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.