Financial gain first, then transit
Speakers tell roundtable
Transit or transhipment should not be allowed to India without considering the financial interests of the country, speakers said at a roundtable here yesterday.
The government should take such a decision keeping in mind Bangladesh's political, geographical, environmental interests, among others, for people's benefit, they said.
The speakers noted that India is a big neighbour with big financial power, but some of its steps on significant issues like border killing, water sharing of common rivers are leading to a deterioration of relations between the two countries.
The roundtable titled "Transit, transhipment, port, and infrastructures" was organised by the Forum for Peoples' Voice (FPV) at Brac Centre in Chittagong city.
They said that due to absence of proper connectivity with Chittagong port, potential development of trade and commerce of the country is being hindered, resulting delays and increases in transport cost for industrial and agricultural commodities.
They put stress on rail routes as the mode of communication for removing the communication obstacles for potential development of the country.
Economist Prof Dr Moinul Islam, BIDS senior research fellow Dr Mohammad Yunus, and Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) Chief Engineer Sultan Mahmud presented papers at the roundtable chaired by FPV President Dr Manjurul Amin Chowdhury.
Former commerce minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, Dhaka University's Prof Dr MA Taslim, SCAP former director Dr M Rahamatullah, and UN and Socialist Party of Bangladesh general secretary Comrade Khalekuzaman also spoke.
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