit has brought about a new dimension between India and Bangladesh. It has bridged prior differences and promises to further mend old grievances between the two countries. The Chief Ministers of the Northeastern states of India were also invited for an interaction with the Bangladeshi Prime Minister. While Tarun Gogoi, the Chief Minister of Assam expressed his concern about the security issue of Assam, Dr. D. D. Lapang, the Chief Minister of Meghalaya called for the institution of a direct flight between Shillong and Dhaka to promote tourism besides education opportunities in Meghalaya for students from Bangladesh.

The other highlights of the visit include:

a. Mutual legal assistance in criminal matters.

b. Agreement on transfer of sentenced persons and a pact on combating international terrorism, organised crime and drug trafficking.

c. Power and infrastructure development.

d. Duty free import of eight million pieces of garments.

e. One time line of credit of 1 billion dollars, the highest so far India has given to any country.

However, in spite of all these developments, nothing was discussed about the sensitive issue of infiltration and nothing concrete was arrived at regarding an extradition treaty. An extradition treaty with Bangladesh is a very important step that must be taken in order to bring some top ULFA leaders like Anup Chetia to book for crimes in India as they are already serving sentences in Bangladeshi jails.

The discussions during Sheikh Hasina’s visit stressed on the issue of development. The re – vamping of the Akhaura – Agartala rail line has been proposed and if this goes through, it will reduce the distance between the two points and will further improve communication.

As stated earlier, India was partitioned in 1947. As a result of this, a great number of weekly haats (markets) near the present international border were closed which greatly hampered the rural economy. A decision has been taken whereby weekly haats of specific notified goods will be permitted in the border areas. Meghalaya is one among many states who are demanding the re – opening of these border haats.

For a long time now, Bangladesh has been denying India the use its Chittagong and Mongla ports. It has now changed its tune and has opened up these two ports for India to use. This is a major fillip to the tea industry of Assam which comprises over 100 tea gardens predominantly in the Barak Valley area of the state. These will gain a great deal from this as goods ferried through Chittagong will reduce transit costs in a major way.

Substantially, going a step ahead, Sheikh Hasina recently said, “In the present – day world, you can not live with your door closed. We will allow Nepal and Bhutan to use these two ports also.” The Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh has also made promises and compromises, the most significant of which is that he assured Sheikh Hasina that India would not go ahead with the proposed Rs 6000 crore Tipaimukh Project in Manipur which is likely to cause harm to Bangladesh.

It may be noted here that the Tipaimukh Project is slated as one of the largest hydroelectric projects in Eastern India to date to be located 500 meters downstream of the confluence of the Tuivai and Barak Rivers in the District of Churacchander in the state of Manipur, near the Manipur – Mizoram border. The Project would have had a 6 X 250 MW power house and was slated to be completed in an estimated time of 12 years.

However, protest against the project was rife in both India and Bangladesh as protesters argued that the project did not take into consideration the effect on downstream areas. Serious protest campaigns were also initiated by environmentalists who argued that the project would result in the annihilation of large scale habitats resulting in the incalculable loss of both fauna and flora species. Environmental experts from both countries also say that building the dam could cause two rivers in Bangladesh downstream from the dam to dry up. In spite of all the protests, the Government of India had decided to go ahead with the project until this point of time. All this taken into consideration, it is quite a big compromise for India to shelve the Tipaimukh Project.

A good relationship between India and Bangladesh will be mutually beneficial. The imbalances in trade, commerce and industry between the two countries need to be improved. Once this is done, it will be the North East which reaps the majority of the benefits. Let us hope that with the joint celebration of the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Nath Tagore by both the countries, this new found friendship will continue to improve with the passage of time.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s assurance that India would not take steps under the Tiparmukh project that would adversely affect Bangladesh should have been adequate
Bangladesh and India recenly developed their International relation .
For India, time is ticking in Bangladesh. All eyes are focused on New Delhi to see if and when it begins to implement the steps listed in the joint communiqué that the prime ministers of the two countries signed recently. Both ‘if’ and ‘when’ are important because since independence Bangladesh has felt that promises have been broken.

Talking to people from different fields, I found that the response to the joint communiqué was jubilant. One editor commented: “Bangladesh has put all its trust in India and if relations between the two countries get clouded, it would be India’s doing.”

I found that the Bangladeshis were willing to give six months for the assurances to fructify. The disillusionment will begin if the Indian bureaucracy sits on the files or works at its usual snail’s pace. Positive feelings may give way to a negative mood. Even worse would be the reappearance of fundamentalism, which has been defeated by Prime Minister Shaikh Hasina, who fought on the plank of pluralism and swept the polls.

