Role of int’l NGOs at HK meet criticised

Role of int’l NGOs at HK meet criticised

Speakers at a discussion Thursday said that international NGOs refrained from playing positive role to secure Bangladesh’s interests as a least developed country at the World Trade Organisation ministerial conference in Hong Kong.
The observation came at a discussion on ‘Reflections, Critique and Assessment for Future Actions of WTO’. Most of the NGOs which had participated in the Hong Kong meet joined the discussion at Dhaka Reporters Unity auditorium.
They said only two international NGOs - the International Gender and Trade Network and the Focus on the South - had played positive role to protect interests of the LDCs, especially in WTO agreement. But other international NGOs had played a lenient role to ensure Bangladesh’s interest at the meeting.
They emphasised on taking aggressive steps in the forthcoming Geneva Meeting and the Washington Meeting where most of the fundamental decisions would be taken within six months.
Among others, Workers Party leader Haider Akbar Khan Rono, Rashed Al Mahamud Titumir of the Unnayan Annesha, Director of Karmojibi Nari Ziaul Haque Mukta, Director of Gono Shastha Kendro Maksud Al Islam, Ahmed Swapan Mahmud of Voice and MA Awal spoke at the discussion while Farhad Mazhar was the moderator of the discussion.
Farhad Mazhar said the country was not benefited from the multilateral agreement like WTO due to the lapses in the bilateral agreement, including TIFA with the developed country.
He said country’s food sovereignty would be dwindled after implementation of the agriculture agreement in WTO.
Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir said that Bangladesh had exported 382-402 kinds of commodity to the USA in the last five years.
‘According to the new rule for duty - free market access - 80-85 per cent of export items will be excluded from the facility,’ Titumir said.
Ziaul Haque Mukta said Brazil and India who led G-20 had betrayed with the interest of the LDCs before the final decision in the Hong Kong Ministerial meeting, although G-20, G-33 and LDCs formed G-110 in Hong Kong Ministerial to put pressure on the developed countries for gaining more interest of G-110.
According to the WTO rules, India and China would lose the low cost generic drug market from 2006, said Maksud Al Islam.
Bangladesh, as a member of the LDC, can gain their (India and China) market, he added.