The Central Bank of Bangladesh not interested in swap funds offered by India; Dipu Moni urges Kuwait to lift ban on manpower recruitment; Indian Law Minister Salman Khursheed visits Bangladesh; Bangladesh to purchase four Lockheed MC-130Es from the US; Ba
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    • According to reports, Bangladesh's balance of payments (BOP) is in stress, but the central bank of Bangladesh is not interested at the moment in "swap funds" offered by India due to relatively high interest rates. 1

    Reports noted that Foreign Minister Dipu Moni has urged Kuwait to lift its ban on manpower recruitment and recruit skilled manpower from Bangladesh. She made the request when a three-member Kuwaiti delegation, led by Director General for Asian countries of Kuwait Foreign Ministry Mohammad Ahmad Al-Mejren Al-Rumi, called on her on May 17, 2012 during their three-day visit to Bangladesh. In response, the Kuwaiti director general assured full cooperation and said Kuwait would encourage skilled manpower, especially in the technical fields including professionals like doctors, engineers and nurses. Dipu Moni also requested Kuwait to invest in infrastructure projects in Bangladesh and import products such as readymade garments, pharmaceuticals, jute items, leather, and others from the country. 2
    Meanwhile, Indian Law Minister Salman Khurshid went to Dhaka on May 24, 2012 on a four-day visit to join the joint celebrations by Bangladesh and India of the 113th birth anniversary of National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam and to mark the 90th anniversary of the publication of “Bidrohi”.3 Mr. Khurshid called on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her official Gono Bhaban residence on May 26, 2012. 4
    According to reports, in a bid to modernise the tactical transport aircraft fleet of the Air Force, Bangladesh will purchase four Lockheed MC-130Es from the United States at an estimated cost of $180 million. According to the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) sources, the proposed sale would cover the "regeneration, overhaul, modification and logistics support" of the second-hand Hercules. The package would also include 20 Rolls-Royce T56 engines to be provided as excess defence articles, plus training and other equipment and services associated with the upgrade. 5
    In another development, Bangladesh and Belarus signed two deals on May 24, 2012, one on cooperation over agriculture and food and another on formation of a foreign ministry-level joint commission, to strengthen bilateral cooperation in education, culture, agriculture, investment and trade. Foreign Minister Dipu Moni, in the first-ever visit by a Bangladeshi leader to Belarus, signed the Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) at the end of her three-day visit. 6

    According to reports, an amendment to the Indian Constitution is being drafted to enable the exchange of 111 Indian enclaves in Bangladesh and 51 Bangladeshi enclaves in the Indian territory, said Indian External Affairs Minister S M Krishna. “The government is committed to the earliest implementation of the Protocol and Land Boundary Agreement (between the two countries) that would result in exchange of enclaves,” he said in a letter to CPI leader Prabodh Panda. 7
    In other developments, according to reports, the US government, through USAID, announced an initial obligation of $9 million to support the Bangladesh Climate Change Resilience Fund. The announcement was made at the environment and forests ministry on May 24, 2012, said a US embassy press release. A total of $13 million US grant to the fund for four years was promised by US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton during her recent visit to Bangladesh. 8

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