The Daily Star  published another facinating article on its front page of 15 December 2005. The article titled 'Bangladesh on Goldman Sachs 'Next Eleven' list' portrays Bangladesh as one of the rising stars in the global economy. Now truth be told, I really have very shallow idea about economic matters and I have heard the name of Goldman Sachs for the first time. Thanks to Internet and a fellow blogger Razib Rashedin and his blog Me,Myself and Bangladesh  I came accross this information. Please read on for the full report.

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World Potential Economy
Bangladesh on Goldman Sachs 'Next Eleven' list
Jasim Uddin Khan

Goldman Sachs, a US-based investment banking and securities firm, in a report on world's potential economies has placed Bangladesh on its "Next Eleven" list as a key member.

The report said, "Bangladesh, the world's tiny economy with most corrupt brand, will power the global economy something of the magnitude of the BRICs economies."

The "Next Eleven" is the second term the Goldman Sachs has coined to describe economies with high growth potential, such as the "BRICs" economies encompassing Brazil, Russia, India and China.

Comparing the 22 economies of the G7, BRICs and Next Eleven, the report said Bangladesh will grow faster than predicted earlier. The main reason for the change in projection is the faster growth seen in 2000-05.

The criteria for the Next Eleven list included macroeconomic stability, political maturity, openness of trade and investment policies and quality of education.

The other countries on the list are Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, South Korea, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Turkey and Vietnam.

In view of the present time that is largely regarded as an Asian Century, the new Goldman Sachs list has four other Asian nations--Iran, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines in addition to the two South Asian countries.

"Investors, always on the lookout for the next big trend, are scouring Asia as the region is home to booming economies, swelling populations and fast-developing markets," an economist said.

Mahmudur Rahman, Board of Investment (BoI) executive chairman, said inclusion of Bangladesh on the Goldman Sachs list of potential economies has proved that the country has great possibilities ahead.

"Major corporate houses including the Tata Group, Dhabi Group, Global Vulcan Energy are showing interest in Bangladesh's economy," he added.

Rahman said world business magnates such as Bill Gates and Ted Turner have visited Bangladesh amid soaring militant activities, which also testify the potentials of the country.

The International Herald Tribune published a facinating article on Bangladesh last May (2005). The article titled 'The Puzzle of Bangladesh' traces the recent developments occuring in the country. In some of the sectors like gender equity, birth rate etc the growth index is more promising than out next door neighbours. And rightly it has also mentioned the contribution of the armed forces in the national economy. So, next time anyone asks what the military is doing for the country ...... ask him to take a close look at my blog or the main refs. Enjoy reading ....

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The puzzle of Bangladesh
Philip Bowring International Herald Tribune         

SATURDAY, MAY 7, 2005

The Daily Star brought out an special supplement on its 15th year of publication. This supplement themed 'Celebrating Bangladesh: 15 th Anniversary Special'  lists out about20+  fields where Bangladesh has acheived prominence in the international community.  The focus was to identify the sectors where the country triumphed significantly and learn to appriciate our earnings. There is much to be proud of as a nation, much that is deserving of acclamation and accolade. Beyond the veneer of discord lies a resilient Bangladesh, capable of sublime riposte.  The indomitable spirit is shared by people from all social strata- visible testimony  the Bangladesh Cricket Team - proving David still can maul Goliath.

Tailing behind other paradigm sectors such as NGOs, Grameen Bank, BRAC the Armed Forces have made their mark due to its contribution to the UN Peace Keeping Operations accross the globe. Written by Lt Col Nazrul Islam, the Director of ISPR, the article traces the colossus growth of the Bangladeshi contribution to the UN PKO. From the debut contribution of 31 officers as part of UNIMOG, the Armed Forces now contributes the lion's share of troops  in PKO.  'Of total 60 peace missions mounted so far by the UN, Bangladesh has successfully participated in 30 missions in 23 different countries. So far over 49,000 personnel from Bangladesh Armed Forces have participated in these missions from Bosnia to Haiti to Georgia to Cambodia. Currently, UN is operating 16 peace missions with 70,103 peacekeepers from 107 member states. Of them, despite the smallness of its size and economy, Bangladesh alone has contributed 9,758 peacekeepers (more than 14 percent of the total), who are operating in 12 different UN missions in countries like Congo, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, among others, including leadership to UN mission in Sudan.' The writer takes embarks on a behind the scenes tour of the peacekeepers' arduous missions and courageous triumphs in the most dangerous hot-spots in the world. I am sure you will enjoy reading the article.

