The Uruguay Round resurfaces in the sleepy clime of Bangladesh after more than two years of hitting the world stage and stirring up public debate across the globe.

. This happens not.by any design but accidently with the Commerce Ministry feeling constrained to explain a default: consultants appointed by the government having failed to formulate any response to the Uruguay accords, we are still without any strategic planning in defence of our vital interests in trade and tariff.

We are actually reaping what we had sowed. The Uruguay Round has hardly been subjected to any serious critical analysis, far less broad-based public debate in the country. This stands in stark contrast to what happened in some countries of our region, especially in India, where the parliament, different public fora, intelligentsia groups, lobbies, NGOs, business and industrial circles, even trade union bodies, were involved in a series of discussions leading to a crystallisation of a national consensus on the subject. Such a convergence of opinions must have made the Jobs of experts, planners and politicians easier in the end to hammer out a balanced approach to the Uruguay Round.

All is not yet lost for us. The Commerce Ministry is, therefore, urged to Immediately go for a series of public debates so as to associate informed public opinion with their decision-making at this crucial stage.

It is a shame that Bangladesh is one of the few countries which evinced such poor interest publicly in the outcome of the Uruguay Round of negotiations. So, public debates must still be held to elicit their opinions on a subject that touches their lives and give them the satisfaction of being Involved in a global process.