Bangladesh looks to boost economic ties as RI President arrives
Bangladesh looks to boost economic ties as RI President arrives
Nadeem Qadir, Dhaka
A 21-gun salute heralded the arrival of Indonesian President
Megawati Soekarnoputri in Bangladesh on Wednesday, which is
looking to boost trade with Southeast Asian nations.
Airforce jets escorted the special aircraft carrying Megawati
as it entered Bangladesh skies and the salute boomed out as she
stepped onto the tarmac at Dhaka's Zia International Airport,
where she was greeted by Bangladesh President Iajuddin Ahmed and
Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.
Megawati, accompanied by a 100-member entourage, including her
businessman husband Taufik Kiemas and daughter Puan Maharani,
went immediately to the nearby Savar district to place wreaths at
a memorial dedicated to the martyrs of Bangladesh's 1971
independence war against Pakistan.
At the memorial, the last post was played and Megawati also
planted a sapling in honor of those who died.
Security was tight in Dhaka with large numbers of police
posted across the city, while military guards were also posted at
the Sonargaon Hotel, where the guests will be staying.
The president is visiting Bangladesh on the first leg of a 10-
day tour which will also take her to Mongolia, Japan and Vietnam.
The previous top level visit between the two countries was in
1978 when slain Bangladeshi president and Zia's husband, Ziaur
Rahman, visited Jakarta, although Megawati visited Dhaka as vice-
president in 2001.
Megawati and her husband attended a banquet hosted by Zia
later Wednesday.
Foreign ministry officials said formal talks between the two
leaders would take place on Thursday ahead of the arrival of
United States Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Megawati's visit to cash-strapped Bangladesh comes as Zia's
government pursues a "Look East Policy" aimed at boosting
economic ties with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
members, including neighboring Myanmar and Thailand.
Several agreements are likely to be signed, including one on
double taxation and one renewing a 1978 trade accord between the
two countries, officials said.
Bangladesh is to push for investment from Indonesia, a leading
member of ASEAN, and a reduction of its trade deficit, they said.
In 2001-2002, Bangladesh exports to Indonesia stood at US$5.6
million, while imports were worth $173.6 million, with a balance
of more than $162 million in Indonesia's favor.
Exports from Bangladesh include jute products and garments,
while imports include mineral products, plastics and machinery.
Ilhamy Elias, heading a 11-member Indonesian business team
which arrived here Monday, held talks late Tuesday with
Bangladesh Commerce Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury and
indicated interest in investing in small or mini power plants,
housing, cement and paper industries, a commerce ministry
official said.
There is currently no Indonesian investment in Bangladesh.
"They are also studying the possibility of importing drugs,
leather products and ceramics from Bangladesh," he said.
Indonesia is the world's largest Muslim country while
Bangladesh is the third largest Muslim-majority country.
The Bangladesh government has called on the main opposition
party to call off a strike coinciding with visits by the
Indonesian president and the U.S. Secretary of State.
"Calling a strike during the stay of Indonesian president and
U.S. secretary of state is unfortunate and it would also damage
the country's image," said Local Government Minister Abdul Mannan
Bhuiyan, who is also secretary general of the ruling Bangladesh
Nationalist Party (BNP).
However thousands of Bangladeshis, some carrying black flags
took to the streets of capital Dhaka on Wednesday, a day ahead of
the visit by Powell, denouncing his role in the invasion of Iraq.
Amid a heavy police deployment, Islamists, leftists, students
and a women's rights group chanted that Powell was a "war
criminal" for the deaths of Iraqis during the war that ousted
Saddam Hussein.
An Islamist group, the Islamic Constitution Movement, marched
with black flags and chanted "God is Great" as they demanded
Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's government cancel Powell's brief
visit here on Thursday.