Begum Klalida Zia, the opposition leader, was not forthcoming in her reply. She told me that she would like to have an “overall understanding with India at one go.” However, she did suspect that a certain understanding between Dhaka and New Delhi had “not been made public yet.”

Water is the litmus test. Before Hasina’s visit, Bangladesh expected India to be generous enough to give an undertaking that it would not touch any river flowing into Bangladesh without it’s consent. Now the expectation has come down to the assumption that the Teesta river will not be dammed in such a way that affects Bangladesh.

The joint communiqué is not so categorical because it only says that the discussions on the sharing of the Teesta between India and Bangladesh should be “concluded expeditiously.” The joint river commission is scheduled to meet in March after a lapse of seven years. I pray the talks succeed because disagreement on the Teesta may upset the whole apple cart.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s assurance that India would not take steps under the Tiparmukh project that would adversely affect Bangladesh should have been adequate. He has even allowed a team of parliament members from Bangladesh to visit the dam. Yet I found people apprehensive.

Sore point

Commerce is another sore point with Bangladesh. The balance is substantially in favour of India. If unofficial trade is counted, the deficits may well be around $6 billion (Dh22 billion). True, New Delhi has removed tariffs on all but 47 items. But the earnings from them may not be more than $10 to $15 million. Had India allowed zero-tariff access to whatever is manufactured in Bangladesh it would have been a gesture that could have impressed even the staunch opposition lobby.

No doubt, Hasina has shown courage in accepting something that should have been done long ago: India’s access to Mongola and Chittagong seaports, along with transport facilities by rail and road. The fallout in the shape of trade will definitely benefit Bangladesh. India will have a shorter and quicker way to reach the northeastern states. In exchange, Bangladesh has got the most important concession from India: access to Nepal and Bhutan. In fact, both Nepal and Bhutan have been wanting free contact with Bangladesh but New Delhi was dragging its feet.

However, the Bangladeshis have not forgiven India for the deaths of some 400-odd people on the border some time back. The Indian Border Security Force was reportedly conducting a counter-infiltration operation. Should the nationals of a friendly country be so easily fired on? The killing of so many people smacks of uncontrolled anger. On the other hand, Bangladesh should realise that nearly 20 million of its nationals are living in India illegally. Assam has been affected the most. The very complexion of the population has changed in the state.

I witnessed the birth of Bangladesh and its steady growth. When it parted company with West Pakistan, not many people gave Bangladesh much of a chance. Today, after nearly four decades of independence, not many people are pessimistic. Remittances from the Bangladeshis working abroad and the earnings from garments, primarily tailored by women, have given Bangladesh an annual growth rate of a little more than five per cent. Small farmers have made the countryside more or less self-sufficient.

India should feel encouraged that another democratic, pluralistic country is developing in the region. In Bangladesh the liberal world has a nation that has waded through a pool of blood to stay independent and democratic. A liberal, democratic Islamic state could be an example for the entire Muslim world.

I am keeping my fingers crossed because Hasina’s style of governance has a touch of authoritarianism. Indira Gandhi had the same trait and India had to pay the price during the two-year-rule of emergency. Hasina appears at times too impatient, too impressionable and too impetuous. She has more to fear from herself, rather than the hapless opposition.

The Bangladeshi government has commenced work, by preparing a proposal for approval, to create an exclusive tourism zone in Cox’s Bazar and Bandarban districts.
The government is working sincerely for the development of the country’s tourism sector and to attract both domestic and foreign tourists, work is already underway to formulate new laws and guidelines on tourism and to identify the tourism spots.

Highlighting the importance of the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest, he said the government would make necessary arrangements so that the tourists could enjoy the scenic beauty of the Sundarbans.
In this regard, GM Quader stressed the need for the formation of “Tourist Police”.

A comprehensive development of the Chittagong Hill Tracts region has been envisaged and a long-term plan costing between US$2.1 billion to US$2.8 billion has been budgeted.

Similarly, approval has been given for the development of cable car facilities in five areas in Rangamati and Bandarban.
……
RECENT newspaper reports indicated that the traditional performance of the country in relation to tourism had stared to change for the better. Foreign tourist arrivals in the present winter season seem to be particularly good. This was borne out by figures given by the Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh (TOAB) which pointed to significant business expansion. This positive turn in tourism is not the outcome of planned promotional moves on the part of the Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC). The private tour operators, too, have not so much improved their sales pitch to make this happen.

