Monday, Apr 21, 2003
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By Haroon Habib
At a dinner hosted by the Bangladesh President, Iajuddin Ahmed, she said, ``the recent events that have taken the world by surprise, have surely shaken our belief and faith in the ability of the international systems to prevent violence by one nation against another.'' Dhaka and Colombo adhered strongly to a world order where ``all nations big or small, powerful or not so powerful are recognised as sovereign and equal partners in the arena of international politics'', she said. ``We still believe that the effective use of those faculties with which, of all living beings, man alone is blessed with, namely our minds, hearts and our spirituality to negotiate solutions, however difficult, to end disagreements that may arise between organised and sovereign states should be explored to the maximum.'' Ms. Kumaratunga said both Bangladesh and Sri Lanka ``believed and contributed hugely'' to the international organisations such as the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement and regional organisations such as the Commonwealth, SAARC, BIMST-EC and Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) to attain the objectives of upholding the sovereignty of nations.``Now, we have to, once again, take courage and rise up again, to rebuild and strengthen the international systems and structure them to be more effective in order to ensure world peace, justice and fair play for all nations — rich or poor, big or small. This is a pre-requisite to all economic advancement.'' She suggested that the SAARC be taken forward to help solve the ``intra-regional'' conflicts for the common betterment of the South Asian nations. Earlier, Dr. Ahmed expressed the hope that Ms. Kumaratunga's visit would provide both the countries an opportunity to share views and explore new avenues to overcome the challenges. ``The excellent understanding and cooperation that we enjoy as close neighbours and members of the SAARC is a matter of great satisfaction to us,'' he said. He said Bangladesh was deeply committed to promoting peace and harmonising good neighbourly relations through constructive dialogue among the countries of the region. For over two decades, Bangladesh had been working steadfastly to deepen the SAARC process to which the Sri Lankan President had made an invaluable contribution. ``We shall work closely with you to realise the real potential of regional cooperation,'' he said. The Bangladeshi Foreign Minister, Morshed Khan, discussed with Ms. Kumaratunga wide-ranging bilateral issues of mutual interests and the ways and means of revitalising the SAARC. He told journalists that Ms. Kamaratunga had discussed SAARC issues with the Indian Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, when she met him in New Delhi last month and she would discuss the same with Pakistan's leaders during her visit to Islamabad next month. A release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Bangladesh expressed its support for the efforts towards attaining peace in Sri Lanka.
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