Sunday Pouch | New dreams, new possibilities!

Last month, there was a new resolve to move towards changing the geo-political map of Asia, especially this part of South Asia and East Asia. This seismic development was little noticed elsewhere in the world. It did not even get much attention in the neighbourhood. During the last visit of Indian PM Manmohan Singh to China, a momentous decision had been taken by India to move ahead with China, Bangladesh and Myanmar under the Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar (BCIM) process and build an economic corridor that would start from his country, traverse through Bangladesh, cut through Myanmar and pierce into the underbelly of China in Yunnan province. In essence, this multi-billion dollar project would indeed 'link South Asia and East Asia for economic activity.'

The corridor is an idea that was developed when discussions about economic cooperation among the four countries were mooted for some time now under the BCIM dialogue process. These discussions were held since 1999 by academics and think tank representatives of these countries. It was always a non-official process, and some governments shied away when called upon to join the discussions. Therefore, when PM Manmohan agreed to raise the corridor issue in an official discussion with the Chinese leaders, the subject of the corridor itself became halal. So why did India suddenly change its stance? It was simply because trade with China was falling precariously and there is trade deficit between India and China. Therefore, India thought it better to promote trade using the idea of the economic corridor if, in future, the new trade route could generate trade in new products.

Bangladesh had always been a strong advocate of cooperation under the BCIM dialogue process. Senior government officials from Dhaka often joined the BCIM dialogues. But this renewed interest by India this year has encouraged all the other three countries. So the economic corridor has Bangladesh's firm interest.

When our Foreign Minister Dipu Moni recently went to China on an official visit she took the opportunity to talk about BCIM with the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Both the leaders immediately agreed to deepen economic cooperation by promoting the construction of the BCIM economic corridor.

Now what exactly is this corridor? Everyone knows that all the four countries, i.e. Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar, are geographically connected. So once this corridor is built it will facilitate the flow of goods between two of the world's largest economies, China and India. It will also provide greater economic resources to the growing markets of Bangladesh and Myanmar. Already, India and China have each established a study group on the economic corridor.

The corridor will cover 1.65 million square kilometers, encompassing 440 million people in China (Yunnan), Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Bihar and West Bengal in India. A combination of road, rail, water and air connections will be built up over time. This connectivity would help cross-border movement of people and goods. It would give greater market access and promote multilateral trade. The corridor would be a modern 'Silk Road.'  It would face minimum overland trade obstacles.

In February, 2012, officials of the four countries had quietly agreed to the initial plans to develop a 2,800 km highway leading from Yunnan (Kunming) to Kolkata (India) through Myanmar and Bangladesh. The proposed route would start from Kolkata, enter Bangladesh, travel to Sylhet and cross into north east India. It would then cut across to Myanmar and after travelling the breadth of that country enter China through Yunnan and hit its capital Kunming. In many areas this route already exists. But there are gaps in the road which need to be built anew or upgraded.

Last month, an eight member Chinese delegation visited Bangladesh and handed over a draft of the proposed framework of the economic corridor. The Chinese have already given a similar draft to India and Myanmar. It will be the subject of discussion in a meeting to be held in Beijing this December by representatives of all the four countries.

The economic corridor once built should attract extensive trade and investments. Bangladesh would benefit from its location right in the middle of the region. Since the BCIM region is considered to be one of the richest in the world in terms of natural, mineral and other resources, there would be enough scope to build manufacturing plants to use these resources. Besides, the region is home to numerous ethnic groups and some startling tourist attractions. These will all help to quickly foster services in this entire region. New jobs will be created and this backward region would be a source of great earnings for all the four countries.

It is too early to say when the economic corridor will be a reality. But given its economic prospects there is urgency in all the countries to see its completion. The big factor is where the financing to build this difficult road will come from. Since China is a country which has the experience to build such mega-projects and to develop mechanisms to pay back investment, we may indeed be in good hands. For Bangladesh, a completely new dimension to our economic growth would be opened up. The BCIM countries could be another conduit to our future prosperity.

The writer is a former ambassador and a commentator on contemporary issues.
E-mail: [email protected]

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