The New Nation - Internet Edition

Md. Masum Billah

Davos closed the annual meeting of the World's Economic Forum with some hopes, aspirations, promises and warnings. This year's Davo's event has drawn nearly 30 heads of state or governments, more than 110 cabinet ministers and several hundred corporate titans. More than 75 of the world's leading corporations easily eclipsed the 25 heads of states and governments present. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, British Prime Minster Gordon Brown, Ex-prime minister Tony Blair, US Ex -secretary of state Henry Kissinger, Ban Ki Moon. Rock star activist Bono, billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates and UN Chief steered the conversation on away from the global economy and geopolitics towards issues such as malaria eradication, poverty alleviation and climate change. Changing climate stands as a major concern across the globe jeopardizing the world economy. Their thinking to the right path has given a special momentum to this event this year.

Our Chief Adviser drew the attention of the participants at Davos highlighting the two major concerns Bangladesh constantly fight with namely the effects of climate change and lack of duty-free access to the EU and American markets. Tony Blair, cochairman of the forum, voiced strong support to Bangladesh in these two aspects as Bangladesh has to pay a heavy loss almost every year due to nature's wrath. The very recent devastating cyclone cidr brought untold miseries to the people of coastal region and putting a huge undue pressure to the government. The rising RMG sector has started experiencing serious blow due to labour unrest. It also faces threat and challenge as it has to vie with other ready made garments exporting countries. It further faces problems due to the lack of duty-free access to European Union countries and the markets of USA. Our CA has rightly pointed out the problems which gave food for thought to the participants who this year put emphasis on poverty alleviation and hunger extending opportunities to the resource starved countries like Bangladesh.

Asian Development Bank president H Kuroda said to Dr. Fakruddin Ahmed, "I'm greatly impressed with your government's performance, particularly the reforms brought about in governance and economic sectors". And he assured Bank's continued support for infrastructure and power and energy sector development in Bangladesh. Dr. Fakruddin urged foreign entrepreneurs to work as investment ambassador's of Bangladesh, representatives of foreign companies who have already made investment in the country called for implementing reform in the financial sector to attract more overseas investment. Foreign Corporation want to see the actual implementation of reforms so far undertaken by the government in financial sector. This fact was disclosed by Bangladesh's Permanent representative to UN Office in Geneva Ambassador Dr. Debaprya Bhattacharya who accompanied the Chief Adviser to Davos. Fakruddin and the CEO of seven leading companies made the interactions during a dinner at a hotel in the snow covered hilly resort town of Devos. He apprised them of the political and economic background before the incumbent caretaker government took over as well as administrative and economic reforms undertaken by his government in the past one year.

The business representatives appreciated the government's reformer agenda particularly the steps taken against corruption and said power generation is one of the fundamental elements to attract foreign investments and wanted to know if coal and gas in Bangladesh are adequately being exploited. Here lies our weakness. Still we have failed to ensure the proper exploitation of our natural resource like coal and gas. Definitely Bangladesh could have established itself as a flourishing industrialized country if her natural resource had been used properly. It can be attributed to political unrest and the non-commitment of the politicians. However, Dr. Fakruddin assured them that caretaker government is trying hard to create an ennobling atmosphere for foreign investment that Bangladesh has lot of potential for investment.

CEOs observed Bangladesh's image is better than many other countries of the world but they apprehend vulnerability of the country's economy. They wondered whether credible political leadership would be in place through reforms after the elections. Chief Adviser told them. The Chief Adviser gave them words that his government is going to arrange absolutely free, fair and democratic elections through which the countrymen would be able to see their real and able public representatives.

They suggested time-bound decision on investment and equal treatment for foreign companies like national companies. The government must give a serious thought to this issue. If the foreign investors don't get confidence, surely the flow of foreign investment will be staggering and thin curbing our economic development further.

The Davos event has long prided itself on showing the caring side of capitalism although participants have criticized for trumpeting big ideas on big issues in public while actually expending most of their energy on corridor schmoozing and backroom deals. From the Same Davos podium, the world's richest man Bill Gates announced a grant of $19.9 million over three years to initially help place improved rice varieties and related technology into the hands of 400000 small farmers in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Farmers expected to achieve a 50% increase in their yields within the next ten years. Rice is staple food for 2.4 billion people and provides more than 20% of their daily calories intake and up to 70% for the poorest of the poor. Gates said, "If we are serous about ending extreme hunger and poverty around the world, we must be serious about transforming agriculture for small farmers most of whom are women." The cash injection is to fund projects to improve soil quality, milk production, irrigation and seed development in a host of poor African and Asian countries. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation would enable the International Rice Research Institute to acquire new funding to harness some of the biggest unresolved problems in agriculture. The grant to Irri is part of a package totaling $306 million that nearly doubles Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's investment s in agriculture Development initiatives in 2006

The session on 'Dividing the World Again' moderated by Dominique Rossi, stood out as really interesting. Ambassador Wu Jianmin, President China, Foreign Affairs University maintained that the agenda revealed the western psyche of following a policy of 'divide and rule' to dominate the world. Asian values believe in uniting the world by strengthening commonwealth and working out Compromise on contention issues. Corporate responsibility rather than profit took centre stage in Davos on January 25 as the annual get-together of business chiefs turned its attention to issues of health, aid and development the coordination of politics should not be entirely confined to the world's advanced countries but also be inclusive of developing country's stand point.

This was another important message of the meet despite the dividing rule policy surfaced in the meet. United Nations Chief Ban Ki Moon challenged the delegates at Davos 'to renew a commitment to the UN Millennium Goals aimed at halving the extreme poverty, boosting health and education and further improving women across the developing world by 2015." Bill Gates said, "The challenge here is to design a system project and recognition to do more for the poor". He finally called for a new form of 'creative capitalism'. And this new form of 'creative capitalism' can be achieved through the concerted efforts of both resourceful and resource starved countries of the globe.