Sheikh Hasina's visit to improve ties

Sheikh Hasina's visit to Indonesia is the first by a Bangladeshi head of government since former president Ershad came in 1986.

But while personal interaction at the highest level might have been minimal in the past 11 years, ties between the two countries have remained strong and are likely to improve further, according to Bangladesh Ambassador to Jakarta, Zia-us-Shams Chowdury.

"The extremely close and warm relations between Bangladesh and Indonesia go back to strong historical roots. Our experiences during our respective wars of liberation were similar and the travails we went through were of the same scale.

"From the time of our war of liberation, and early days of independence, when support from friendly countries was so important, Indonesia stood by us. We in Bangladesh remember this very fondly and it has created a reciprocal and spontaneous goodwill among our people toward Indonesia."

Other factors that Chowdury sees as contributing to the current healthy relationship are the many common aspects in the two countries' cultures, social situations and values.

"Both countries are multireligious and we both practice a tolerant ethos for harmonious coexistence among our various religious groups," he said.

There are differences between the two nations however, one most notably being their respective economies stage of development. Bangladesh is where Indonesia was more than a decade ago, and it is keen to catch up.

Chowdury believes that "our economy is at a crucial stage and we are hoping to enter a period of sustained growth if things go well. Indonesia, in the past decade, has enjoyed a very bright and vibrant spell in its economic progress."

"We feel that many of Indonesia's macroeconomic lessons have great relevance for us and can be a useful guide as we try to travel on the road to a better future. Our prime minister can greatly enlighten herself from the visit."

This enlightenment will hopefully go beyond strengthening existing ties and progress to developing new areas of cooperation between the two countries, especially on the trade front.

The bilateral balance of trade is currently heavily against Bangladesh. While Dhaka exports US$10 million worth of goods to Indonesia annually, its imports from Jakarta exceed $100 million.

In order to close this gap, Bangladesh is creating what Chowdury describes as "a very investor-friendly climateinour country". Many countries are already taking advantage of the "host of incentives" being offered by the new Board of Investment.

Chowdury accepts that as ambassador, it is his job to "get various concerned circles in both our countries to be more actively involved in further development of our existing cooperation."

But he stresses that this is just a facilitating role to create the right climate, it is the private sector that must forge the links.

To this end, "a team of businessmen will accompany our prime minister and we will have a program with the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry."

"I hope this will set in motion a positive momentum for expanded economic cooperation.

"The specific aims here are to explore the scope for raising the level of our trade and to achieve a better balance in the trade, and to try to develop investment and joint ventures on the basis of comparative advantages."

A cement-production joint venture already exists between the two countries and Bangladesh is looking to boost ties in several other areas, including infrastructure development, oil and gas, glass and ceramics, textiles, leather and rubber products and technology.

Chowdury said: "Indonesia's manufacturing sector is now making an outstanding contribution to its economy and its products are now very competitive.

"Bangladesh can learn much from Indonesia's success."

And not only in how to develop its economy. "There is also scope for strengthening existing cooperation in a number of socioeconomic fields, such as poverty alleviation, agriculture, population control and human development.

"These all matter so much in the context of Bangladesh's pursuit of a better future. We can draw important lessons from Indonesia's experiences in these fields."

Interaction has already begun on both the trade and socioeconomic fronts, Chowdury said.

"Almost every month, delegations from Bangladesh come here to attend workshops and seminars in a whole host of social areas.

"And on the industrial side, several joint ventures have been started recently, for example in cement production."

To ensure these fruitful beginnings are not wasted, "another thing the visit will focus on is to see whether we can develop an institutional mechanism for regular dialog which, in the context of the changing world, is becoming increasingly necessary," Chowdury said.

The two countries also have many shared interests and common concerns on the global scale. These include the Non-Aligned Movement, the Organization of Islamic Conference and the newly created D-8. Sheikh Hasina will take advantage of her meetings with President Soeharto to discus these.

"Indonesia's impact in the Asia Pacific region for fostering greater regional stability and promoting new structures of economic cooperation is so very visible," Chowdury said.

"In our region, South Asia, Bangladesh is working hard, along with our partners in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, to create a better environment of cooperation and for improving the quality of life for our people.

"So, our prime minister will have many interesting issues to discuss with President Soeharto for our mutual benefit."

The two governments are also expected to sign several agreements on trade to further boost bilateral economic links.

Therefore, if everything goes according to plan, Chowdury sees no reason why "we can't realize a reasonable ratio of the good promises and potential of this important visit."