There has been a dramatic change in mentality of tourists who prefer little known destinations. Many tourists on coming to Bangladesh are realising that this country has so much to offer to them. The experiences they will carry back can be the best publicity for tourism here. The tasks on the part of the tourist bodies should be to sustain the interest of foreign tourists who are still coming as the winter season is not over. The unexpected increase in the number of tourists may have already created pressure on limited capacities.

Therefore, better preparations must be taken to cope with increased tourist arrivals in the next season. Meanwhile, all involved in the industry should be motivated by better policies and planning to render the most impressive and dedicated services to tourists. At the same time long term plans will have to be taken up and pursued with a sense of urgency. The government should take the initiative and expand essential infrastructures like airports, roads and leave the works of building accommodation and recreation centres to private businesses. But things should be done in accordance with a master plan to be prepared in consultation with stake holders and experts in the field.

TRAVEX Set To Open For World Tourism Buyers
The world is all eyes on Brunei and Asean as over 370 buyers from 52 countries enjoy a field day at the six-day Asean Travel Exchange (TRAVEX), the market component of the Asean Tourism Forum 2010 hosted by Brunei.

The 5,000-square-metre exhibition area at the Brunei International Defence Exhibition (BRIDEX) Centre in Jerudong – a few kilometres from the main ATF 2010 event at The Empire Hotel & Country Club – is being filled up by some 315 participating companies and 383 exhibiting booths representing 10 countries.

To get an overview of the event that opens today and runs till January 28, the Bulletin spoke to Ms Hanli Tan, Assistant Marcoms Manager of TTGAsia Media Pte Ltd, a leading organiser and event manager of travel tradeshows in Asia. Brunei has delegated TTGAsia as the event organiser for ATF 2010.

TRAVEX is a platform for the selling and buying of regional and individual tourism products from Asean member countries: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myammar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Thailand occupies the biggest exhibition area with 108 booths, followed by Malaysia with 63 booths, Indonesia with 52 booths, Singapore with 23 booths and the Philippines with 20 booths.

The event enables exhibitors of all types to sell their travel or tourism products. Among the areas of focus are adventure/incentive travel supplies, airlines/airports, convention/meetings, cruise lines/ferry services, dive operators, golf courses, hotels and resorts, national/ state tourism organisations, special interest operators, sightseeing/guide services, spas/health tourism businesses, theme parks/tourist attractions, tour operators as well as destination management companies.

The six-day event is expected to attract buyers from all over the world including Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei, Cambodia, Canada, Czech Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Macedonia, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Myanmar, Nepal, the Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, the Philippines, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, USA and Vietnam.

Europe makes up the largest delegation of buyers outside the Asia-Pacific Region, followed by Americas and the Middle East. Buyers include airlines, convention/exhibition organisers, auto rental/coach operators, hotels and resorts, incentive organisers, meeting/conference planners, retail operators, travel agents and wholesalers.

The centrally located and well-equipped exhibition venue is well poised to impress both exhibitors and delegates at ATF 2010, as much as Brunei will charm with its pristine rainforests, majestic landmarks and warm culture.

The Lao National Tourism Administration is one of the exhibitors taking part in the event. In an interview with the Bulletin yesterday, Mr Saly Phimphinnith, the Lao Director-General of Tourism and Promotion praised the exhibition area and venue, and said he was amazed with the beauty and tranquility of Brunei Darussalam.

He believed that Brunei can promote itself to be one of the best tourism destinations in Southeast Asia. He said that throughout the exhibition, Laos will be highlighting some of its best sites, such as the Luang Prabang and Wat Phou, a ruined Khmer temple complex in southern Laos.

Exhibition contractors were yesterday seen busy putting up the booths and making sure everything was in order, including the audio-visual complex of exhibition booths

After effct of the Bangladeshi PM Begum Sheik Hasina India visit it seems better friendly and reliable environment between the two contry India has shown keen interest in taking advantage of the massive investment opportunities in Bangladesh as economic relations between the two countries grow from strength to strength.

“An Indian business delegation will visit Bangladesh within a few months to explore the opportunities of joint investment through discussion,” Indian High Commissioner, Rajeet Mitter, said Sunday.

He was briefing reporters after making a courtesy call on Industries Minister Dilip Barua.

Mr Mitter said India would provide training to Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) to upgrade the lab standard as the local industries could not yet attain standard and face stiff competition in the market due to lack of appropriate technology in the local industries.

