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Gas Find has Transformed UK-Bangladesh Relationship— Derek Fatchette

Interviewed by Mahfuz Anam
THE UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in Lon-t don ia aa elegant an office as can be Imagined Centuries
J. of tradition. now cleaned refurbished and redecorated. the FCO. as it is commonly called, is the envoy of moat of the other ministries. Located next to the 10 Downing Street (the official residence of the British Prime Mtntiter) the FCO bureaucrats are working overtime to implement the new ideas and directions that the Labour government returning to power Offer IS years. la spinning out constantly as It tries to revamp the British foreign policy in the era of globalisation and single
superpower.
It was to hear first hand about the new tntaatlue of the Blair government that I went to meet Derek Fatchette, the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs at his 2nd storey office.
The minister waa an extremely cordial man. putting me at ease from the word oo Just after Introductions he Jumped from hia chair and literally pulled me towards a corner of his room where he proudly displayed on hia wall aframed niddle work of famous Nakshi Kaniha of Bangladesh. This waa a gfftfrom ivy constituency members originally from Bangladesh. They are all my voters. They especially made this for me when I became a minister. So you see I am very familiar with Bengali culture and customs. Bangladeah is constantly tn my mind.'
As we came back to our seats, Mr Fatchette started to explain how fundamentally the new government wanted to change the existing nature of relationship between the rich and the poor countries. We talked about UK's policy towards Bangladesh and South Asia and about UK's vision of the world on the verge of the 21 st century. Following is a selected extract from the inter view taken two weeks back tn London
Dally Star (DI): To got straight to the point, will your government support increase of trade between Bangladesh and UK. and also between Bangladesh and the European Union (EU)?
Derek Fatchette (DF): Yes, within reasonable limits?
DS: What do you mean by reasonable limits?
DF: We understand that with greater trade Bangladesh’s economy will grow For that we are willing to help to the extent we can. However, our focus is to assist in economic development of your country which will make your country a more powerful trading partner. It Is our firm view that Bangladesh has under-performed like the rest of South Asia. This must change, and we will help in every way won.
The policy of the Labour government is to change our status from that of a donor tobctaga partner. From now on our aid will be people-centred. No more dependency, but partnership. You may have heard that we will soon publish a White Paper on our Md policy, which we
hope will transform our aid relations. Our aid will be more and more focused on democracy. human rights, good governance. and related issues. We will be more and more interested tn the poverty alleviation
To be very frank, the gas find in Bangladesh has transformed our relationship Now we are business partners. There la real potential In your gas reserve. If this resource is properly used, and if downstream activities are properly organised — meaning that if proper infrastructure for the support industry Is built — then there is real chance In making significant progress In your country Your new wealth must be used to create jobs, which will then create new wealth. Effective use of your resources will enable you to make significant strides in your economy. We tn the UK nope that you achieve that, and tne Labour government la willing to help Bangladesh in this process.
M: What are the major features of the newly elected Labour Government?
DF: One of the things that
distinguish our government from previous governments in UK Is the ethical dimension that we have introduced in for eign policy. We will lay far greater emphasis on democracy. human rights, representative government and on all related issues while dealing with other countries These wl" also be the main considerations for us in taking positions on International issues.
We have already taken lead in abolishing land mines. Agreement has been reached among a few of us to try to persuade the United States to Join our effort
We are also developing a new code of ethics for selling arms Aa one of the largest exporters of arms this will mean quite a restriction on our trade Even
then we are trying to persuade European Union to Join our effort. France, another major arms exporter, has shown interest in our proposal. If UK and France can jointly work out a code for selling arms, especially to the developing world, then the situation will improve a lot. The code will deal with such considerations as to whether or not the purchased arms will be used for Internal repression or external aggression. In other words, while selling arms we will probe into why a particular country Is buying arms. The security question of the buyer will be examined more seriously
D8: But how can that be ensured. After all you cannot control the use of arms by a sovereign country, once they
have been sold.
DF: You are right but only to an extent. We are addressing these questions. We will seriously look into whether or not a purchasing country really needs those arms. After all defence needs can very well be assessed from outside. It is really not that difficult a question aa it may appear.
D®: Will it not amount to interfering if you start saying how arms once purchased are to be used?
DF: Well that makes this question so very complex. How we can impose this code without appearing to be dictating is the challenge. On the other hand, without such a code, arms sales can continue to impact negatively the economic development of the poor countries, where a large amount of resources get diverted to defence.
D®: Will the Labour government take more interest in South Asia than before?
DF: Interest in South Asia dates from the previous government. We are very keen on overall development of the region. We think South Asia did not progress enough compared to South East Asia only because there has not been sufficient regional co-operation there compared to other regions of the world. Therefore it is the policy of the Labour government to do everything in its power to promote regional co-operation in your area. We strongly support SAARC and will back all efforts to promote greater co-operation between the countries of the region.
D®: What are your government's view on the newly proposed sub-regional co-operation Idea?
DF: That is for the countries concerned to decide. However, we support the sub-regional group idea since we think it is based on some common problems and prospects. Generally speaking, anything that promotes regional co-operation we will support.
We nave also heard about the
growth quadrangle concept which will include Burma Here our view is that any move to involve Burma is questionable. When the whole Western world is reducing its involvement with Burma. Bangladesh's increased involvement with it raises question as far as we are concerned.
DS: Is it correct to say that Western world is reducing involvement with Burma while Western investment is rising there. If 1 am not mistaken.
DF: Western governmental Involvement is very limited. We do not encourage working with Burma at all. Frankly, the Burma angle worries me.
D®: Generally the Western view of South Asia is India and Pakistan centred, with the rest of the smaller countries being mere adjunct to that central focus. That, we think, how the US views things. Is it also the view of your government or you will pay more attention to the smaller countries of the region?
DF: We do not view South Asia only from the perspectives of India-Pakistan situation. We have historical ties with all countries of the region especially Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. In the latter case we helped, only recently, to negotiate a code of conduct between the ruling and the opposition party. I have already visited India and Pakistan. Foreign Secretary Robin Cook has also visited Pakistan and India
D®: Doesn't these visits only confirm our impression?
DF: Not really. Minister for International Development Clare Short has Just been to your country. I hope to come in a few months.
Let me assure you. we have not been obsessed by India and Pakistan in our dealings with the subcontinent.
How can we do that. The Labour Party has a large con stltuency of voters originally from your country who will not permit us to forget Bangladesh.
D®: Thank you Mr. Minister, for your time.