Counter-terrorism centre in Bangladesh planned:European Union (EU)
Outgoing ambassador of European Union (EU) Dr. Stefan Frowein on Tuesday said Dhaka was set to be the host of a regional counter-terrorism centre with European supports as India and Pakistan reached a consensus on the location of the proposed institute.(BSS)
"India and Pakistan have agreed that Bangladesh could be the host of the centre," he told newsmen after envoys of 9 European nations and the EU held a meeting with Foreign Minister Dr Dipu Moni at her office here.
Frowein said the center would be the focal point for exchange of expertise and ideas while it would be a hub for conferring training on combats against terrorism while counter terrorism experts from Europe recently visited Bangladesh to fix the modus operandi of the institute.
No comment from the foreign ministry was immediately available but the EU envoy's remarks came as Dhaka earlier suggested formation of a South Asian task force to fight militancy in line with ruling Awami League's election manifesto.
The idea, however, was believed to have a lukewarm response initially from the other regional stakeholders who tended to work closely on bilateral basis.
The EU envoy said energy issue was another major area to feature their talks with the foreign minister as the European entrepreneurs were eying Bangladesh as an ideal location for their investments in view of the South Asian country's energy shortage.
Frowein, however, said the European energy cooperation would be an arena for the private investors beyond the European Union despite their state-level supports for energy promotion in other forms through the international lending agencies.
The EU envoy said the European ambassadors conveyed the consorted decision of their respective countries to incorporate Bangladesh as a member of The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in line with an earlier request by Dhaka.
ASEM was established in 1996 to strengthen Asian-European relations, which had traditionally been weak, in contrast to strong Asian-North American and European-North American relations.
The ambassador said climate change was another issue of common concern of Bangladesh and EU and since Dhaka was expected to play a crucial role in the upcoming COP 16 in Cancun, the European Union was expected to put its weight for Bangladesh to uphold the cause.
Spanish Ambassador Arturo Perez Martinez, Italian Ambassador Dr. Itala Occhi, French Ambassador Charley Causeret, Netherlands Ambassador Alphons Hennekens, Charge d' Affaires of German Embassy Rolf Dieter Reinhard, Charge d' affaires of Danish Embassy Jan Moller- Hansen, Charge d' affaires of Swedish embassy Ylva Sorman-Nath, Deputy British High Commissioner Nick Low and Tirza Theunissen of the Netherlands Embassy joined the meeting also attended by senior Foreign Ministry officials.
"India and Pakistan have agreed that Bangladesh could be the host of the centre," he told newsmen after envoys of 9 European nations and the EU held a meeting with Foreign Minister Dr Dipu Moni at her office here.
Frowein said the center would be the focal point for exchange of expertise and ideas while it would be a hub for conferring training on combats against terrorism while counter terrorism experts from Europe recently visited Bangladesh to fix the modus operandi of the institute.
No comment from the foreign ministry was immediately available but the EU envoy's remarks came as Dhaka earlier suggested formation of a South Asian task force to fight militancy in line with ruling Awami League's election manifesto.
The idea, however, was believed to have a lukewarm response initially from the other regional stakeholders who tended to work closely on bilateral basis.
The EU envoy said energy issue was another major area to feature their talks with the foreign minister as the European entrepreneurs were eying Bangladesh as an ideal location for their investments in view of the South Asian country's energy shortage.
Frowein, however, said the European energy cooperation would be an arena for the private investors beyond the European Union despite their state-level supports for energy promotion in other forms through the international lending agencies.
The EU envoy said the European ambassadors conveyed the consorted decision of their respective countries to incorporate Bangladesh as a member of The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in line with an earlier request by Dhaka.
ASEM was established in 1996 to strengthen Asian-European relations, which had traditionally been weak, in contrast to strong Asian-North American and European-North American relations.
The ambassador said climate change was another issue of common concern of Bangladesh and EU and since Dhaka was expected to play a crucial role in the upcoming COP 16 in Cancun, the European Union was expected to put its weight for Bangladesh to uphold the cause.
Spanish Ambassador Arturo Perez Martinez, Italian Ambassador Dr. Itala Occhi, French Ambassador Charley Causeret, Netherlands Ambassador Alphons Hennekens, Charge d' Affaires of German Embassy Rolf Dieter Reinhard, Charge d' affaires of Danish Embassy Jan Moller- Hansen, Charge d' affaires of Swedish embassy Ylva Sorman-Nath, Deputy British High Commissioner Nick Low and Tirza Theunissen of the Netherlands Embassy joined the meeting also attended by senior Foreign Ministry officials.
http://nation.ittefaq.com/issues/2010/10/20/news0910.htm
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