Sheikh Hasina's Hanoi visit

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's recent visit to Vietnam can be observed from a couple of significant perspectives. In the first place, the trip was for the people of Bangladesh and Vietnam a reminder of the historic struggle the two nations once waged against foreign aggression, eventually emerging triumphant and shaping a new order for themselves. In the second, the prime ministerial trip assumed importance owing to the wide range of issues covered in the discussions by the delegations from both Hanoi and Dhaka. The agreements reached on some of the issues clearly underscore the new dimension given to bilateral relations between the two countries.
That Bangladesh, for its part, is now engaged in a diversification of its diplomacy comes through in the subjects covered by Sheikh Hasina and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. The emphasis on cooperation in such areas as security, defence and trade and investment is a pointer to the enhanced state of ties the two countries have now embarked upon. Hanoi's experience in providing military security as well as adequate national defence for itself will come in handy for Dhaka, which has on its own in these past few years been trying to resolve its security questions. Obviously, those questions have centred around militancy, with the present government firmly clamping down on it. From such a perspective, the countries can learn from each other.
In the nearly four decades since Vietnam became a unified country in 1975, its leadership has concentrated not only on a consolidation of internal politics but also on large-scale development of the economy, with clearly appreciable results. For Bangladesh, the years since liberation in 1971 have been difficult given the rude assaults made on democracy at various times. Even so, the progress made in the economic sector has been rather remarkable. And now that Dhaka and Hanoi have agreed to expand economic cooperation, things ought to brighten up with a good, fair balance of trade between the two nations. Bangladesh's gesture toward creating favourable trade opportunities for Vietnamese firms must be followed through without any procedural or bureaucratic delays coming in the way. Only that can reassure Vietnam investing more in Bangladesh.
The prime minister's visit to Hanoi reflects a need for Bangladesh to restructure, in that expansive manner, its links to the East. A more economically strategic approach to diplomacy is patently in order.