BRI needs India to be useful for Bangladesh

Bangladesh has a lot to gain from cooperation between China and India for the Belt Road Initiative (BRI), said two leading economists yesterday.

In 2016, Bangladesh joined China’s BRI initiative to advance global and regional connectivity. But the country is yet to take full advantage of the opportunities presented by the BRI as India is yet to join the process. 

“Both China and India as well as their neighbours have much to gain from making the BRI into a more inclusive enterprise,” said Rehman Sobhan, chairman of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), at a seminar on the BRI and new international economic order organised by the Workers’ Party of Bangladesh at National Press Club.

India has kept itself outside the BRI along with the US and Japan, he said, adding that no plausible explanation came from the Indian side so far.  He recommended the Chinese and Indian think-tanks to come together to assess the concerns of the Indian government that have kept India out of the BRI process.

China’s President Xi Jinping coined the BRI in 2013 in light of the ancient Silk Route to connect Asia with Africa and Europe via land and maritime networks through infrastructure and other connectivity related investments.

The BRI in its totality is much more than just a programme to use Chinese capital to construct infrastructure projects across the world.

“The BRI is indeed a global initiative to construct a new international order based on enhancing development and ending poverty across the South (developing countries) within the framework of a more equitable world order,” Sobhan said.

The scope of the BRI thus extends to agendas for comprehensive, deeper economic cooperation across the world.

“We are not just talking about road. The first is about economic connectivity,” he said, adding that work on identifying project priorities will remain important.

He proposed collaboration between Chinese think-tanks and their counterparts in other countries to explore the possibility of a more comprehensive programme for long-term cooperation with China. Sobhan mentioned the sub-regional grouping of Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar (BCIM) in this regard.

“Multinational groupings involve more complex political and strategic issues, which may also be examined in order to design a comprehensive regional agenda for cooperation. This is mutually beneficial to all partners,” Sobhan said in a written text circulated at the seminar.

The government should give importance to modernising and expanding its existing infrastructure facilities to support the growth of the economy, said Muinul Islam, former professor of economics at the University of Chittagong.

The geographical location of Bangladesh at the crossroads of South Asia and Southeast Asia gives it a natural advantage as a potential communication and transport hub of the whole region.

“Especially, the long maritime coastline of Bangladesh offers geographically unique opportunities for building up of a number of port facilities in Bangladesh to serve a vast economic hinterland extending from India to China including Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Thailand.”

Bangladesh became a part of the BCIM but it is not advancing as India is showing more interest in another sub-regional grouping, the Bangladesh Bhutan India and Nepal (BBIN) corridor. A huge geo-political game is on and Bangladesh has been in a delicate position.

“Bangladesh has a very delicate balancing act at hand in pursuing opportunities offered by the BRI.”

Islam went on to cite Bangladesh’s infrastructural bottlenecks and said the country should go with building a deep sea port at Sonadia Island with its own funds or with alternative sources of financing.

“A deep sea port has become urgent as the Chittagong port has become handicapped,” he said, adding that the country’s cost for international trade has become higher in its absence. The Payra port being built in the southern coast will not be able to serve the purpose as it will require continuous dredging to keep it navigable throughout the year.

Islam was also critical about the rising disparity in the economy and of crony capitalism.

Rashed Khan Menon, president of the Workers’ Party of Bangladesh; Enam Ahmed Chowdhury, former secretary and ambassador; and Islam, chaired the event.