Blessed are the peace makers

This article was published in The Daily Star Weekend Magazine in 03 December 04 under the Chintito columns. Normally back home in Bangladesh I tried to be regular reading this column but truth be told laziness (and also lack of internet in the camps) got the best of me and I got irregular. This was published after the successfull (???) end of ground offensive in Iraq high lighting the foreign policy priorities of the some countries. Read on.. its a big article .. but I am sure you will enjoy it.

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Papa Don't Preach

Chintito

It is torturous not to be able to share some of the matter that transpires through the email box. Here's one I received some time back, author anonymous:

An American father explaining their foreign policy to his son:
Son : Daddy, why did we have to attack Iraq?
Dad : Because they had weapons of mass destruction, son.
Son : But the inspectors didn't find any weapons of mass destruction.
Dad : That's because the Iraqis were hiding them.
Son : And that's why we invaded Iraq?
Dad : Yep. Invasions always work better than inspections.
Son : But after we invaded them, we STILL didn't find any weapons of mass destruction, did we?
Dad : That's because the weapons are so well hidden. Don't worry, we'll find something, probably right before the 2004 election.
Son : Why did Iraq want all those weapons of mass destruction?
Dad : To use them in a war, silly.
Son : I'm confused. If they had all those weapons that they planned to use in a war, then why didn't they use any of those weapons when we went to war with them?
Dad : Well, obviously they didn't want anyone to know they had those weapons, so they chose to die by the thousands rather than defend themselves.
Son : That doesn't make sense Daddy. Why would they choose to die if they had all those big weapons to fight us back with?
Dad : It's a different culture. It's not supposed to make sense.
Son : I don't know about you, but I don't think they had any of those weapons our government said they did.
Dad : Well, you know, it doesn't matter whether or not they had those weapons. We had another good reason to invade them anyway.
Son : And what was that?
Dad : Even if Iraq didn't have weapons of mass destruction, Saddam Hussein was a cruel dictator, which is another good reason to invade another country.
Son : Why? What does a cruel dictator do that makes it OK to invade his country?
Dad : Well, for one thing, he tortured his own people.
Son : Kind of like what they do in China?
Dad : Don't go comparing China to Iraq. China is a good economic competitor, where millions of people work for slave wages in sweatshops to make U.S. corporations richer.
Son : So if a country lets its people be exploited for American corporate gain, it's a good country, even if that country tortures people?
Dad : Right.
Son : Why were people in Iraq being tortured?
Dad : For political crimes, mostly, like criticising the government. People who criticised the government in Iraq were sent to prison and tortured.
Son : Isn't that exactly what happens in China?
Dad : I told you, stop saying bad things about China. Anyway, Saddam Hussein came to power through a military coup, so he's not really a legitimate leader anyway.
Son : What's a military coup?
Dad : That's when a military general takes over the government of a country by force, instead of holding free elections like we do in the United States.
Son : Didn't the ruler of Pakistan come to power by a military coup?
Dad : You mean General Pervez Musharraf? Uh, yeah, he did, but Pakistan is our friend.
Son : Why is Pakistan our friend if their leader is illegitimate?
Dad : I never said Pervez Musharraf was illegitimate.
Son : Didn't you just say a military general who comes to power by forcibly overthrowing the legitimate government of a nation is an illegitimate leader?
Dad : Only Saddam Hussein. Pervez Musharraf is our friend, because he helped us invade Afghanistan.
Son : Why did we invade Afghanistan?
Dad : Because of what they did to us on September 11th.
Son : What did Afghanistan do to us on September 11th?
Dad : Well, on September 11th, nineteen men, fifteen of them Saudi Arabians, hijacked four airplanes and flew three of them into buildings, killing over 3,000 Americans.
Son : So how did Afghanistan figure into all that?
Dad : Afghanistan was where those bad men trained, under the oppressive rule of the Taliban.
Son : Aren't the Taliban those bad radical Islamics who chopped off people's heads and hands?
Dad : Yes, that's exactly who they were. Not only did they chop off people's heads and hands, but they oppressed women, too.
