DHAKA: State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam attended the two-day long 7th Bali Democracy Forum in Bali of Indonesia that started on Friday.
External Publicity Wing of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a press release in this regard on Saturday.
He said, “The Government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina strongly believes that democracy and development must go hand in hand.”
He said it was Bangladesh’s aspiration for democracy that had fueled its long political struggle for self-determination and independence.
Shahriar Alam added that it is our strong faith in democracy that made our people reject successive autocratic regimes and restore a functioning parliamentary democracy through free, fair and impartial election.
The State Minister mentioned that the government shows ‘zero tolerance’ to terrorism, violent extremism, communalism and other vices that undermine in any way our democratic credentials.
The State Minister made this remarks while participating in a general debate on the theme of the 7th Bali Democracy Forum, ’’Evolving Regional Democratic Architecture: The Challenges of Political Development, Public Participation, and Socio-Economic Progress in the 21st Century’’ held on Saturday in Bali, says the press release.
The State Minister, while mentioning that democracy constitutes one of the fundamental principles of Bangladesh’s state policy, stressed that the democratic process must emerge from within the society itself and can not be imposed from outside. It shall be home-grown one, he asserted.
The representatives of a total number of 85 countries were sharing their experiences and challenges that they face in their respective countries in maintaining democratic practices.
The Bali Democracy Forum was initiated in 2008 by Indonesia with a view to promote regional cooperation in the field of democracy and political development among the countries of Asia.
The Forum meets annually and is expected to contribute to the pursuit of the democratic ideals by building meaningful partnership among the developing democracies of Asia so that the countries can share their best democratic practices.
The State Minister Shahriar Alam is currently leading Bangladesh delegation to the 7th Bali Democracy Forum.
He is expected to join in the first interactive session of the sub-theme of the Forum ‘Dynamics of Political Development and Socio-Economic Progress’ tomorrow as one of the two designated panelists.
He is also expected to pay a courtesy call on his Indonesian counterpart on the sideline of the conference to discuss important bilateral issues.
BDST: 1738 HRS, OCT 11, 2014
