03-09-2021

FrIDAY, SEPTEMBEr 3, 2021
4
India must look to BIMSTEC to drive economic growth
Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam
e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com
Friday, September 3, 2021
Great success in
reducing hunger
Qu Dongyu, director-general (DG) of the Food and
Agriculture Organization of United Nations (FAO), has
highly appreciated the leadership of Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina in attaining food security for 165 million people of
Bangladesh despite being one of the top 10 most populous
countries in the world. He shared his deep appreciation during a
ceremony marking the presentation of Letter of Credence by Md
Shameem Ahsan, Bangladesh Ambassador to Italy, accrediting
him as the permanent representative to FAO held in Rome
recently.
"We can learn a lot from Bangladesh because their solutions are
very economic, easy to adapt," said the FAO director-general. He
recognized the great strides made by Bangladesh on attaining
food and nutrition security, food safety, improving the agro
environment, improving the lot of small holders, higher farm
productivity and income increase through various programmesprojects
and even during the challenging period of Covid-19,
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) expects that
Bangladesh will see bumper production of rice, wheat and corn
even during the crucial period of coronavirus. It made the
observation at a report titled "Global Agricultural Information
Network" published on April 19 ,2021.
Rice production for the 2020-21 marketing year is expected to
rise to 36.3 million tonnes in Bangladesh as further cultivation of
hybrid and high yield variety plantings increase, it says.But
sources at the agriculture ministry said this time rice production
would increase to 37.5 million tonnes.Md Nasiruzzaman,
secretary to the agriculture ministry, said, "Our rice production
will be at least 10 lakh tonnes more than the USDAprediction."
In 1971, the population of Bangladesh was 75 million people
whereas the present population is over 165 million. But food
production in the country has gone on matching the need of this
more than doubled population. Large scale and persistent hunger
like in the pre independence era is hardly noted in Bangladesh
today.
According to latest reports, Bangladesh has moved 13 notches
up to the 75th position in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2020,
surpassing its much bigger neighbours India and Pakistan .This
year, the country achieved a GHI score of 20.4 out of 100.
Bangladesh managed to lower its GHI score of 34.1 achieved in
2000, showing an improvement by over 40% in these 20 years.
Thus, it shows gradual but steady improvement in the overall
hunger and under-nutrition indicators since the beginning of this
millennium. Specially, the hunger reduction has accelerated in
the last ten years under the present government led by Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Commenting on the matter, Centre for Policy Dialogue's
Executive Director Dr Fahmida Khatun put more emphasis on
food availability, saying, "If we look at the official statistics of food
production in Bangladesh, it will show an increasing trend, but
the problem is with food availability."The availability of food must
be increased along with the food production, and we need to
ensure sufficient access to food for the marginalised people."
Dr Fahmida also mentioned the importance of a proper
distribution channel along with an uninterrupted and smooth
supply chain to ensure food accessibility."We have done well in
reducing hunger in the country, but we should not become
complacent. Instead, we should work more on how we can
introduce more measures to increase food availability among the
people," she said, adding that modern technology should be
utilised more and more for higher food production.
Summarising her opinion, Dr Fahmida said, "We should focus
broadly on three points to reduce hunger, firstly by increasing
agricultural productivity through technology; secondly by
ensuring an uninterrupted food distribution channel and supply
chain, and lastly through boosting the purchasing power by
generating more employment." It appears that the incumbent
government is well engaged with all three aspects involving
higher production with technology, improving access to food by
people specially poor people at prices they can afford and
boosting employment to increase income.
The GHI measures track the hunger level globally, regionally
and nationally in order to trigger actions for reducing hunger
across the globe. The score of countries is also based on four
components - Undernourishment, Child Wasting, Child Stunting
and Child Mortality.According to the index, Bangladesh has
shown the biggest improvement in curbing Child Stunting.
During the nine-year period from 2012 to 2020, the country
reduced child stunting by 12.8 percentage points.Moreover,
Bangladesh also sawimprovement in the undernourishment
component. Around 13% of the total population are experiencing
undernourishment or insufficient caloric intake. The value was
higher in 2012.
Contacted, Sarwar Mahmud, the Directorate General (DG) of
Food, said the country is unlikely to face any food crisis even if the
coronavirus situation prevails for a long timed due to adequate
stock of food grains, including rice, wheat, potato and other
essential commodities. "We're not worried about food security
since Bangladesh is not a food-deficit country. We got a bountiful
Boro production while we're expecting an impressive production
of Aus and Aman paddy as well," he added.
