35 senior govt officials to travel to Pakistan for training
Under the development programme, 35 senior government officials from Bangladesh are going to Pakistan for training. Among them are five officials with the rank of Additional Secretary and 30 officials with the rank of Joint Secretary.
This 14-day training will be held at the National School of Public Policy in Lahore, Pakistan, starting from 9 November and ending on 22 November. A government order (GO) concerning the training of senior officials was issued by the Ministry of Public Administration last Wednesday.
Previously, in May, 12 senior officials from Bangladesh visited Pakistan for training for the first time. They received training at the Civil Services Academy (CSA) in Lahore, Pakistan, from 4 May to 21 May. Among the participants were one official with the rank of Additional Secretary and 11 with the rank of Joint Secretary.
In this second phase of advanced training, 35 officials are going to Lahore, including four officials from the Ministry of Public Administration, two each from the Cabinet Division and the Prime Minister's Office, and the rest from various ministries. They are scheduled to leave Dhaka on 8 November. After receiving a letter from the Ministry of Public Administration, the names of officials for training were selected by various ministries.
According to the government order issued by the Ministry of Public Administration, all expenses related to travel, accommodation, and training of the officials will be borne by the Pakistani government. There is no financial involvement of the Bangladesh government in this tour. Participants must submit a report within five working days of returning to the country at the end of the training.
Mustafa Zaman, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration, who is at the top of the list, told Prothom Alo that at the invitation of the Pakistani government, this 14-day training will teach how the country's administration and development activities are conducted. Additionally, training will be provided on good governance, human resource management, and government policy strategies.
Training programme in India halted: According to sources in the Ministry of Public Administration, for a long time, Mussoorie in India was one of the primary foreign training destinations for Bangladeshi government officials.
Mid-level officials from Bangladesh regularly attended training at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration located in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand. This training programme started during the Awami League government when a memorandum of understanding was signed with the Delhi-based National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) in 2014.
A second agreement was made between the two countries on 9 February 2019, and a third on 30 April 2024, in Dhaka. The last agreement was for one year, and there had been discussions about extending it until 2030.
According to sources from the Ministry of Public Administration, there was a diplomatic strain between Dhaka and Delhi after the fall of the Awami League government following the student-mass uprising on 5 August 2024. Since then, Bangladeshi government officials have not been sent to India for training. The training programme is suspended due to political change, diplomatic friction, the expiration of agreements, and visa complications. Instead, senior officials are now being sent to Pakistan for training.
Officials believe that training is required in both India and Pakistan. They opine that overseas training enhances bilateral cooperation, provides a platform for exchanging administrative experiences, and fosters leadership development. Maintaining a balance in relations with both countries is crucial, given the geopolitical realities of South Asia.
Relevant sources from the Ministry of Public Administration stated that the Pakistani government, at various times, invited Bangladesh for training through letters, but these invitations were not responded to during the Awami League government. The topic arose again when the then Home Secretary and now Cabinet Secretary Nasimul Gani visited Pakistan under the interim government.
When Pakistan proposed sending Bangladeshi officials for training, a positive response was given. After the BNP formed the government in the 13th national parliamentary elections, the Pakistani government formally sent an invitation through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh. It is essentially based on this invitation that officials are being sent to Pakistan.
An official from the Ministry of Public Administration told Prothom Alo that there has been no formal agreement between Bangladesh and Pakistan regarding the training yet. To establish an understanding and mutual acquaintance between the officials of both countries, officials are being sent for now, and an agreement will be reached subsequently. According to government sources, as part of the administrative capacity development programme, government officials are visiting Pakistan for this training.
Public administration analysts say that the initiative to send government officials for training to Pakistan also carries a diplomatic message amidst the political realities of South Asia. They suggest that government officials should be sent to multiple countries for training instead of relying on a single country.