Mr. Chairman,

Distinguished Foreign Ministers of CICA Member States and Observer States

Excellencies, Ladies, and Gentlemen;

Assalamualaikum, peace be on you

It is indeed a pleasure to take part in this CICA Ministerial Meeting. I would like to join other distinguished delegates in conveying our sincere appreciation to the Chair,and the CICA Secretariat for the excellent arrangements made for the virtual meeting even during this pandemic situation. We also welcome the new Executive Director of CICA.

Excellencies,

Year 2020 marks the Birth Centenary of the Father of the Nation of Bangladesh, Bangabandhu SheikhMujibur Rahman, the greatest Bangali of all times. It is a difficult year for all of us. But the entire humanity has come under the same umbrella in the fight against an invisible enemy Covid-19 that defies frontiers. The wave of Covid-19 has also affected Bangladesh like all other countries ofthe world. Thanks to Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for taking timely actions. We have successfully managed to contain the spread of the Covid-19 infection and the fatality rate. As of today, the death toll is only 5044. We were concerned that the Covid-19 might badly affect 1.1 million Rohingyas, the displaced people of Myanmar, that live in a highly congested area inside Bangladesh. Fortunately, minimal got affected due to multiple targeted initiatives.

Distinguished Colleagues,

Despite the threat to our economy, ecology, and overall societal impact, Bangladesh gave shelter, on a humanitarian ground, to nearly 1.1 million persecuted people fleeing massacre in Myanmar, their homeland. Bangladesh is keen on solving the crisis through constructive diplomacy with good neighbourly spirit. Myanmar is our friendly country and,therefore,Bangladesh signed 3 instruments with Myanmar for repatriation. Myanmar agreed to take them back after verification. They also agreed to create a conducive environment for their voluntary repatriation and they agreed to ensure safety and security of thedisplaced people. But unfortunately till today, none went back and instead of creating conducive environment, fighting and shelling is ongoing in the Rakhine state. Our fear is that, if this problem persists, it may lead to pockets of radicalism and since terrorists have no borders, no faith, there’s a high possibility of creation of uncertainty in the region which may frustrate our hope for a peaceful, secure and stable region.

Mr. Chairman

Because of lack of confidence buildings and trust deficitsbetween persecuted Rohingya and Myanmar government not a single Rohingya went back toMyanmar. To improve confidence buildings, we suggested many options to Myanmar, for example,’go and visit’, Myanmar would allow Rohingya leaders to visit Rakhine province or allowing non- military civilian observers from Myanmar’s friendly countries like ASEAN+, or China, Russia or India or any country of their choice so that Rohingyafeelassured of their safety and security. Alternately, we requested Myanmar officials to come and talk to their displaced Rohingya for confidence building, unfortunately Myanmar is yet to respond to our suggestions.

In this confidence buildings conference of CICA, you willagree with me that it is time for Myanmar to interacted with their displaced people for confidence building measures for meaningful and durable solution.

Mr. Chair,

Secondly, Myanmar’s stability and economic growth could be negatively affected if Rohingya problem is not resolved. This problem has been created by Myanmar and solution also lies with Myanmar.

Mr. Chairman,

This pandemic proves us that it is neither stockpiles of weapons nor building up of walls can save human life. Therefore, it is time to direct resources to health and social sectors. COVID comes with its multifaceted impacts on our lives, including severe disruptions to societies and economies. The crisis, however, has manifested devastating but differentiated impacts on segments of the population, as it would hit hardest the disadvantaged and vulnerable groups.

 In Bangladesh, under the dynamic and determined leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, our government took full preventive measures from the very early stage of the pandemic.  She announced the largest ever financial and social safety assistance package in Bangladesh’s history covering our industrial workers, agriculture sector as well as frontline key workers including doctors, nurses, health professionals, law enforcement agencies and field level people who are risking their lives to fight the pandemic. This is not only for maintaining our own macroeconomic stability - but also that the global supply chain does not break down. 

Excellencies,

Bangladesh is one of only two Asian economies to register positive growth in 2020, despite a global recession that is shaping up to be historic in scale. The economy faced tremendous challenges between April and June this year. The worst has passed us. From a GDP growth perspective, the second quarter of the year was probably the worst for all countries. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund had forecasted that the economy would grow between 1.6 percent and 3.8 percent in fiscal year 2019-20 for the pandemic. Fortunately, Bangladesh’s economy grew 5.24 percent in the fiscal year that concluded on 30th June.

Mr. Chair,

The Constitution of Bangladesh guarantees freedom of religion and freedom of speech. Secularism and social justice are also the fundamental pillars of our state policy. It also ensures equality and basic rights of the people. Bangladesh has achieved significant advancement in the field of maternal and child health, compulsory primary education and women empowerment. Our government also expanded its social safety net program for the disadvantaged. 

Distinguished Delegates,

We believe that peace and security in Asia can be achieved through dialogue and cooperation, where all states coexist peacefully and their people live in peace, freedom and prosperity. We should carry forward the solidarity and cooperative spirit of helping each other in difficult times, promote the CICA agenda, enhance political and security dialogues and cooperation, and strengthen mutual trust, so as to make Asia a harmonious region of lasting peace and common prosperity.

Thank you, Excellencies, for your time and for your kind attention.

 Joy Bangla!

Joy Bangabandhu!