Sheikh Hasina, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh and the leader of the Awami League has been pushing what can fairly be called an aggressive, assertive and inviting foreign policy with the aim of attracting foreign investment in infrastructure and utilities.
First there was India, then China, now the P.M. is scheduled to pay a visit to South Korea and Malaysia. In each case, the P.M. has walked away with memoranda of understanding and has won promises of further investment in Bangladesh’s dilapidated public and utilities infrastructure. Each one of these moves could be considered an efficiency increasing mutual advantage move.
Though she’s quickly moving to win investment support throughout Asia, she has not lost herself in the reeds; she has not forgotten her political commitments and economic credits. Indeed, her political opposition have made it necessary that she keep abreast of the agreements she’s signed with the leaders of donor- investor countries. Sheikh Hasina has dispatched a top aide to New Delhi to begin the process to implement the memos of understanding she’s signed with her Indian counterpart in January.
The Daily Star reports and reminds:
“During Hasina’s visit to India, three agreements related to curbing terrorism and two memoranda of understanding concerning cooperation in power and cultural sectors were signed”.
“The Indian prime minister also announced a line of credit of $ 1 billion for a range of projects, including railway infrastructure, supply of BG locomotives and passenger coaches, rehabilitation of Saidpur workshop, procurement of buses including articulate buses and dredging projects.”
As I’ve written before, if she keeps this up, she will have deserved her re-election to power. She’ll need to do more, of course, mainly on her human rights record and on her relations with indigenous and refugee groups within Bangladesh’s borders. But attention must be paid and though her record will likely be far from perfect there is, even now, much to commend her re-election bid.