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.