Editorial
Enhancing regional cooperation
Bangladesh geographically ideally placed for it
Dhaka plays host to a two-day conference on February 23-24 that brings together some fifty analysts from Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar (BCIM) focusing primarily on trade, investment and finance, multimodal connectivity, energy and institutional arrangements. The conference hosted by a local think-tank believes that Bangladesh's unique geographical position could offer new possibilities and opportunities for regional cooperation.
The combined population of BCIM countries provides a market of nearly 2.8 billion people and a GDP worth $9.3 trillion. The Dhaka meet is the 11th of its kind and there is broad consensus in the BCIM region that there is scope for strengthening cooperation in trade, investment and finance; addressing multimodal connectivity and cross-border energy cooperation among forum member countries. Bangladesh which is situated at a strategic location is sorely lacking in a number of areas that include infrastructure and power.
The BCIM Forum countries that include the two regional economic superpowers China and India offers significant new opportunities for other nations like Bangladesh. Areas of interest may include the search for institutional support particularly in addressing financing for major infrastructure projects like building the largely stalled deep-sea port. The significance of a closely-knit forum formed on the principle of building a platform to promote and deepen regional and sub-regional cooperation among the four nations cannot be overstated. New opportunities have presented themselves with Myanmar being touted as “the next Asian tiger†led by a reformist-minded government opening up the economy through liberalisation and FDI regimes.
In the final analysis of things, should reforms continue in Myanmar, BCIM could provide the impetus needed for more extensive cooperation among member countries to reduce lead time, raise trade competitiveness, attract investment and create opportunities for development of economic corridors.
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