ABILITY, EXPERIENCE OF HASINA'S CABINET MIXED

C O N F I D E N T I A L DHAKA 000253 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/08/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV EIND EINV ECON KIPR BG SUBJECT: ABILITY, EXPERIENCE OF HASINA'S CABINET MIXED Classified By: Ambassador James Moriarty, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) Bangladesh's new Minister of Industries owes his appointment more to political expediency than professional credentials. Minister Dilip Barua told the Ambassador recently he was still learning about his portfolio, though he supported the ministry's long-term commitment to private enterprise. This is an interesting view from a stalwart member of Bangladesh's Communist Party, who gave up his candidacy for a seat in Parliament in exchange for a ministerial position. COMMUNIST LEADER HEADS MINISTRY OF INDUSTRIES -------------- ¶2. (C) Industries Minister Dilip Barua is one of a handful of ministers in Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's cabinet who are not members of Parliament. The Prime Minister gave Barua, General Secretary of the Bangladesh Communist Party, the industries portfolio after Barua stepped aside to allow an Awami League candidate to run for Parliament in Barua's constituency in the December 2008 elections. (Note: The Bangladesh Constitution allows for up to 10 percent of the Ministers in a Cabinet to be "technocrats" without seats in the Parliament). ¶3. (C) Minister Barua told the Ambassador in a recent courtesy call the Government of Bangladesh was keen to foster industrial development to spur economic growth. The GOB also wanted to diversify the country's economy, promote technological development, develop public-private partnerships and expand the number of middle-income Bangladeshis. The Ministry of Industries has responsibility for standards, patents and trademarks. Barua noted he was committed to the protection of intellectual property rights. COMMENT -------------- ¶4. (C) Minister Barua is one of the only non Awami League Cabinet ministers from the 14-party alliance led by the Awami League, and he freely admitted he still had a lot to learn about running a ministry. This is Barua's first appointment within government. The Industries Secretary, the senior GOB bureaucrat in the ministry, spent much of the meeting prompting his minister. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina likely chose Barua to represent the 14-party alliance in the Cabinet because he is less threatening to her authority than other, more senior, members of the alliance. While the Prime Minister has succeeded in introducing some new faces into the Cabinet, this strategy is risky if the Ministers prove incapable of running their ministries. The jury is still out on Minister Barua. MORIARTY