Bangladesh deserves better attention from the US: Congressman Crowley

US Congressman Joseph Crowley (D-NY), Co-Chair of Bangladesh Caucus, demanded more attention from US for Bangladesh. He made this request while participating in a hearing in the Congress’s House Foreign Affaires Subcommittee on South Asia and the Middle East today (25 June 2009). Congressman Crowley stated that even in the turmoil of South Asia, Bangladesh stood firm and have had a fair and credible election. He also suggested that more high level visits should be exchanged between Bangladesh and the US.

Mr. Robert Blake, US Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, who was the sole witness in this hearing on “A Regional Overview of South Asia”, concurred with the Congressman Crowley. Ambassador Blake acknowledged that Bangladesh demands more attention than it is receiving now. Referring to his recent visit to Bangladesh, Mr. Blake gave a very positive picture about Bangladesh. Narrating Bangladesh’s success stories like poverty reduction, women empowerment, free, fair and credible election and return to democracy, Ambassador Blake informed that “this is a country (Bangladesh) which achieved a lot”. Earlier in the hearing, Chairman of the Committee Congressman Gary Ackerman(D-NY) also termed Bangladesh’s return to democracy as a positive development in South Asia.

Later in the day, several business leaders from reputed US firms attended a luncheon discussion at Bangladesh Embassy in Washington, DC. Speaking on the occasion, Bangladesh Ambassador M. Humayun Kabir touched on the commitment of the present government to make a ‘paradigm shift in bringing qualitative change in the investment strategy’ that has been identified in the proposed budget for FY 2009-2010. In this context, he elaborated on various elements of the strategy, such as public-private participation(PPP), strengthening Better Business Forum(BBF), development of Special Economic Zones, linkage with Asian Road and Rail network, support for development of clean energy technology and adaptation programmes to tackle the effects of climate change. He also drew their attention to the unique location advantage, which Bangladesh enjoys in the fast growing region in the world. He urged the US investors to pay more attention to the investment potential of Bangladesh and take advantage of this new opportunity.

The business leaders showed deep interest in the new measures being taken by the government. They however emphasized on the need for quick and further modernization of the business environment in Bangladesh to make it more competitive economically. Representatives from ConocoPhillips, General Electric, Johnson & Johnson, Hewlett Packard, Avery Dennison, QUALCOMM and BrooksBowerAsia, among others attended. Mr. Walter Lohman, Director of the prestigious think tank The Heritage Foundation also attended the luncheon meeting. It may be mentioned that this luncheon discussion was a part of the ongoing initiatives of the Embassy to engage with the members of the US business community in a sustained manner.

Press Release: Embassy of Bangladesh, Washington, DC