The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Dhaka

EC Ambassador Dr Stefan Frowein yesterday said Bangladesh would win confidence and business opportunities from the European Union, the United States and other markets and emerge as a middle-income country only if there be a switchover to genuine coalition of sustainable democracy, good governance, the rule of law and commercial dynamism.

"The successful holding of credible elections is only one indicator of health of democracy in a given country. However, it is a vital one," he said speaking on 'Election, Democracy and Development' at AmCham monthly luncheon meeting at Hotel Sheraton-at a time when the country is at a crossroads.

Frowein said he stresses "successful" and "credible" as the world is only too used to witnessing deeply flawed and rigged elections that are mere vehicles for rubberstamping the rule of despots. He noted the situation in Bangladesh is somewhat different-and complex one. On the one hand, the authorities have constructed an electoral system that includes voter list with photographs and constituencies which better reflect the distribution of votes.

On the other hand, the Ambassador said, political system has for many years endured a culture of confrontation where responsible cooperation in a parliament has appeared elusive, where boycotts of parliament and resort to hartals are the norm.

This impacts the social and business climate of the country, the western diplomat said from his experience earned through this pretty long stay in Bangladesh that gave him the opportunity of witnessing the past confrontation in the political arena and the 1/11 changeover as well as its stormy aftermath.

"We can draw one conclusion immediately: It is not only undemocratic states that struggle to maximize their development potential. Dysfunctional and unstable democracies lose out too by frightening off potential investors and undermining the cultivation of trade links that are essential for survival in a globalized world," he noted.

The European envoy, however, observed that the story of Bangladesh is recent years have not been all doom and gloom. The country has sustained a credible GDP growth rate, millions of new jobs have been created in RMG sector and new job opportunity is being created in emerging shipping sector.

Endeavours of the interim government in the past two years to foster a more congenial business environment through initiatives such as Better Business Forum, the Truth Commission, the Regulatory Reform Commission and reform of Chittagong Port must be recognized, he told his business audience.

Frowein said all the efforts of the caretaker authorities have been underpinned by one simple commitment that the country will return to democracy through parliament elections in December.

He said deployment of the EU election observers to monitor the polls is a reflection of the EU's commitment to a strong, stable and democratic Bangladesh.

The Ambassador said the European Commission would continue to furnish substantial funds for development of Bangladesh with at least 50 million euros annually.

He said Bangladesh would remain the foremost recipient of EC trade-related technical assistance in Asia with an average of 10 million euros per year to tackle the issues like diversification of export products and fulfillment of quality and labour standards.

Frowein said the institutional and good-governance reforms achieved by the interim administration is a task that now falls to an incoming elected government.

AmCham president Syed Ershad Ahmed presided over the luncheon meeting attended by diplomats and business leaders.