Bangladesh could initiate and adhere to a form of ‘vaccine diplomacy’ which will ensure diversified sources of vaccines, said Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen.
Moreover, he demanded Covid vaccines be a public good with its technology shared and made available to all countries to produce at an affordable price.
Due to the sudden sweep over of Covid-19 cases in neighbouring countries, it is imperative that South Asian nations should receive their share of the vaccine and that too without any strings attached, he continued.
Momen said these while addressing a webinar titled ‘Revisiting Contemporary Peace and Security Challenges in the South Asian Region”.
Bangladesh of Institute of International Strategic Studies (BIISS) organised the discussion chaired by its Chairman Ambassador Fazlul Karim.
“Since the outbreak of the tiny but mighty enemy, the vulnerability of human society and system has been exposed. We have discovered with awe and disappointment, that global politics and affluence-power nexus have the overpowering dominance in the global society and we wonder if the way to procure vaccines would be smooth at all as the bilateral cooperation is not the only deciding factor” the foreign minister noted.
Stressing the need for viewing health emergencies as global security crises, the foreign minister said, “To obtain the full health, societal, and economic benefits of vaccines, programmes must be coordinated, inclusive, and equitable”.
“Stronger regional and international cooperation is necessary in the coming days for mitigating the impact of the pandemic and for the rebuilding phase”.
Regarding regional security issue, the minister also pointed at the Rohingya crisis and noted the long standing Rohingya crisis in Myanmar has continued to haunt not only Bangladesh but the South Asian region as a whole.
“We have seen how an act of mindless persecution in a particular territory could affect the security and stability of landscape of a region. Once an internal matter for Myanmar, has now destabilised the regional tranquillity of South and Southeast Asia and triggered a global outcry”.
He observed that the strategic location and untapped natural resources of the Rakhine state have made Myanmar a strategic partner of the major world and regional powers.
Those regions have started strengthening political and economic ties with Myanmar in the form of trade, investment, normalisation of diplomatic relations in the hope that this would lead towards democratisation of the country.
The foreign minister observed that in the backdrop of recent political turmoil in Myanmar, the international community must realise that Myanmar has a long history of persecution of its own people, especially the Rohingya community under the pretext of security operations.
“The culture of impunity has taken a deep root in Myanmar due to the country’s lack of willingness to bring the perpetrators to justice”.
“It would have been more encouraging to get the world community assertively vocal on severe restrictions of movement, health care, education, access to mobile and internet and livelihood opportunities in Rakhine – thereby fostering an environment conducive for voluntary repatriation,” he said.
“For the greater interest of this persecuted people and the stability of the region, the Rohingya crisis needs to be resolved in a durable manner with utmost priority.”
The minister also mentioned the issue of cyber threat stating that due to growing dependence on virtual resources and rapid technological developments, cyber security landscape poses a significant challenge across South Asia.
“Social affinity among the states of South Asia has opened avenues for similar cyber crimes in social level affecting individuals. On the other hand, cyber attacks on the commercial and legal entities are also very common in this part of the world”.
Dr Momen suggested greater regional and multilateral cooperation to ensure security in this region.
“In South Asia, multilateral cooperation can support the development of stronger transportation systems, better connectivity, collective action against climate change, which may become a security problem, plus best practices in the field of agriculture, and contributions to scientific development” he added.
BISS DG Major Emdadul Bari also spoke at the event.
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