Oleh/By : DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue : SRI PERDANA, KUALA LUMPUR
Tarikh/Date : 11/10/94
Tajuk/Title : THE OFFICIAL DINNER IN HONOUR OF
H.E. BEGUM KHALEDA ZIA, PRIME
MINISTER OF BANGLADESH
It is indeed a great pleasure for me to welcome Your
Excellency and the distinguished members of your delegation
to Malaysia. I still recall fond memories of my visit to
your beautiful country last year, and above all the warm
hospitality of your people. Your presence together with
several of your Cabinet colleagues and members of the
private sector will further strengthen the bonds of
friendship between Malaysia and Bangladesh while providing
an opportunity to exchange views on issues of mutual
concern. I hope that your short stay here will be fruitful
and pleasant.
2. Malaysia and Bangladesh have always had close and
brotherly relations for we share many common aspirations and
a strong faith in Islam. There are many areas of cooperation
between our two countries such as the recruitment of human
resources from Bangladesh, cultural exchanges, aviation,
investment protection, trade and business development and
technical assistance. We are also happy to note that
Malaysia and Bangladesh share many similar views on current
regional and international issues.
3. The enhancement of trade and economic cooperation
among developing countries is a major priority with
Malaysia. The potential in this area with Bangladesh is
encouraging. Although trade between Malaysia and Bangladesh
may be small, accounting for only 0.8 percent of Malaysia's
total external trade, there is however a positive trend. In
1993, total bilateral trade amounted to RM194 million
which is an increase of 4.8 percent over the previous year.
Therefore, I am confident that the existing trade
imbalance will gradually improve towards Bangladesh's
favour given the present favourable trade and investment
climate in Bangladesh and the commitment of both our two
governments to encourage the private sectors to work towards
closer economic collaboration.
4. The comparative advantages which Bangladesh possess
combined with Malaysia's capital and technological know-how,
could provide the basis for new ventures that would mutually
benefit Malaysia and Bangladesh. In order to tap the full
potential of trade and economic opportunities in each
other's country, it is imperative that both governments
facilitate the mobilisation of resources of the private
sectors.
5. Malaysia's rapid economic development in recent years
is due to, among other things, its political stability,
consistency of policy and the various incentives it offers
to both domestic and foreign investors. Such has been the
success of this approach that we now have full employment.
We must now rely on foreign labour. In this context, I wish
to acknowledge the significant human resource contribution
by Bangladesh. As a matter of policy we will continue to
welcome the intake of manpower from Bangladesh.
6. Besides bilateral cooperation, the closer economic ties
between our two countries can be further strengthened
through the existing regional economic frameworks of the
South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and
ASEAN. Both organisations are committed to promoting
intra-regional trade, and cooperation between SAARC and
ASEAN will certainly complement efforts towards promoting
free trade among nations. Toward this end some form of
dialogue among ourselves is imperative to enable adoption of
a common approach.
7. Malaysia's commitment to South-South Cooperation,
amongst others, is evidenced in the Malaysian Technical
Cooperation Programme under which technical cooperation is
extended to developing countries in areas where we have the
experience and the expertise. Besides these technical
cooperation projects, we have also been able to offer some
scholarships and training awards to Bangladeshis. To date,
a total of 148 participants from Bangladesh have benefited
from study visits and attachment programmes covering a
multitude of disciplines.
8. Malaysia and Bangladesh have worked closely in support
of each other in the various international fora on many
issues of common concern. In the United Nations, the
Non-Aligned Movement, the Commonwealth, the Organisation of
Islamic Conference and other international organisations we
have shared common positions on issues ranging from
environment and development to Bosnia-Herzegovina.
9. Despite shortcomings of the United Nations, both
countries have contributed significantly towards
strengthening the role of the United Nations in maintaining
international peace and security, particularly in
peacekeeping operations. Malaysia is deeply disturbed by
the tragedy in Bosnia-Herzegovina where blatant Serbian
aggression has been allowed to continue with impunity. The
sending of troops from Malaysia and Bangladesh for United
Nations peacekeeping purposes demonstrates our readiness to
provide safety to the helpless and uphold the principles of
justice and human dignity in warring situations.
10. Malaysia's relative economic success is attained not by
any singular effort. We are grateful for the assistance
from the technologically more advanced countries as well as
the cooperation from developing countries among which we
regard Bangladesh as especially significant in respect of
labour support. Our traditionally close relations is a
strong foundation upon which future cooperative endeavours
between our two countries will be based. It is my fervent
hope that the existing brotherly relationship between
Malaysia and Bangladesh will be further strengthened
following Your Excellency's visit.
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