EU in phase of future-proofing relations with Bangladesh

European Union (EU) Ambassador and Head of the Delegation to Bangladesh Charles Whiteley on Monday said that the EU is now in a phase of future-proofing their relations with Bangladesh, signalling a premium on conserving or preserving the relationship, by engaging widely.

“That means engaging on all fronts, including political issues, commercials, supporting the Rohingya crisis, collaboration on climate change, and migration, and working on all fronts with this government to mutual benefit,” he said while exchanging views during a visit to The Business Post and Dainik Amader Shomoy offices in Dhaka on Monday.

“This is a very important partnership. It's an indispensable relationship. And we are working on all fronts with this government [of Bangladesh] to our mutual benefit. Bangladesh is a very valued partner across many different policy areas, not just development,” he said.

He said they no longer call themselves just a development partner. Highlighting engagement in the areas of economy, climate change, migration and political issues, Whiteley said that the relationship between Bangladesh and the European Union will continue.

He said, “Paradoxically, I think the situation in Myanmar and the instability and the violence and the conflict are redrawing attention to the whole situation because the threat of regional instability, of course, draws the attention of big powers and people interested in the future of the region.”

“I hope that means renewed attention to the need to support Bangladesh in the Rohingya crisis.”

Amader Shomoy Editor Abul Momen, The Business Post’s Acting Editor and Advisory Editor of Amader Shomoy Dr Khondaker Showkat Hossain also spoke at the interactive session moderated by Mainul Alam, the executive editor of The Business Post and Amader Shomoy.

Sebastian Riger Brown, first secretary (political) of the EU delegation, was also present at the event. Ambassador Whiteley later visited different sections of the two dailies and exchanged views with all the journalists.

During the interaction, the envoy said, “I was just in Brussels in March at the European Humanitarian Forum, and there was a whole section devoted to the Rohingya crisis. We had Filippo Grandi there and a panel to discuss how we take things forward to try to be more supportive of Bangladesh.”

“I think the situation in Myanmar and the instability to the whole situation, because the threat of regional instability, of course, draws attention to big powers and is interested in the future of the region,” he said.

That means, he said, a renewed attention on the need to support Bangladesh. “And certainly we will keep our funding, as I say we expect to keep funding levels, and I hope we can because now it's been seven years or so, we need to find other sources of funding, not just crisis funding.”

“You need to find more funding from perhaps development. That's a lot harder. But it's good to see, you know, this potential large funding from the World Bank that's on its way, and that will help to alleviate the funding shortfall,” he added.

Regarding deepening Bangladesh-EU ties, Whiteley said that the development focus should also be on socio-economic, cultural and other things.

Mentioning Bangladesh as a young and dynamic economy, he expected more skilled human resources from Bangladesh to the EU for the short term.

He also said, “We want talented people from Bangladesh for our job market. The dynamic economy is an asset to our bilateral relations. We are not abandoning our partnership in terms of development.”

“We’ll keep our funding at the same level. Ideally, I'd like to see it increase because others are not keeping up with their commitments. But as you said, there are many competing crises around the world, and you see famine, starvation, and instability in many countries,” he said while responding to a question.