Let’s make Yunus’s Mandela moment count

So much has happened in such a short period in Bangladesh that it may not have dawned on everyone how important this moment is in a geopolitical context. Never before in the history of this nation have we been in the world spotlight like this. At the United Nations General Assembly, foreign leaders were virtually lining up to meet with Dr Yunus and he literally could not manage the time to accommodate everyone. There was a Nelson Mandela-esque aura about Dr Yunus, and everywhere he went, world leaders would stop to give him a hug. This is our moment. We need to seize the moment and make the most of it. Anything less would be the biggest missed opportunity in centuries.

When I came to college in the US in the early 80s, I was generally met with blank stares when I told people I was originally from Bangladesh. My absolute favourite was one fellow student who asked me in all seriousness, "Is that somewhere near Modesto?" Modesto, for those who may not be familiar, is a town about 90 miles east of Berkeley, California. In the many decades that have passed since then, Bangladesh has become a bit more familiar to people, but usually for all the wrong reasons. Sadly, whenever Bangladesh has been in the news, it has been for things like natural disasters, our abysmal placements in the corruption or human rights rankings, or issues like RMG factory safety and labour rights. Our geopolitical standing in the world was about as low as possible. Our past leaders would struggle to get any sort of audience with any of the major world leaders. Even two months ago, it was unthinkable that a Bangladeshi leader would be at the centre of attention at the largest gathering of world leaders, and yet here we are now.

Repairing a tarnished image is generally a very difficult, uphill task. Right now, though, we stand before a unique opportunity to turbocharge this task in the context of the Bangladesh brand. At the start of any rebranding, you need credible leadership and commitment. The world laid out the red carpet for Dr Yunus. Regardless of your political affiliation, and whether you support the current interim government, you have to recognise this reality and this momentary opportunity to reshape our image. Do this right and it will pave the way for the next elected administration to truly make a difference, regardless of the political party that comes to power.

With the world's eyes on Bangladesh and their confidence in the interim leadership, we can attract foreign investment, diversify our economy beyond the RMG sector, make infrastructure investments and create a sustainable platform for growing the economy. Dr Yunus clearly has the global standing to attract foreign investment, but we need the ecosystem to be able to put that investment to work. This will require some serious work on reforming the red tape around foreign investment and the capital markets. People may not agree with everything that is being proposed, but everyone owes it to the country to throw their weight behind the efforts so as not to miss this opportunity.

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Similarly, the plentiful global promises to assist in reforming and rebuilding will allow us to establish a much more balanced foreign policy as originally formulated by the very first Bangladesh administration, "Friendship to all, malice to none." Unfortunately, over time, the country has veered away from this guiding light and allowed itself to be dominated both politically and economically by a much larger power. The current attention from major economies can be utilised to discuss development projects both bilaterally and multilaterally with countries, without the threat of virtual veto by any one country. An independent and sovereign Bangladesh, which acts in its own interests for the benefit of its own people, is in the interest of each and every citizen.

As has been well publicised by now, the previous kleptocracy managed to smuggle billions of US dollars abroad, virtually emptying the banks in the process. Retrieving this money is a long and arduous process, but most importantly, impossible without the cooperation of the foreign governments with jurisdiction over the places where this money was laundered and invested. Coordinating with these governments, their institutions, their banks and capital markets, and convincing them to help track and then repatriate the money to Bangladesh requires masterful diplomacy. With a global icon at the helm, the task is much more likely to be successful. Bangladesh desperately needs the money and with Dr Yunus as our chief adviser, we may have our best shot at being able to convince many of the foreign countries to cooperate.

Globalisation has meant that no country can operate in a vacuum. Nations are increasingly dependent on one another. But it is also important to remain independent of hegemonic powers. The celebrity-level reception of Dr Yunus on the world stage, the entire aura about him, the embrace from world leaders and the outpouring of support are things we absolutely cannot afford to take lightly. The current interim government does not have long-term political aspirations, but while they steer the country towards elections, we must not miss this special moment. This is our 15 minutes in the spotlight. Let us please not waste it.

Dr Shakil Ahmed is a private investor and retired quant hedge fund manager.

Views expressed in this article are the author's own.

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