“More than ever before in human history, we share a common destiny. We can master it only if we face it together. And that is why we have the United Nations,” said former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
Bangladesh celebrated 40 years of its membership with the United Nations last week ahead of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s planned meeting with world leaders in New York, including her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.
The global body’s role has been questioned over the years in dealing with major conflicts due to the veto powers of the super five, but no one has asked for it to abolished. But the platform has been a useful one, despite some drawbacks. It hosts many conferences and an annual General Assembly. Besides, committee meetings are an important place for finding solutions to many issues which could become major concerns.
The most important role it plays is bringing together leaders from across the globe and facilitating a large number of bilateral meetings which pave the way for bilateral or multilateral cooperation.
Bangladesh’s entry into the world body was not easy with China vetoing us twice. The Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and his team worked on it to bring about a change in Beijing’s attitude towards the newly-born country. Finally, in 1974, the Bangladesh flag finally flew at the UN headquarters in New York.
Bangabandhu introduced the Bangla language to the world by delivering his speech in Bangla at the UN general assembly. His daughter Sheikh Hasina too has followed that, and will again deliver her speech in Bangla this month.
Coinciding with the UNGA, a number of summits and conferences will also come up including two major ones – the Climate Summit 2014 on September 23, and the Peacekeeping Summit on September 26. For Bangladesh, both the summits are of utmost importance.
This South Asian country is one of the worst affected by climate change, with sea levels rising and drought in some parts. Floods too are a major annual problem.
Bangladesh, being the number one contributor to the UN Peacekeeping Missions, needs to address issues relating to safety and privileges. Our soldiers have earned kudos in most of their missions. I remember my visits to a number of African countries where our brave soldiers were ensuring the end of violence and maintaining peace.
In Liberia, a song was dedicated to the Bengali soldiers who were ignored by the Pakistanis before independence. It was a matter of pride to be from Bangladesh in Liberia because of our soldiers. Hats off to them.
The prime minister, who is set to travel to New York on September 21, will also hold bilateral talks with Premier Modi as well as leaders from Qatar, Chile, etc. This is the annual meeting ground which brings fruit to bilateral ties.
The focus for Bangladesh will be the talks with Modi and the meetings with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and US President Barack Obama during official receptions.
There are a multiple issues that Sheikh Hasina is eager to settle with India, mainly the almost done Teesta water sharing treaty. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee either played foul or shifted the focus of trouble. The other issue is the Land Boundary Agreement which has been ratified by Bangladesh for some time now, but New Delhi has somehow stalled it.
With Narendra Modi’s positive move to build confidence with India’s neighbours, one can expect some positive outcomes during the summit. The visit of his foreign minister, Sushma Swaraj, indicated his intentions, and Bangladesh looks forward to a productive summit.
Indeed, being a major world power and a super-power in the subcontinent, India has many responsibilities towards its neighbours, especially the friendly ones.
The ruling Awami League either positively or negatively is said to be an “India-friendly” group, and Modi must honour Sheikh Hasina for her stand in international relations. The government’s distance from Pakistan should be appreciated by Modi as the BNP-Jamaat government allegedly made Bangladesh a “haven” for the Pakistani intelligence outfit ISI.
Both Bangladesh and India need peaceful borders as well as strong ties to counter external as well as regional negative influences in their respective domestic matters.
“The ideals of democracy, secularism, pluralism, and the rule of law also serve as a link between India and Bangladesh,” Modi wrote to Sheikh Hasina soon after coming to power. Now, he has to keep his word. As in the words of Kofi Annan: “We can do it (everything) together.”
