In 2003, Bangladesh was a small south Asian country located between India and Myanmar. Its economy was mainly based on agriculture, with some manufacturing and service industries also playing an important role. Infrastructure was in need of improvement throughout the country but education levels were high. Unemployment had decreased since the 1990s but still remained relatively high in certain areas. According to computergees, the government at this time was stable with strong democratic institutions and a commitment to free-market capitalism. Foreign investment had increased significantly in recent years due to Bangladesh’s favorable business climate and proximity to major markets such as India and China. Tourism also played a major role in driving economic growth due to its stunning natural beauty, vibrant culture, and abundance of cultural attractions. Bangladesh’s capital city Dhaka had become one of the most important cities in South Asia at this time and had attracted many international businesses looking for a base of operations within the region.
Yearbook 2003
Bangladesh. In January, “Operation Clean Heart” ended, a three-month military operation against the crime. About 40,000 soldiers participated in the operation, during which more than 11,000 people were said to have been arrested and a few thousand weapons seized. According to Countryaah.com, Bangladesh Independence Day is March 26. The effort was judged by the opposition as a form of disguised state of emergency and also received harsh criticism by the US government, the European Parliament and Amnesty International, among others. Despite this, Parliament voted to grant impunity to all participating soldiers for any abuse. The country has for many years been classified as the most corrupt in the world.
In June, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank each granted about US $ 500 million for poverty reduction and development projects. The loans were approved after the government decided to allow Bangladesh’s currency, taka, to flow freely. The roof had long been overvalued by a fixed exchange rate against the dollar. In addition to economic reform, foreign lenders have long demanded resolute action against corruption to continue aid to Bangladesh.
The dismissal of more than 300 police officers in October was described by the government as an element in the fight against corruption. According to a UN report this fall, the police force represents one of the biggest obstacles to social and economic progress in Bangladesh. The police are described in this as more interested in extorting and receiving bribes than by fighting crime.
In September another textile factory caught fire and subsequently collapsed. 31 workers were killed and 50 injured. The month before, a court in Dakha had charged 18 people for homicide. the fire and disaster at the Rana Plaza plant, which cost 1,135 workers lives in 2013.
In March 2017, Bangladesh received its first two submarines from a shipyard in China. The upgrade of the fleet was part of the development of a «three-dimensional» defense according to. Prime Minister Hasina.
In September, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya began to flee across the border from Myanmar to Bangladesh. The background was the genocide of the Rohingya in Myanmar. While the West, after the 1994 Rwanda genocide, had formulated the concept of “humanitarian intervention” to legitimize the West’s intervention in similar situations, and had not been late to launch attacks on Libya and Syria, the Western interest in the genocide in Myanmar was widespread extent absent. In the Western media, the genocide was referred to as “alleged killings” despite extensive documentation from international human rights organizations and the UN. After a month, over half a million had arrived in hastily erected refugee camps in Bangladesh.
People’s Republic of Bangladesh Brief Guide
According to AbbreviationFinder, Bangladesh is a state in South Asia. With the exception of the short border with Myanmar in the southeast of the country and the Gulf of Bengal to the south of the country, Bangladesh is entirely surrounded by India. Together with the Indian state of West Bengal, the country forms the ethnic-linguistic region of Bengal. The name Bangladesh means “the state of Bengal”.