Son : Didn't the Bush administration give the Taliban 43 million dollars back in May of 2001?
Dad : Yes, but that money was a reward because they did such a good job fighting drugs.
Son : Fighting drugs?
Dad : Yes, the Taliban were very helpful in stopping people from growing Opium poppies.
Son : How did they do such a good job?
Dad : Simple. If people were caught growing opium poppies, the Taliban would have their hands and heads cut off.
Son : So, when the Taliban cut off people's heads and hands for growing flowers, that was OK, but not if they cut people's heads and hands off for other reasons?
Dad : Yes. It's OK with us if radical Islamic fundamentalists cut off people's hands for growing flowers, but it's cruel if they cut off people's hands for stealing bread.
Son : Don't they also cut off people's hands and heads in Saudi Arabia?
Dad : That's different. Afghanistan was ruled by a tyrannical patriarchy that oppressed women and forced them to wear burqas whenever they were in public, with death by stoning as the penalty for women who did not comply.
Son : Don't Saudi women have to wear burqas in public, too?
Dad : No, Saudi women merely wear a traditional Islamic body covering.
Son : What's the difference?
Dad : The traditional Islamic covering worn by Saudi women is a modest yet fashionable garment that covers all of a woman's body except for her eyes and fingers. The burqa, on the other hand, is an evil tool of patriarchal oppression that covers all of a woman's body except for her eyes and fingers.
Son : It sounds like the same thing with a different name.
Dad : Now, don't go comparing Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia. The Saudis are our friends.
Son : But I thought you said 15 of the 19 hijackers on September 11th were from Saudi Arabia.
Dad : Yes, but they trained in Afghanistan.
Son : Who trained them?
Dad : A very bad man named Osama bin Laden.
Son : Was he from Afghanistan?
Dad : Uh, no, he was from Saudi Arabia too. But he was a bad man, a very bad man.
Son : I seem to recall he was our friend once.
Dad : Only when we helped him and the Mujahadeen repel the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan back in the 1980s.
Son : Who are the Soviets? Was that the evil Communist empire Ronald Reagan talked about?
Dad : There are no more Soviets. The Soviet Union broke up in 1990 or thereabouts, and now they have elections and capitalism like us. We call them Russians now.
Son : So the Soviets? I mean, the Russians are now our friends?
Dad : Well, not really. You see, they were our friends for many years after they stopped being Soviets, but then they decided not to support our invasion of Iraq, so we're mad at them now. We're also mad at the French and the Germans because they didn't help us invade Iraq either.
Son : So the French and Germans are evil, too?
Dad : Not exactly evil, but just bad enough that we had to rename French Fries and French toast to Freedom Fries and Freedom Toast.
Son : Do we always rename foods whenever another country doesn't do what we want them to do?
Dad : No, we just do that to our friends. Our enemies, we invade.
Son : But wasn't Iraq one of our friends back in the 1980s?
Dad : Well, yeah, for a while.
Son : Was Saddam Hussein ruler of Iraq back then?
Dad : Yes, but at the time he was fighting against Iran, which made him our friend, temporarily.
Son : Why did that make him our friend?
Dad : Because at that time, Iran was our enemy.
Son : Isn't that when he gassed the Kurds?
Dad : Yeah, but since he was fighting against Iran at the time, we looked the other way, to show him we were his friend.
Son : So anyone who fights against one of our enemies automatically becomes our friend?
Dad : Most of the time, yes.
Son : And anyone who fights against one of our friends is automatically an enemy?
Dad : Sometimes that's true, too. However, if American corporations can profit by selling weapons to both sides at the same time, that's all the better.
Son : Why?
Dad : Because war is good for the economy, which means war is good for America. Also, since God is on America's side, anyone who opposes war is a Godless un-American Communist. Do you understand now why we attacked Iraq?
Son : I think so. We attacked them because God wanted us to, right?
Dad : Yes.
Son : But how did we know God wanted us to attack Iraq?
Dad : Well, you see, God personally speaks to George W. Bush and tells him what to do.
Son : So basically, what you're saying is that we attacked Iraq because George W. Bush hears voices in his head?
Dad : Yes! You finally understand how the world works. Now close your eyes, make yourself comfortable, and go to sleep. Good night!
Son : Good night, Dad!