They held discussion on providing training support to promote the country’s SME sector, increasing BSTI facilities, Indian recognition of BSTI certificate and the government’s industry and investment policy.

“The sectors are yet not identified,” the minister said and added, “But we discussed on the thrust sectors including ceramic, pharmaceuticals, leather, light engineering and IT sectors.”

“After the recent investment in telecom sector, now India is planning to explore the opportunities of setting up of power plants in Bangladesh,” Mr Barua said.

Referring to the use of Chittagong and Mongla ports, he said the country would be able to earn foreign currency and at the same time the ports would be restructured with modern facilities.

Replying to the query regarding lengthy visa processing, the India envoy assured that there would be no difficulty for the real businessmen for getting visa as they have started a ‘token system.’

Source :
As Bangladesh Prime Minister Sk. Hasina returned from her three day (January 10-13) visit to India, her country found its people totally engaged with this one development. Domestic reactions were on expected lines. While Sk. Hasina and her party along with their allies described the visit as a remarkable success, the opposition led by the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami (JEI) projected it as a total failure and surrender to India.

The central point, however, is the fact that in Bangladesh, no foreign relations attracts the kind of attention and importance, and raises emotions as ties with India do. This is very significant. It makes it abundantly clear that in their appreciation of India, Bangladeshis remain as deeply divided as they were during the 1971 war of liberation.

As an aside, it was very interesting to note the crowd reaction to the Bangladesh-India-Nepal tri-series cricket tournament in Bangladesh. The support to the Indian team was surprisingly high. This, compared to the photographs carried in some Bangladeshis newspapers in the 1980s and 1990s showing Pakistan beating India all over in the 1982 Asian Games in New Delhi indicate that things are changing.

While addressing a press conference in New Delhi on January 13, Prime Minister Sk. Hasina made a very perceptive observation to a reporter’s question. She said strong anti-India elements have been there as demonstrated by the 1954 Pakistan elections (Bangladesh was East Pakistan then), and she could not do anything about it. These anti-India voices can be subsumed if the common people of Bangladesh benefit from the Indo-Bangladesh relations, she added.

This is the truth. It is becoming increasingly clear that many Bangladeshi leaders who sided with the pro-liberationists in 1971 were actually pro-Pakistani and anti-Indian. Two senior leaders, Khandakar Mustaque Ahmed and Taheruddin Thakur, were directly involved with the assassination of Bangabandhu Sk. Mujibur Rahman along with most members of his extended family on August 15, 1974. Only his two daughters, Sk. Hasina and Sk. Rehana, survived as they were abroad.

In November that year the same group of army officers who killed Sheikh Mujib also assassinated four top Awami League leaders who were incarcerated in the Dhaka central jail. Two other developments in this connection are notable.

The “killer majors”, as the group of army officers were known popularly, were elevated to diplomatic postings and given amnesty by the government of the day. And the Jaamat-e-Islami, which was banned for its pro-Pakistani activities against the freedom fighters and pro-liberation minded Bengalis, was politically rehabilitated. The trial of war criminals was also stopped.

All this happened in the period between Sk. Mujib’s assassination and President Zia-ur-Rehman’s period. Zia-ur-Rehman, as a major in the army, was a highly decorated freedom fighter. But his actions during his tenure at the highest position in the country suggested a pronounced anti-liberation bias.

President Zia, who formed the BNP, worked to create tensions with India. H.M. Ershad, who took over after Zia’s assassination in 1981, eased the bilateral relations to an extent. By this time, the anti-India forces were well entrenched, mainly with the assistance of the BNP. The JEI was still untouchable among most Bangladeshis.

But the worst period in India-Bangladesh relations was witnessed during the BNP-JEI led four party alliance rule from 2001 to 2006. This was the period which saw a sharp rise in Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism, hosting of Indian insurgent groups like the ULFA and others, and a close co-operation between Bangladesh’s intelligence agencies and Pakistan’s ISI to launch cross-border terrorism into India’s heartland. The accidental interdiction of ten truck load of arms at the Chittagong port in April 2004, revealed the kind of arms support Bangladesh was providing the ULFA. The case is still under investigation.

The world now realises that the BNP-JEI government had become state sponsors of terrorism, because top ruling government leaders, their intelligence agencies and bureaucrats were involved in such operations. Attempts were made on the life of Sheikh Hasina, who is considered to be pro-India and the living symbol of liberation.

The Awami League returned to power in the December 28, 2008 election with a sweeping majority because the BNP-JEI government had ravaged the country in more ways than one.

