Former president Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam has asked India and Bangladesh to join hands to promote economic prosperity to reduce and eventually end the menace of terrorism, and called upon business enterprises of the two nations to collaborate in the use of jute.
He said such joint initiatives can eliminate the use of plastic products from the world and benefit their respective economies.
Addressing the 110th founding anniversary celebration of the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry at Dhaka, Dr Kalam said India and Bangladesh can work together to protect the environment as well as create employment. He also pitched for a free flow of knowledge and skills between the two countries in the jute industry.
He also maintained that if there is economic prosperity, it would help reduce terrorism at both the national and international levels.
"You bring economic prosperity to the affected people or to alienated people. So, that prosperity comes in, terrorism slowly declines," said Kalam.
"If you plot a curve [that] terrorism [is] increasing, you penetrate the area where they live. With economic progress, initially a number of setbacks will be there, but finally economic growth and prosperity will lead to a winning point," the Daily Star quoted him, as saying.
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Kalam was responding to a question of a participant at the programme.
Earlier, he delivered his keynote speech on 'Sustainable Development System for a Peaceful and Prosperous Global Society' at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC).
The MCCI organised the programme to celebrate its 110th founding anniversary.
Kalam, who served as India's 11th president from 2002 to 2007, said terrorism is increasing and comes in different forms, and therefore, it was imperative for every nation to carry out some sort of study to know why certain sections of society tend to go against the system.
While sharing his World Vision 2030 to ensure sustainable development, the former president also presented ideas on providing urban amenities in rural areas of SAARC nations to empower impoverished people and aspired to see creative leadership for people's empowerment.
The scientist, recognising the current global challenges and manifestations, said he visualised a world that is prosperous, healthy, secure, devoid of terrorism, peaceful and happy, and continues with a sustainable growth path.
Discussing his visions for the world in ten points, he said he dreams of a world of nations, where the division between rural and urban, rich and poor, developed and developing countries has narrowed; a world where there is an equitable distribution and adequate access to energy and safe drinking water.
"The global vision 2030 envisages the realisation of green clean environment without pollution, having prosperity without poverty, peace without fear, and happy place to live for all citizens of the nations of the world," said Kalam.
He expected that the world would be able to identify core competency of each nation by 2030 and take missions for coordinating the core competencies of different nations, which will lead to economic advantage and faster development for all societies.
Kalam also envisaged a world where students of all societies are imparted education with value system, affordable quality healthcare is available to all, governance is responsive, transparent and corruption free, and where crimes against women and children are absent and none feels alienated.
He said he dreamt of a world where every nation is able to give clean green environment to all its citizens.
The former Indian president said the world faces challenges of poverty, illiteracy, safe drinking water, clean and green energy, equitable distribution of resources, quality education, societal imbalances, quality healthcare for all and good living conditions.
"Individual nations are working to find a solution to these challenges. However, we are clearly witnessing that challenges faced by nations are not of their making," he said.
"There are many international dimensions for the cause and solutions. Hence, working for solutions is a collective responsibility of global community," he said. "When nations start working on the common enemies of illiteracy, poor health etc., their tendency to focus on national, regional and global peace with better mutual trust is enabled."
The noted scientist said the world is integrally connected through environment, people, economy and ideas.
"Global warming is no longer a problem of individual nations. Economic turbulence originating in one part of the globe shook the whole world."
He said advances in transportation have progressively made movement of people across the nations and regions easier. Ideas are no longer geographically confined.
"Local or regional issues will invariably gain global prominence and unaddressed problems, including poverty, can mutate rapidly into global terrorism which we are already witnessing," said Kalam.
At a regional level, he pointed to the potential of SAARC, and said nations under the trading bloc account for one out of four persons on the planet and enjoy a high concentration of world's youth.
The region, while representing emerging economies, has the challenges of overcoming poverty and social disparities which are higher than other regions in the world, he said.
"Thus with such human resource and opportunities, how can we empower the people of SAARC region with economic prosperity and security, peace and harmony? This will be the most vital question to address in our quest towards a World Vision 2030."
"We will need systems of sustainable development for the international rural community which today account for about half of the world population," he said, adding that the world needs to empower three billion people, and out of them, more than half are in the SAARC region.