UNB :
Head of Delegation of the European Union to Bangladesh Ambassador Rensje Teerink has said she wants to see Bangladesh more and more as an “important actor” not only in the Bay of Bengal but also as part of Indo Pacific Strategy due to its strategic position and looking at how they can work together as “like-minded partners” in broad areas.
“I think there’s a lot of (things) we can cover,” she said, highlighting the geopolitical aspect of cooperation mentioning that the EU is open to all countries which are wishing to cooperate with.
While delivering the keynote speech at a virtual dialogue titled “Bangladesh-European Union Relations: Prognosis for the Future” the Ambassador said they want to continue working with their like-minded partners in this “turbulent world.”
And, the Ambassador thinks, here Bangladesh will have an important role to play, and if there is “one thing” that she is going to take back to Brussels is to keep Bangladesh on the agenda.
Ambassador Teerink said she is aware that it is yet the case to do strategic partnership with Bangladesh but they at least need to keep it on the agenda.
Cosmos Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Cosmos Group, hosted the dialogue as part of its ongoing Ambassador’s Lecture Series.
The opening remarks were delivered by Cosmos Foundation Chairman Enayetullah Khan. The session was chaired by Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, renowned scholar-diplomat and former Advisor on Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh Caretaker Government.
Distinguished Fellow at Centre for Policy Dialogue Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, former BGMEA President and Chairperson of Mohammadi Group Dr Rubana Huq, founder Chairman of Policy Research Institute Dr Zaidi Sattar and Prof at International Relations Department of Dhaka University Imtiaz Ahmed and Honorary Advisor Emeritus, Cosmos Foundation Ambassador (Retd) Tariq A Karim comprised the panel of discussants.
The EU looks at the Bay of Bengal as an integral part of their Indo Pacific Strategy and builds on this political and geopolitical dynamics.
Ambassador Teerink, who will be heading a small division looking at regional cooperation with Asia, said the Indo-Pacific region is home to 60% of the world’s population producing 60% of global GDP, contributing two-thirds of the current global growth.
