ZIAur Rahman; Awami League (AL), Sheikh HASINA Wajed; Jatiyo
Party (JP), Hussain Mohammad ERSHAD; Jamaat-E-Islami (JI), Motiur
Rahman NIZAMI; Bangladesh Communist Party (BCP), Saifuddin Ahmed MANIK

International organization participation: AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP,
FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC,
IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO,
ITU, MINURSO, MONUA, NAM, OIC, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR,
UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNOMIL, UNPREDEP, UNU,
UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Khwaja Mohammad SHEHABUDDIN
chancery: 2201 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007
telephone: [1] (202) 342-8372 through 8376
consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador John C. HOLZMAN
embassy: Diplomatic Enclave, Madani Avenue, Baridhara, Dhaka 1212
mailing address: G.P.O. Box 323, Dhaka 1000
telephone: [880] (2) 884700 through 884722
FAX: [880] (2) 883-744

Flag description: green with a large red disk slightly to the hoist
side of center; the red sun of freedom represents the blood shed to
achieve independence; the green field symbolizes the lush countryside,
and secondarily, the traditional color of Islam

@Bangladesh:Economy

Economy-overview: Despite sustained domestic and international efforts
to improve economic and demographic prospects, Bangladesh remains one
of the world's poorest, most densely populated, and least developed
nations. Annual GDP growth has averaged over 4% in recent years from a
low base. Its economy is largely agricultural, with the cultivation of
rice the single most important activity in the economy. Major
impediments to growth include frequent cyclones and floods, the
inefficiency of state-owned enterprises, a rapidly growing labor force
that cannot be absorbed by agriculture, delays in exploiting energy
resources (natural gas), inadequate power supplies, and slow
implementation of economic reforms. Frequent strikes that crippled the
economy in 1995 and early 1996 subsided after Prime Minister Sheikh
HASINA Wajed's Awami League government assumed power in mid-1996,
allowing a return to normal economic activity. The current government
has made some headway improving the climate for foreign investors and
liberalizing the capital markets; for example, it has negotiated with
for