The vast majority of Bangladeshi Muslims believe in secularism, democracy and historical friendly relations with India. Most Bangladeshis are emotional and sensitive people who do not contribute to obscurantism and terrorism, and look towards modernism and development. No wonder the JEI won only two seats at the last election.

But this is no reason for complacency. The BNP and JEI have created a strong support base. The JEI’s support is on strong religious and ideological grounds. The BNP’s support is more opportunistic and remains vulnerable to outside incentives.

Returning to Sheikh Hasina’s India visit, the agreements and MoUs signed, and the joint statement issued at the end of the visit, it is no surprise that the Bangladesh opposition has concentrated on only a few sensitive issues. But in their eagerness to trash the upgraded bilateral relations, they have exposed their core concern, which is unacceptable to the civilized world.

The opposition sharply criticized the three agreements on mutual legal assistance on criminal matters, transfer of sentenced persons, and combating international terrorism, organized crime and illicit drug trafficking. They have argued that these arguments are in Indian interests only, and not Bangladesh’s.

This is strange logic. Is hosting criminals, terrorists, drug traffickers and organized crime in Bangladesh’s interest? Do they expect international praise for such a policy, or do they believe destabilization of India as the pinnacle of their destiny?

The government of Sk. Hasina was severely attacked by the BNP and the JEI for assisting India in arresting ULFA leaders like its chairman Aurobindo Rajkhowa. The Bangladesh based ULFA leaders were described as freedom fighters who the country should support, and compared to Bangladeshi freedom fighters. It was also said that by handing over ULFA leaders to India, Bangladesh was making an enemy out of this organization and jeopardizing Bangladesh’s security.

This preposterous suggestion shows that the opposition desires that Bangladesh remains a platform and incubator of anti-India terrorism, unmindful of the calamity these same groups can unleash on the country. This is not viciousness, but utter madness.

The opposition also castigated land and water transit to India as counter to the country’s security and sovereignty, explaining the Indian army could transit through these routes to north-east India. Similarly, access to Bangladeshi ports for India has been objected to on lame grounds. At the same time they are silent on India’s accord to allow road connectivity to Nepal and Bhutan to Bangladesh, a long standing demand, the billion dollar credit line for infrastructure construction including up gradation of railways. They also opposed the 250 mw power supply to Bangladesh, and lifting of negative tariffs on 47 items.

In brief, India is anathema to the entrenched anti-India sections. But it is unfortunate to see worldly wise and erudite BNP leaders like Morshed Khan join this chorus. Of course, his Pakistani links are also family entrenched.

All issues cannot be resolved in one visit. But this one visit promises to restore and build upon the trust between the two countries on a much larger scale. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has agreed to revisit the 1974 Indira-Mujib pact on land borders and adversely possessed enclaves, promised not to do anything on the proposed Tipaimukh dam on the Barak river which may adversely affect Bangladesh, and move to resolve river waters dispute, especially the Teesta. Bangladesh and India also agreed to resolve the maritime boundary question bilaterally.

These are, however, issues on which the Bangladesh opposition pin their stand against India. While the maritime boundary may be easier to settle with give and take, there will always be space for criticism. River waters is a more difficult issue. There are 54 rivers, big and small, flowing from India to Bangladesh. Water is becoming a precious commodity. Nature cannot be predicted and the upper riparian stands to be blamed. Small problems will always remain between countries sharing common rivers and common borders. These can be managed if there is mutual trust.

It is now India’s turn to act, and act quickly. The people of Bangladesh are waiting to see the gains from this new relationship. If they are dismayed, the battle may have been won but the war lost.

Bangladesh now needs the support that can solidify relations between the largest country of the subcontinent and the most densely populated country of South Asia. South Asia can grow faster if all the countries agree to grow together. Otherwise, India can grow alone but it will be a difficult growth.

Prime Minister Hasina has staked a lot on her India initiative, and India has responded superbly. We cannot let the momentum get embroiled in bureaucratic lethargy. If this relationship is brought to fruition, and there is no reason why it should not, it would be a lesson for the rest of the region, including Pakistan. Relations must be on equality, as Prime Minister Singh indicated.

Size does not make a big brother, but a strong and friendly hand does.

The “Manmohan Singh doctrine” is in the making. But the bottom line remains: all hands must work together. Are Kathmandu and Colombo listening?

Do not bring in extraneous powers to work against each other. Learn from history. This should be the motto of SAARC.