The DG said they have around 11lakh metric tonnes of rice and
3 lakh metric tonnes of wheat while rice traders, millers,
wholesalers and farmers have more food grains stock than the
government has. "Many people also hoarded food out of their fear
of food crisis. So, our food grains stock is adequate to meet the
country's demand for more than a year."
Agriculture Secretary Md Nasiruzzaman said coronavirus has
no impact on Bangladesh's agriculture sector and they do not
think the country's food security will be at stake if the corona
situation prolongs. "We've got a bumper production of Boro rice
crop. We'll also have a good production of Aus and Aman rice.
We produced almost all crops and vegetables this season much
more than what we did last year. So, we won't face any food crisis
India's GDP growth rate for the first
quarter of the financial year 2021-22
stood at 20.1% as reported by the
country's National Statistical Office
(NSO). This announcement came on the
heels of a contraction of 7.3% in the
previous financial year.
Though the quarterly numbers this time
might seem to suggest that India is back
on track, the numbers are not even
remotely close to the pre-pandemic levels
of growth. Academics and public finance
experts have warned that the recent
figures showcase only the comparison to
last fiscal year. Any complacency might
result in the continuation of stagnant
economic growth.
The Indian economy had seen sluggish
growth even before the pandemic itself.
Covid-19 has exacerbated the situation
and the floundering economy has not
been able to pick up growth as anticipated.
There is a need to reinvent the way the
economy is functioning to stimulate the
necessary growth. India's role as an
export-oriented economy has never been
bright. This is something the state can tap
into. The Bay of Bengal Initiative for
Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic
Cooperation (BIMSTEC) can help India
and the region rebound from the slump
and develop economic heft on the global
stage.
Multilateral forums in the Asian region
have seen hits and misses in terms of the
goals achieved. While the Shanghai
Cooperation Organization (SCO) has been
successful in terms of economic
engagement, the same cannot be said of
others.
India has been in search of a forum
where it can project itself as an enabler
and not just an outside member. The
deteriorating relations with China add to
NOW that the evacuations from
Afghanistan are complete and
foreign troops have departed from
the country, the real game begins. Up till
now everything was in a state of limbo since
the focus in the Western capitals was largely
on ensuring the safe removal of their people
and those who worked with them.
This is the critical question facing Pakistan
today: will the Western world turn its back
on Pakistan now like it did after the end of
the Afghan war in the 1980s? If so there are
very significant implications for Pakistan.
But if wiser counsel is to prevail, and despite
the sting of withdrawal, the Biden
administration opts to take a pragmatic road
forward and maintains an engagement with
Pakistan (and Afghanistan as well), then it
will be critical to find out what sort of
India's reluctance to play an active role in
multilateral forums with the Chinese.
The India-led South Asian Association
for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) has
shown no signs of progressing either in
terms of diplomatic or economic relations.
The everlasting hostility between India
and Pakistan has stymied the forum from
conducting any credible business.
India's role in other forums such as the
Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA)
and Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) has been dormant, with
very little progress made in recent times.
This leaves BIMSTEC.
BIMSTEC is one organization where
India can take on a leadership position
and is composed of members that India
shares positive diplomatic relations with.
It also is home to some of the fastestgrowing
economies in the world, namely
Bangladesh, Thailand, and Vietnam,
which are looking to improve their global
trade volume. This serves as a perfect
platform for India to take the initiative to
promote regional economic cooperation.
India opted out of the Regional
Comprehensive Economic Partnership
(RCEP) in November 2020 in order to
protect its domestic markets in the
ArJUn GArGEYAS
KHUrrAM HUSAIn
aftermath of the Covid-19 outbreak.
Domestic economists deemed it a lost
opportunity for India to assert itself in the
global supply chains. Its Quad
counterparts Japan and Australia still
look to bring India back to the table, but it
looks like a lost cause now.
Establishment of a free trade area (FTA)
within BIMSTEC could help India
improve its manufacturing output and set
itself on the path of becoming an
economic powerhouse. This could serve
as an alternative to RCEP, especially for
India.
There have been talks of emerging
economies displacing China in some of
the global supply chains after the
pandemic. This partnership could help
drive forward the vision of reducing
dependency on China for the supply of
critical materials.
While RCEP would have been a much
tougher deal to negotiate for India, an
agreement within BIMSTEC could be
tailored to its needs thanks to its economic
clout. This could serve as a double
blessing for India, leading a regional
economic trade bloc and protecting its
domestic interests at the same time.
