The Danish government and businesses are showing more interest in Bangladesh, a burgeoning economy and major regional player. Bangladesh can also take advantage of Danish interest and lure them into investing in education and technology to build a knowledgeable society, former Danish prime minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen has said.
In an interview, he talked about Dhaka-Copenhagen relations, climate change, the Russia-Ukraine war and intolerance in different societies.
“Danish business and the government will engage more with Bangladesh in the coming years. This is not the end, and rather this is the beginning,” he said.
Mærsk Mc-Kinney, Arla and Novo Nordisk, big Danish conglomerates, have already set their footprint in this country and helped create a more skilled workforce here. Danish teachers in technology and engineering can also come to Bangladesh and teach local students about science to pave the way for more innovation.
“In Northern Europe and in my own country, there is a new thinking getting popularity that the more we support technology and education in South Asia, the more long-term development we will have. Our own experience tells us the more we contribute to education, especially women, the more we have new innovations from the Bangladeshi population. So, you don't have to buy things from abroad as you are developing them by yourselves. It is directly connected to education,” he said.
Bangla TribuneTerming Bangladesh a paradise of clean water potential, he said: “This could be the cleanest water producing country that one can imagine.”
If new technology can be introduced to collect monsoon water to transform it into clean water in a massive way, Bangladesh can be able to export clean water. “Why don't we invest in new project in Bangladesh to transform the monsoon opportunity for producing clean water in an amount that you have never seen before,” Rasmussen said.
Perfect storm
The world is passing through perfect storm. The old world order is rapidly losing its importance and new order is in the making amidst a rift among the major powers. “It is important to understand that we are right now what you could call a perfect storm all over the world, not only in Europe, but also here,” he said.
The conflict in Europe, combined with climate challenge, inflation, unemployment, and higher inequality tendencies, frustrate ordinary people and creates psychological pressure about having hard times in the future.
Rasmussen said: “The whole world situation, also combined with US relations to China, creates a situation where we are confronted with changes all over the place in the same period.”
War against Ukraine is unjust, and if the people of the free world give up and no longer express solidarity with Kyiv, they would run away from their common responsibility.
“To give up, to withdraw and give Putin and Russia a feeling that they can dominate in Ukraine, it will open a new door for new attacks on Western Europe. I don't see any other choice then continuing our support through Nato as long as this war goes on,” he said.
“Nobody can tell how it will end. But, what we can say is that it would be very bad solution if we withdraw from this. It will create widespread insecurity all over Europe. So the short-term choice is to stick to solidarity and stick to fight and warn Putin who is an aggressor and try to take land of another country,” he said.
Social intolerance
Inequality in and among societies is one of the main reasons behind social intolerance in the world. Widespread use of social media also fuels fire as hate speech and lies can spread fast and create anarchy in different countries, Rasmussen said.
“We never found ourselves in the situation that we are right now. What we are seeing now is widespread nationalism. In many countries what comes first is, My country is number one and then you have the others.”
One of the main reasons behind intolerance is growing inequality inside the country, between and among countries, he said.
“If we take the example of the United States, Donald Trump would not have ever won the presidential election, if he could not have played violin of fear and hatred. The unemployment went up and it led to inequality in the society for the last 20 years or so.”
Another reason for intolerance is social media, and regulation is needed to protect society.
“Fear and hate speech creates anxiety among the users, and that's why we need to have regulation.”
About Indo-Pacific, he said the region has enormous growth potential and one cannot find a global solution of sustainability without the countries in the region having a central role.
“We are on the verge of the old global order, and a new order is emerging. The new world order must not lose democracy. So, we should be very careful when we try to make changes in the world order. We need to have our own rights to have our own future,” Rasmussen observed.
