Connect to flourish

Seeking to boost trade and investment throughout South Asia and Southeast Asia, the Chinese and Japanese governments have asked the government of Bangladesh to join two separate mega connectivity initiatives.

We think it would be in the government’s best interest to make swift decisions on these proposals, as the initiatives – Japan’s Bay of Bengal Industrial Growth Belt (BIG-B) and China’s One Belt, One Corridor – are likely to make a sizeable positive impact on the economy of our country. The projects would pave the way for increased bilateral trade between Bangladesh and either of the Southeast Asian nations.

Taking down barriers to trade between countries is the way to boost the economies of the participating nations in this globalised world, and as a country that has been experiencing a steadily growing GDP, it would be unwise of us to pass up any chance of establishing new trade connections with global economic powerhouses such as China and Japan.

While it is commendable that the government did not blindly agree to the proposals before either China or Japan had shared the concept documents for the initiatives, we urge the government to seriously scrutinise the proposals, and pursue the governments of these two counties to get clarifications on the precise gains the initiatives would contribute to Bangladesh’s economy. As we recently joined the BCIM economic corridor, Bangladesh should not wait too long to reap the trade benefits of membership.