Though India has signed separate
Waiting for Biden
engagement they will have in mind.
Much rides on this question, especially
given the timeline that lies before us. The
month of October is critical, for four
reasons. One, Pakistan will be seeking to
resume its programme with the IMF in that
month, specifically during the annual
meetings scheduled between the 11th and
17th of that month. Second, there is a $1
billion Eurobond maturing on Oct 13, and
the government is hoping to float another
bond around the same time so repayment of
this one does not drain the reserves. Third,
the FATF plenary meetings are scheduled
from Oct 17 to Oct 22, right after the IMF
annual meetings, and the watchdog is set to
decide whether or not to pull Pakistan out of
the grey list in this meeting. Recall the last
meetings in June attached a few more
ISHTIAQ AHMAD
conditions for the country to meet and put
the question off till the next meetings. And
fourth, and possibly most importantly,
October is the month in which Shaukat
Tarin's six-month appointment as finance
minister is set to end. He must either
become a member of the national assembly
to continue or step down.
All these events on the timeline are
interlinked. The IMF is of the mind that
Pakistan needs to start unwinding the
stimulus measures it announced last year as
part of its Covid response plan, measures
like lower interest rates, subsidised credit
for industry from the State Bank, an
amnesty scheme to pump black money into
construction and so on. But Imran Khan is
of the opposite mind. He wants to ramp up
growth even further and announce a vast
bilateral trade agreements with some of
the BIMSTEC members, a collective freetrade
agreement would in effect makes the
forum a new trading bloc with significant
leverage. This would allow cross-border
collaboration across multiple sectors
including energy, environment, and
defense.
When the Indo-Pacific region faces a
multitude of critical issues, such as
tackling climate change and protecting
strategic interests, a trade bloc could
ensure easier transfer of technology and
access to multiple markets.
It is also an open secret that India and
the European Union have been in talks for
a long time trying to finalize a trade
agreement. This deal has never
materialized despite long, drawn-out
negotiations. This could be rectified by
making a deal on behalf of the BIMSTEC
trading bloc.
The EU, as a whole, might agree to a
deal that gives it broader access in the
region. India, on the other hand, could
leverage its position in the bloc to obtain a
mutually beneficial deal for itself and the
region as a whole.
One of the founding principles of
BIMSTEC was the prospect of economic
partnerships. While diplomatic relations
among the BIMSTEC countries have
always been highly positive, engagement
in other domains is yet to see light. There
have been talks of closer economic ties
among the members but it has never
taken off in the form of a trade agreement.
Finalizing an FTA must be a priority in
the coming months for the states involved.
This could accelerate economic growth in
the region and help address key sectoral
issues.
Source : Asia times
Afghan debacle redefines limits of US empire
The US has suffered a major blow to its
credibility as a global power in the
wake of the humiliating withdrawal
from Afghanistan and the Taliban's swift
return to power. Recovery from the Afghan
debacle will take some time. Until then, it is
difficult to imagine the US resuming liberal
interventionism in any regional conflict in
the near future.
The chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan
has also led to a bitter public debate inside
the US. Amid the ensuing blame game,
either the Biden administration is singled
out for criticism or the buck is passed on to
the erstwhile Afghan allies, President Joe
Biden's predecessors or US military
commanders involved in the 20-year war in
the country.
Interestingly, much of the criticism
directed against Biden over the pullout is
being levelled by the predatory interests
linked to the US military-industrial
complex. Their current discourse over the
withdrawal, like the previous penchant for
intervention, reeks of an imperial impulse
that seeks US military hegemony under the
cloak of liberal democracy and human
rights.
While 9/11 provided immediate
justification for waging war against the
Taliban, the conflict's subsequent rationale
was built on the portrayal of the Taliban as
barbarians, especially in terms of their
treatment of women and religious and
ethnic minorities. The same discourse has
underpinned the arguments against US
withdrawal.
What is ignored amid the partisan politics
and blame game is the decades of imperial
hubris, wherein lies the underlying reason
for America's fall from grace. In fact, it is
quite unfortunate to see a great nation that
helped liberate the world from the curses of
fascism and communism in the previous
century face its most surreal moment of
There is a need to reinvent the way the economy is functioning
to stimulate the necessary growth. India's role as an exportoriented
economy has never been bright. This is something
the state can tap into. The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-
Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) can
help India and the region rebound from the slump and develop
economic heft on the global stage.
weakness today.
