How important is foreign olicy for BD after 40 yrs?

Zaglul Ahmed Chowdhury Bangladesh has come across forty long years since its inception as a sovereign nation. The nation has fittingly celebrated its four decades of existence in a great carnival-like atmosphere on December 16 when a unique spectacle was witnessed across the country and elsewhere, where Bangladeshis live with the monumental pride and dignity as the citizens of an independent country. Forty years ago, their identity was different, stemming essentially from an alien character and largely devoid of the traits of an indigenous culture. But it went through a drastic change, brought about by a bloody war of ndependence, which has few parallels in terms of enormous sacrifices and sufferings of its teeming millions. Regardless of what has been achieved during the last forty years, many of accomplishments of the people have unquestionably been their commendable achievements, made possible because of the nation's freedom. Bangladesh had achieved its national independence and freedom, as a logical and glorious conclusion of its long struggle which was also in many ways splendid -- albeit at the enormous cost of blood and other forms of sacrifices for winning victory through an armed struggle. The climax was the zenith of success -- the hard-earned independence. As the country has stepped into the fifth decade of its independence, discussions, analyses and debates swirl around, about the progress made so far -- and the prospects in the days ahead not excluded. A sovereign country faces many a daunting task in meeting the expectations of its people, particularly in the aftermath of achieving its nationhood. Bangladesh is no exception and probably, this sentiment is more pervasive here because countless lives were lost for the long-cherished independence. Hence, is the need for self-introspection, even though nothing is comparable with the extent of joy and delight that are inextricably associated with the spirit of independence. While progress in all national areas during the last four decades -- ranging from sports to scientific research -- is coming in for evaluation, an area of paramount importance which is quite relevant to the context, is undeniably the foreign affairs of any sovereign nation. Undoubtedly, this field was critically important during the difficult days of Bangladesh's liberation war in 1971 and remained so with the passage of time. It is more so these days since issues concerning foreign affairs play a pivotal role in the changing context of the international affairs and stiff competitions among member-states in exacting their pound of flesh in the global matters, that do also speak of brotherhood, friendliness and bonhomie. The reality is that an independent nation has to look after its own interest while sparing no efforts for promotion of fellowship and other noble ideals. The provisional Bangladesh government did an excellent job in the stormy days of 1971 by canvassing for the causes of the nation's independence and freedom, despite severe adversities. The task was no less Herculean after the liberation of the country when the newly independent Bangladesh moved from pillar to post for its recognition as a sovereign entity in the comity of nations. The whole exercise was guided by the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, but his able aides like two foreign ministers -- late Abdus Samad Azad and Dr Kamal Hossain -- along with a host of dedicated civil servants, must be credited for the achievements in those days. There is no room to undermine their glorious achievements. The cardinal principle of Bangladesh's foreign policy, as enunciated by the Bangabandhu, was "friendship to all and malice to none" and this rightly remains the corner stone of its foreign policy. It is no wonder that successive governments were governed broadly by this parameter of Bangladesh's external affairs policy. However, this is also true that it cannot be uniform all the time and hence, the focus had its priorities varying from time to time, without, however, deviating from the core principle. The swinging of the pendulum from one extreme to another is seldom discernible and this shows that a country like Bangladesh can hardly afford much experiments in its foreign policy. For Bangladesh, a major element in its foreign policy issues relates to its ties with the immediate neighbours. This emerges as a contentious and delicate exercise, stemming mainly from considerations about good neighbourliness. Here, the main country is India and much of the attention and interest revolve around this country because of myriad factors. Indeed, the Indian help and assistance in 1971 place that country totally in a different category of friendship. Then again, as is the case with all sovereign nations, Dhaka, too, has to take care of its own interests that often come into direct conflict with the neighbours having common frontiers. All governments have to deal with such a tricky issue and it is up to the people to decide how far the authority in Dhaka is faring about it. The present time is particularly talked about, since a number of issues are now being dealt with India with opinions sharply divided over them. Evidently, Dhaka needs to protect its interest, without creating any bitterness. But capitulation in any form is also not expected. Furthermore, China, another not-too-distant neighbour in east Asia, is a force to reckon with, because of its growing economic and military power. Any government in Bangladesh has to take note of this factor and deal with it quite adroitly since there is also an covert competition and rivalry between New Delhi and Beijing for a variety of factors, both being regional powers. The world's only super power, the United States, other major Western nations, Russian federation and the key Middle Eastern nations do furthermore occupy an important position in Bangladesh's foreign-policy matters. The south Asian nations under the aegis of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) have a special bearing on Dhaka's interest and this regional cooperative body needs to be nurtured, in concert with efforts by its all other members. In a changing world, it is imperative that Bangladesh, a country of 160 million, pursues a strong policy in international affairs with the main objectives of facilitating more overseas employment for Bangladesh's workforce, increased remittances, closer trade and business links and other forms of interactions in the list of its priority of actions on its external front. The image of the government and the nation is of great importance as Bangladesh is unfortunately found to be tainted by negative aspects, more often than not. All governments in Bangladesh claim that they are successful in all these fields, but the ultimate judge here are the people of the country. Foreign policy needs always vigour, dynamism and a pragmatic approach and it is expected that Dhaka would demonstrate all these in conduct of its external relations, with ability and dignity. Email: zaglulbss@yahoo.com