The Bangladesh Institute of Parliamentary Studies (BIPS), in accordance with its mandate to promote dialogue, discussions, debate, and interactions among various stakeholders of parliamentary democracy, began the journey as a forum. The Institute organised its first ever Round Table Discussion on the evening of 26^th November, a week after it hosted a seminar in which a group of Australian and Bangladeshi MPs participated.

The Round Table on "Parliamentary Diplomacy in International Relations" was presided over by the Hon. Speaker of Jatiya Sangshad, Mr. Humayun Rasheed Choudhury as Chief Guest of Honour. The United Nations Resident Co-ordinator in Bangladesh, Mr. Jorgen Lissner, was the Guest of Honour of the event. Mr. Rajmohan Gandhi, a former Member of the Indian Rajya Sabha, graced the occasion as keynote speaker who later responded to the comments and questions raised by the distinguished audience. About 60 participants, comprising Hon. MPs, parliament officials, representatives of the Diplomatic Corps and development agencies, academicians, leading NGO personalities, and people from the media, attended the programme.

Mr Lissner began his brief address by expressing profound satisfaction with the on-going activities of what he called "a newborn Institution" - the BIPS. The Resident Coordinator introduced Mr Gandhi before the audience terming him as an intellectual and an honest historian who is committed to create an environment for peaceful coexistence between communities. He observed the need for dialogue and interactions between Bangladeshi MPs and parliamentarians from abroad during the current transition when the country is taking painstaking effort to institutionalise democracy and representative governance. In this backdrop, the role of BIPS as a "focal point for the elected representatives of the people to broaden their knowledge about the science of democracy" is crucial - he added. Before requesting Hon. Speaker to take the floor, Mr Lissner reiterated the UN support to assisting the Bangladesh endeavours to create a transparent and accountable governance as well as a participatory society.

At the outset of his address, Hon. Speaker Mr Choudhury thanked all those who have contributed toward building the BIPS to create an intellectual space to foster debate and research on parliamentary affairs. He shared his delight seeing BIPS as a forum for parliamentarians to interface with civil society, academia and the citizens at large. In his speech, the Hon. Speaker highlighted the key activities BIPS has been undertaking since its inception. Mr Choudhury expressed appreciation felicitating the presence of Mr. Gandhi as keynote presenter of the day. He also spoke on the importance of the chosen topic Mr Gandhi would talk about. In his words, "a subject that has gained increasing importance in both the daily work of Parliaments and the agenda of the international community". Hon. Speaker recollected his interaction with Mr. Gandhi during Asian Parliamentarians Conference for Peace and Cooperation, held in Dhaka in September 1999, and hoped that his concept of "multi-track diplomacy" would help create conditions towards prevention and resolution of conflicts.

In his evening speech, Mr. Rajmohan Gandhi elaborated his thoughts, experiences and visions on a framework that he presented at the beginning of his note. In a fashionable and articulate analysis, the former Rajya Sabha Member spoke on four interrelated themes: (a) history of politics and nationhood, (b) process of dialogue, (c) collective responsibility of politicians and (d) individual responsibility of a parliamentarian. On his first topic, Mr Gandhi hypothesised that political goals of nations continued to change with the passage of time and thought that reconciliation within and between countries and good governance are the "calls of the age". He emphasised that problems such as mistrust, civil war, ethnic conflict, religious tension all can be addressed if an appropriate tool of reconciliation is adopted. He also highlighted on the varying norms in private business and public sector. On the second issue, Mr Gandhi made a distinction between debate and dialogue and showed his interest for more dialogue as a way to end misunderstanding and strengthen relationships between fighting states, institutions and individuals. In this regard, he referred to the contribution the Truth & Reconciliation Commission made in bringing peace in post-apartheid South Africa. Mr Gandhi's discussion on the third area concentrated on the distinction between statesman and leader. He perceived that leaders should take appropriate strategies to address the long-term developmental issues. Referring to the situation in South Asia, particularly the deteriorating relationship between Pakistan and India and also poor governance in most of the countries of the region, the former Parliamentarian suggested that institutional initiative to start dialogue among the South Asian countries would create enabling environment in reducing political tension. Finally, to talk about individual responsibility, Mr Gandhi preferred to see Parliamentarians to be attentive to the needs of the people they represent, one way they can do this is to have dialogue with them.