Our hopes in the New Year

Today is the first day of the New Year, 2016. The New Year is an occasion for celebration everywhere in the world in varying degrees. Bangladesh is no exception to this. People round the world celebrate it in a joyous mood hoping that they would continue to be blessed with joy, happiness and peace in the twelve months of the year ahead.
The same mood of festivity in greeting the New Year has gripped Bangladesh this time too. Nonetheless, thinkers and ones truly concerned about the progress and well-being of the country also take time out on such an occasion to ponder on the course of the country in the weeks and months ahead. From this perspective, it does not seem that Bangladeshis have so much cogent reasons to feel so inspired or overly optimistic about their state of being in the current year. However this is not to say either that we would be headed for a dismal future in 2016.
The best expert expectation is that Bangladesh would muddle its way through ‘politically’ in the new year. The challengers to the incumbent government could mount stiffer opposition to it even through high profile street battles with government loyalists and such confrontation could end in a stalemated condition without decisive results. But the economy could continue to make progress like in recent years despite the lack of desired congenial conditions. Thus, the year 2016 would be a testing time to see whether we can come near to even achieving what should be our main goal : the establishment of short, medium and longer time political stability that would be supportive of sustained economic growth.
In the external sphere, we would be required to engage with different countries, forces and organizations with greater care in the changed international context. This international scenario has changed profoundly in recent years. Traditional status of great powers and superpowers are in flux like at no other time since the end of World War II. Regional powers are aspiring for higher power status --not in words but in deeds -- while superpowers are seen on the wane. Long standing alliances are trying to cope with centrifugal than centripetal forces. Amid this volatility, our policy makers should take great precaution in finding new friends or discarding old and proven ones. Our diplomacy will face a challenging time in 2016 which must be faced with great skill and delicacy.

Our hopes in the New Year

Today is the first day of the New Year, 2016. The New Year is an occasion for celebration everywhere in the world in varying degrees. Bangladesh is no exception to this. People round the world celebrate it in a joyous mood hoping that they would continue to be blessed with joy, happiness and peace in the twelve months of the year ahead. The same mood of festivity in greeting the New Year has gripped Bangladesh this time too. Nonetheless, thinkers and ones truly concerned about the progress and well-being of the country also take time out on such an occasion to ponder on the course of the country in the weeks and months ahead. From this perspective, it does not seem that Bangladeshis have so much cogent reasons to feel so inspired or overly optimistic about their state of being in the current year. However this is not to say either that we would be headed for a dismal future in 2016. The best expert expectation is that Bangladesh would muddle its way through politically in the new year. The challengers to the incumbent government could mount stiffer opposition to it even through high profile street battles with government loyalists and such confrontation could end in a stalemated condition without decisive results. But the economy could continue to make progress like in recent years despite the lack of desired congenial conditions. Thus, the year 2016 would be a testing time to see whether we can come near to even achieving what should be our main goal : the establishment of short, medium and longer time political stability that would be supportive of sustained economic growth. In the external sphere, we would be required to engage with different countries, forces and organizations with greater care in the changed international context. This international scenario has changed profoundly in recent years. Traditional status of great powers and superpowers are in flux like at no other time since the end of World War II. Regional powers are aspiring for higher power status --not in words but in deeds -- while superpowers are seen on the wane. Long standing alliances are trying to cope with centrifugal than centripetal forces. Amid this volatility, our policy makers should take great precaution in finding new friends or discarding old and proven ones. Our diplomacy will face a challenging time in 2016 which must be faced with great skill and delicacy.