Dec08

Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI) organised a two-day Bangladesh-India Dialogue on 6-7 December 2009 at the Lakeshore Hotel in Gulshan, Dhaka. Dr. Dipu Moni, MP, Hon’ble Minister of Foreign Affairs, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh graced the occasion as Chief Guest while Mr. Mohamed Mijarul Quayes, Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh attended the session as Special Guest. Chaired by BEI President Mr. Farooq Sobhan, the workshop was also addressed by MK Ambassador Rasgotra, president, Centre for International Affairs of Observer Research Foundation in India. The main purpose of this Dialogue was to explore the security perspectives of India and Bangladesh, with a special focus on terrorist threats faced by these neighboring countries. This dialogue facilitated the participants of both countries to engage in a meaningful discussion in order to reach consensus on contentious bilateral issues. Perceiving each other’s positions and points of argument, the participants strengthened their understanding. The dialogue was attended by security experts, academics, government functionaries and civil society members of both the countries. A range of issues – sharing information between government policymakers, capacity building of law enforcement agencies, identify policy gaps to modernize legislation, involvement of transnational and local factors regarding terrorist activities and the role of civil society were discussed in the dialogue.

Four papers were presented:

1. SECURITY PERSPECTIVES OF BANGLADESH: AN OVERVIEW by Mr. Humayun Kabir, Senior Research Director, BEI, Dhaka
2. SECURITY PERSPECTIVES OF INDIA: FOCUS ON TERRORISM by Major General (Retd) Afsir Karim, Expert on Strategic Affairs, Centre for International Affairs Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi, India
3. COUNTER TERRORISM STRATEGY OF BANGLADESH: NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL DIMENSIONS by Dr. Abdur Rob Khan, Associate Professor North South University, Dhaka
4. SUPPORT OF BANGLADESH TERRORIST ORGANISATIONS FROM EXTERNAL SOURCES by Maj Gen (Retd) Afsir Karim, Expert on Strategic Affairs, ORF, New Delhi, India