Compare this to the "unipolar moment"
of the 1990s, when there was no rival to US
power following the collapse of the Soviet
Union. Historians such as Niall Ferguson
described the American empire then as the
greatest in world history in terms of
military, political, economic and
technological capability. But it was an
empire that claimed the right to rule the
world while being in denial of the
responsibilities that accrued from this right.
This dichotomy has formed the basis of
American unilateralism throughout the
post-Cold War period, spurred initially by
Samuel Huntington's "Clash of
Civilizations" thesis, Francis Fukuyama's
"End of History" claim and the
proclamation by George Bush Sr. of a "new
world order." Subsequently, this imperial
quest was ideologically refined by
proponents of the Project for the New
American Century, the neoconservative
think tank that helped shape the muscular
foreign policy of George W. Bush after 9/11.
Since then, Pax Americana, or the US
pursuit of "benevolent global hegemony,"
has manifested itself in various conflicts,
including Iraq, Syria and Libya. However,
Afghanistan is where its unbridled practice
became most visible, with the US militaryindustrial
complex being in the driving seat
of an imperial venture.
This fact is established by the startling
revelations in the voluminous report of the
US Special Inspector General for
Afghanistan, titled "What We Need to
Learn: Lessons from 20 Years of
Afghanistan Reconstruction." The report
draws its conclusions from scores of
interviews with US military commanders,
Since then, Pax Americana, or the US pursuit of "benevolent
global hegemony," has manifested itself in various
conflicts, including Iraq, Syria and Libya. However,
Afghanistan is where its unbridled practice became most
visible, with the US military-industrial complex being in
the driving seat of an imperial venture.
defense contractors, Afghan officials and
other personnel involved in Afghan security
and reconstruction activities. Craig
Whitlock's recent book "The Afghanistan
Papers" also more or less relies on the same
oral history.
The revelations about the extent of US
deceit and lying during the war in both
works are simply mind-boggling: Top US
military and civilian leaders consistently
hoodwinked the American public into
believing that all was well in Afghanistan.
Privately, though, they all believed the war
was going haywire. None had any clue
about the military strategy or political
objective.
Moreover, of the almost $1 trillion spent
on the war, less than 2 percent was
devoted to Afghan security and
reconstruction. The rest was consumed by
the Pentagon and the CIA. The SIGAR
report lists numerous cases of fraud and
corruption by US defense and civilian
contractors, Afghan warlords and other
stakeholders, in which billions of dollars
were siphoned off with impunity.
The nexus between the US militaryindustrial
complex and former US
commanders who led the Afghan war, such
as Gen. David Petraeus and Gen. H.R.
McMaster, has been further exposed by US
publishers The Intercept and Responsible
Statecraft. The fact that the same
commanders now sit on the boards of major
US defense contractors in Afghanistan is
presented as evidence to show why they are
so critical of Biden's decision to withdraw.
The Afghan debacle has, in fact, already
redefined the limits of the American empire
by constraining its hegemonic ambition, at
least for the foreseeable future.
As the dust settles on the greatest military
misadventure in US history, further truths
will surely emerge about how the US in
Afghanistan ultimately reaped the
whirlwind of the neoconservative imperial
impulse. The course of this war is laced with
strategic blunders, which culminated in
Donald Trump's unilateral pact with the
Taliban, leaving the Afghan regime and its
army at the mercy of this militia. Blaming
Biden for the subsequent turn of events, or
using the Afghans as scapegoats for US
failure, is a rebuke to the thousands who
died in the war and the millions left
homeless.
Against this backdrop, Biden has done the
right thing in taking the US out of
Afghanistan. The Afghan debacle has, in
fact, already redefined the limits of the
American empire by constraining its
hegemonic ambition, at least for the
foreseeable future. The US still has all the
power attributes that make it exceptional in
world history. We can only hope that the
Afghan exit will lead to a sustainable US
global posture - one that abandons the
pursuit of global hegemony in favor of
viable collaboration with emerging global
powers, such as China and Russia.
Source: Arab news
social protection programme called
Kamyab Pakistan in addition, putting a
further burden on government
expenditures. Will the Western world turn
its back on Pakistan now like it did after the
end of the Afghan war in the 1980s?
This growth is leading to a rise in imports
and causing the trade deficit to swell,
sending the government on a borrowing
spree to shore up the external sector and
prevent a drain of foreign exchange. And
just a few days ago, the government's own
Economic Advisory Council advised it to
place a two-year moratorium on foreign
borrowing, seeing how rapidly this debt was
building up and the prevailing uncertainty
around the future direction of interest rates
in global markets.
Source: Dawn