BANGLADESH STAKES CLAIM AS VENUE FOR PRESIDENT

UNCLAS DHAKA 000126 SIPDIS DEPT FOR D, P, R, AND SCA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER KDEM OVIP BG SUBJECT: BANGLADESH STAKES CLAIM AS VENUE FOR PRESIDENT OBAMA'S ADDRESS TO MUSLIM WORLD SUMMARY ======== ¶1. (U) Bangladesh's newly-elected government has begun a low key campaign to convince the USG to choose it as the venue for President Obama's much anticipated speech to the Muslim World during the new Administration's first 100 days. Bangladesh bases its claim on a history of being a moderate Muslim-majority country of 150 million people that recently restored democracy and can serve as a bridge between the Western and Eastern halves of the Muslim world. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina conveyed her desire to host the President to visiting Asia Foundation Trustee and former A/S Karl Inderfurth February 2 and will likely repeat this when she meets SCA A/S Boucher February 7. We can expect other GOB officials and individuals, including Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus, to add their voices to this request. Bangladesh Seeks to Host President's Visit ========================================== ¶2. (U) In the days since the President's interview with Al Arabiya, the Government of Bangladesh and its supporters have begun a quiet campaign to portray Dhaka as the best venue for his proposed speech to the Muslim world. A moderate Muslim-majority country of 150 million people, Bangladesh sees itself as a bridge between South and Southeast Asia. Bangladesh's voters elected the secular Awami League and its Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to office on December 29, 2008 in elections seen as the most free, fair, credible, and peaceful in the country's history. Eager to partner with the U.S. in the war on terrorism and to deny space to extremists in Bangladesh and the region, Sheikh Hasina would dearly like to host a POTUS visit. Hasina regularly cites former President Clinton's visit to Bangladesh during her last term in office as one of her crowning achievements. ¶3. (U) The Prime Minister conveyed her request for consideration of Bangladesh as a venue for the proposed speech when she met with visiting Asia Foundation Trustee and former Assistant Secretary of State Karl Inderfurth February ¶2. We expect Hasina will also raise this issue when she meets with SCA A/S Boucher February 7. Hasina and her inner circle have drawn parallels between her party's landslide victory in December with President Obama's election in November 2008. Hasina told Inderfurth she saw both the U.S. and Bangladeshi electorates motivated by a shared desire for change and a rejection of extremist ideologies. Enlisting Allies ================ ¶4. (U) The GOB and its supporters realize there will be fierce competition among Muslim-majority countries to host the President. Hasina and her inner circle plan to enlist Bangladesh's Nobel Laureate and Grameen Bank founder Dr. Muhammad Yunus in making the case for the President's visit to Dhaka. They note the President's longstanding interest in microcredit and have focused on the priority the new U.S. administration is devoting to global issues, including climate change, that resonate in Bangladesh. Comment ======= ¶5. (U) Since her landslide victory in December, Sheikh Hasina has gone out of her way to emphasize the importance she attaches to building a strong relationship with the United States. A/S Boucher's February 7 - 8 visit provides us an opportunity to underscore the importance of the new GOB living up to its electoral promises. Bangladesh has a strong case to present as an ideal venue for the President's speech, and we endorse it. There would be no greater way to advance U.S. interests in this country of 150 million people struggling to build a democracy, improve the lives of its people and deny space to extremists. MORIARTY