Bangladesh is a rising star in the world when it comes to overcoming unthinkable natural disasters, sheltering millions of refugees, supporting world peacekeeping through its men and women in uniform, and now dealing with a global pandemic.
Bangladesh has cemented its reputation as an important country to the global investors in 2018 by accomplishing two important milestones -- beginning the process of graduating from LDC (least developed countries) and sending its first satellite (Bangabandhu satellite 1) into orbit.
Credit goes to the hardworking people in Bangladesh, its leadership, and its determination to become a resourceful country in the world. Bangladesh couldn’t get all of these things without global partners, and one of the key global partners is France. Remember, the satellite that Bangladesh sent to orbit a couple of years back was manufactured by a French company called Thales Alenia Space.
The French have a long history of supporting Bangladesh, and it goes back to the Palashi war in 1757, where Bengal lost its independence to British East India Company. The French army fought for Bengal’s side. France is one of the top importers of Bangladeshi products, especially RMG products. France is also home to thousands of Bangladeshis, who are financially supporting their families in Bangladesh.
Recently, there was a massive anti-France rally by over 50,000 people in Dhaka in the middle of a pandemic. The protesters were carrying mannequins with shoes hanging on it to insult the French president. The protesters certainly achieved global attention by painting a picture of Bangladesh.
One of the key reasons Bangladesh is an attractive country for FDI is its political stability, friendships with countries like France, and of course its young energetic and talented workforce.
One of the ways Bangladesh may become less attractive is by creating a hostile environment against other countries for people of minority faiths within the country.
In this competitive world, there are many other countries in the market to welcome those opportunities for growth.
This is a very difficult matter, and equally difficult to understand when many have no productive contributions to society or do not share the values of success brought on by economic developments. History has proven this -- Bangladeshi people have suffered enormously from too many betrayals in the past, and an act of creating a hostile image of Bangladesh will add to that list. It will likely derail economic development, and this must be prevented.
Intolerance is spreading in the world like wildfire, and demonstrating more of the same intolerance is no solution. Bangladesh cannot possibly spend its resources to build a police nation. Strong public awareness needs to develop to stop this wave of intolerance.
Mazher Mir is the Adviser to Roybi Robots, Mountain View, California, USA