00:00 Welcome to the State of the Union from Brussels.
00:04 The European Union's autumn summit held this week in the Belgian capital was attended by
00:09 a new prime minister that is well-known face of the centre-left.
00:14 Robert Fitsu is once again leading a government in Slovakia, but now on a much more populist
00:20 and Eurosceptic basis.
00:21 A neighbour of Ukraine, his country will no longer support European efforts to arm Kiev
00:28 in its defence against Russia.
00:31 This European summit was, so to speak, a war council.
00:34 As I said, Ukraine is always on the agenda, but obviously a large part of the debate centred
00:40 on the conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
00:44 A total siege is not in line with international law.
00:48 Many leaders address this topic of the siege, but there is one thing very clear.
00:54 There is a serious deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Gaza and that's why we think
01:00 that the EU should do everything which is possible in order to help resolve this question
01:05 of the humanitarian access.
01:08 Before joining the summit, some EU leaders also took part in the second day of the so-called
01:13 Global Gateway Forum.
01:15 This is the bloc's infrastructure partnership plan to rival China's Belt and Road Initiative
01:21 in areas like digital, climate and energy, and health and education.
01:27 The EU announced a series of new investment agreements with developing countries in Africa
01:32 and Asia.
01:33 The 300 billion euro plan, covering up to 2027, is also conceived as an instrument to
01:39 expand the bloc's geopolitical influence in the world.
01:44 The head of the European Commission presented the European Union as a better choice in development
01:49 cooperation.
01:50 The Global Gateway is about giving choices to countries, better choices, because for
01:58 many countries around the world, investment options are not only limited, but they all
02:07 come with a lot of small print and sometimes with a very high price.
02:13 Sometimes it is the environment that pays the price.
02:18 Sometimes it is workers who are stripped of their rights.
02:23 Sometimes foreign workers are brought in.
02:26 And sometimes national sovereignty is compromised.
02:31 One of the countries that signed the new partnership was Bangladesh, worth almost 400 million euros.
02:37 It is a country of 170 million inhabitants that, in 50 years of independence, went from
02:44 being one of the poorest in the world to being on the verge of obtaining the United Nations
02:49 classification as a middle-income nation.
02:53 Bangladesh has been a partner in the Chinese initiative for a few years and does not intend
02:57 to abandon it.
02:58 But there is still a lot to do.
03:01 And the Prime Minister told me in an interview on Wednesday that Europe's help is one of
03:06 many.
03:07 I think it is a big opportunity, because we just selected and we graduated from LDC to
03:16 a developing country.
03:19 That will help us to develop our country more.
03:23 And another thing I am telling you, that Bangladesh foreign policy is very clear.
03:29 Friendship to all, malice towards none.
03:33 And we take loan and then we repay the bill with interest.
03:38 So for our development, we try to avail every, you know, things which will be beneficial
03:48 for our country.
03:49 Do you expect that besides the investments, there will be also some capacity building,
03:56 transference of knowledge and skills to the labor force?
04:00 In all the projects we are implementing now, definitely our people are working there.
04:07 So it is one kind of training they have, they are getting.
04:13 And actually people are gaining.
04:16 They can get work and they can get the knowledge.
04:21 Bangladesh is one of the countries very much affected by climate change, natural disasters,
04:27 flooding.
04:28 What are the projects in that area that you would like to implement?
04:33 And do you think that Western powers have more responsibility in financing adaptation,
04:39 mitigation measures?
04:41 They should contribute.
04:44 Also for other small island country and other country those are affected, especially climate
04:52 vulnerable countries, they need support and assistance.
04:57 And I am always ready to share our experience and we are doing it.
05:02 Bangladesh holds more than one million refugees, Rohingya refugees from Myanmar.
05:09 What is your advice and your suggestions for a more, a better global management of refugees
05:18 and migrants?
05:19 Unfortunately, after COVID-19 pandemic and also the war and sanction, counter sanction,
05:28 the assistance we have been receiving to support them, it has been reducing.
05:35 But I requested U.S. President Ursula and also the disaster management and others that
05:42 you do something so that they can go back.
05:45 Because I know that living as a refugee is not very dignified.
05:52 I want to return to the topic of the war in the Middle East, but because of unprecedented
05:57 criticism of the so-called most important diplomat in the world.
06:02 The Israeli government demanded the resignation of the United Nations Secretary General, AntĂłnio
06:07 Guterres, a Portuguese politician serving his second term.
06:11 That issue are his comments about Israel's clear violations of law, emphasizing that
06:17 no state is above the law.
06:19 It is known that there was no love lost between Guterres and powerful leaders like former
06:25 U.S. President Donald Trump and current Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
06:30 But the United Nations Secretary General now faces criticism from a state with powerful
06:35 allies and political influence in the international community.
06:39 His initial response didn't draw back his words, but this may just be the first episode
06:45 in a case worthy of a thriller fiction series about international intrigue.
06:51 That's all from me.
06:52 Thanks for your attention.
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