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From
The Editor's Desk
The
second quarter of 2003 was indeed a very challenging period
for the CPD. This was a time when CPD organised a series of
high profile regional, national and international events.
As perhaps
many of the readers are aware, CPD undertook an initiative
to revisit the recommendations of 16 issue-specific Pre-Election
Task Forces constituted in 2001, and review the implementation
status of the recommendations. Consequently, these Task Forces
were reconvened and reconstituted into 17 Task Forces. Following
the eight regional dialogues where the draft reports of the
Task Forces were discussed, the recommendations of these newly
formed Task Forces were presented at a National Policy Review
Forum which was held during June 3 - 5, 2003. The Forum was
organised by the CPD in association with The Daily Star and
Prothom Alo, two leading dailies of the country.
Another
major event during this period was the International Civil
Society Forum: Advancing LDC Interests in the Fifth WTO Ministerial.
Held during May 29-30, 2003 the seminar was organised by CPD
in association with Consumers International, the EU-LDC Network,
Oxfam International, South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics
and Environment (SAWTEE) and Southern and Eastern African
Trade Information and Negotiations Institute (SEATINI). The
event was aimed at creating a platform for LDCs with an objective
to highlight their common interests as regards the Cancun
Ministerial Meeting of the WTO scheduled to be held during
September 10-14, 2003. The event concluded with the adoption
of a 14-point list of "Priorities for the Cancun Ministerial"
and a Declaration on issues of importance for the LDCs.
The two-day
workshop on Finalising the Study on Energy Cooperation in
South Asia, organised by CPD in collaboration with the Coalition
for Action on South Asian Cooperation (CASAC), provided an
opportunity to extensively discuss the country energy sector
study reports carried out for Bangladesh, India, Pakistan
and Nepal. An event of national importance during this period
was the presentation of the Budget for FY2003-04 which was
presented by the Finance Minister before the Jatiyo Sangshad
on June 12, 2003. CPD organised a Post Budget Press Briefing
to share its preliminary observations as regards the analysis
of the state of the economy and major proposals in the Budget.
CPD also organised a dialogue on State of Bangladesh Economy
and Budget Responses 2003 where CPD presented its analysis
of the state of the economy in the context of the Budget FY2003-04.
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Resolve
the Pending Issues
of Interest to the LDCs
CPD
hosts Pre-Cancun Global
Civil Society Meet
Commerce Minister Mr Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury,
MP speaks at the inauguration of the LDC Forum. Sitting from
left to right representatives from UNDP, EU-LDC, SAWTEE, CPD,
Consumers International and Oxfam International.
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"Resolve our outstanding issues and do not include
new issues", these words were strongly spelt out
by the Commerce Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury,
MP, while inau-gurating the "International Civil
Society Forum on Advancing LDC Interests in the Fifth
WTO Ministerial." The minister also reiterated
that he would urge the developed countries to ensure
more flexible access of labour from the LDCs to the
labour market of developed countries.
The
Civil Society Forum was organised by the Centre for
Policy Dialogue (CPD), in association with Consumers
International, the EU-LDC Network, Oxfam, South Asia
Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment (SAWTEE) and
Southern and Eastern
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African Trade Information and Negotiations Institute
(SEATINI) during May 29-30, 2003. It was held at the
Hotel Sheraton, Dhaka.
Welcoming
the participants of the Forum, the Executive Director
of CPD Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya noted that the global
trading system was inequitable and lacked an appreciation
of LDC concerns. He criticised the developed countries
for their discriminatory trade policies and called upon
the LDCs to come up with a concerted effort to advance
their justified interests in the context of the upcoming
Fifth WTO Ministerial Meeting at Cancun in September
2003.
Participants
at the meeting expressed their concern as
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