National interest first before taking foreign help to fight terror: Foreign minister

The foreign minister has said that Bangladesh will consider ‘national interest’ and assess ‘the need’ before taking any foreign help in fighting terrorism in the wake of a July 1 attack on a Dhaka cafe.

AH Mahmood Ali categorically rejected at a press briefing on Wednesday any notion that the unprecedented attack that killed many foreign nationals had tainted Bangladesh’s image.

He said they had received overwhelming support from ‘friendly’ countries after the attack and all countries expressed their “solidarity” with Bangladesh.

“This (terrorism) is a global problem now. There is no scope of an image crisis for any particular country,” he said in reply to a question.

“Nobody said that we’ll not go to Bangladesh. Everyone expressed their solidarity with Bangladesh,” he said, adding that “even the injured Japanese, who is a JICA consultant, said he would come back to Bangladesh”.

“The families of the seven Japanese victims said they would come to see Bangladesh,” he said.

The minister was briefing media at the foreign ministry on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Mongolia visit to attend the 11th summit of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Ulaanbaatar.

The prime minister will leave on Thursday for the meeting, where she will meet her counterparts from Asian and European countries.

Leaders at the ASEM summit are expected to express their determination to counter terrorism in all forms and manifestations.

The prime minister will be attending her first global meeting after the terror attack in which 22 people, including nine Italian, seven Japanese, an Indian and a Bangladeshi American, were killed.

Both Japan and Italy are members of this 20-year old ASEM that discusses economic, political and security issues in a bid to strengthen partnership between the two regions.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, after the Dhaka terror attack, had telephonic talks on July 4 and they confirmed that counterterrorism measures would be taken up as an “important” topic at the summit.

They also said the July 15-16 ASEM summit would “issue a clear message of the international community that terrorism could never be tolerated.”

The foreign minister said Abe had invited the prime minister to co-chair a sidelines event on countering terrorism.

Ali said the prime minister would meet her counterparts from Russia, Japan, Netherlands, and Switzerland on the sidelines.

She will also have meetings with the German chancellor, Myanmar president, vice-president of India, Italian foreign minister and the president of the European Council.

After the July 1 attack, US Secretary of State John Kerry had also phoned the prime minister and sent the Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, Nisha Desai Biswal, to express Washington’s solidarity with Bangladesh.

Biswal, during her just concluded visit, offered the US expertise to build Bangladesh’s capabilities in countering terrorism.

The US embassy families in Bangladesh have been given option to leave Dhaka following the terror attack.

Replying to a question, the foreign minister said Washington had issued such notice in 33 other countries. “This is part of their legal obligation.”

He said the home ministry would take the decision on what type of support they would take from other countries in tackling the menace.

“But what I can say is we are firm to defeat this evil force,” he said, adding that the planned global forum for migration and development would be held in Dhaka this year as scheduled.

ASEM is an informal process of dialogue and cooperation bringing together 53 members, including the 28 EU member states, two other European countries, and the EU with 21 Asian countries and the ASEAN Secretariat.

It began its journey in 1996 with 26 members. Summits are held every two years, alternatively in Asia and Europe.

Europe is the biggest market for Bangladesh’s exports where all of its products enjoy duty-free market access.

This year’s summit marks 20 years of ASEM’s existence through the theme of ‘2O years of ASEM: Partnership for the future’.