State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam, now in Bali, has said Bangladesh government strongly believes that democracy and development must go hand in hand for the betterment of people.
He, however, said the democratic process must emerge from within the society itself and cannot be imposed from outside.
“It shall be home-grown one,” Shahriar said participating in a general debate on the theme of the 7th Bali Democracy Forum ‘Evolving Regional Democratic Architecture: The Challenges of Political Development, Public Participation, and Socio-Economic Progress in the 21st Century’ held in a convention centre in Bali, Indonesia on Friday.
Shahriar, who led the Bangladesh delegation to the Forum, said it was Bangladesh’s aspiration for democracy that had fuelled its long political struggle for self-determination and independence, according to a message received from the Foreign Ministry on Saturday.
“It’s our strong faith in democracy that made our people reject successive autocratic regimes and restore a functioning parliamentary democracy through free, fair and impartial election,” he said.
The State Minister said the government worked hard to pave the way for a seamless transition from one elected government to the other by upholding the people’s right to vote.
He mentioned that the government shows ‘zero tolerance’ to terrorism, violent extremism, communalism and other vices that undermine in any way the democratic credentials.
The representatives of a total of 85 countries shared their experiences and challenges that they face in their respective countries in maintaining democratic practices.
While terming democracy as the best tool for ensuring good governance, human rights, rule of law and overall wellbeing of the people, they said democracy itself would not bring about any positive change if it is not institutionalised and nurtured in a regular and orderly fashion.
Bali Democracy Forum was initiated in 2008 by Indonesia with a view to promoting regional cooperation in the field of democracy and political development among the countries of Asia.
The Forum meets annually and is expected to contribute to the pursuit of the democratic ideals by building meaningful partnership among the developing democracies of Asia so that the countries can share their best democratic practices.
