Published in New Age on Tuesday, 2 September 2014.
Maritime Silk Road
Dhaka requests Beijing to provide details
Shakhawat Hossain
Bangladesh has requested China to provide the details about its Maritime Silk Road initiative, foreign ministry official said Sunday.
They said that Bangladesh made the request after receiving invitation from China to join its new initiative.
Foreign ministry officials said that in a letter they wanted to know from Beijing last month about the initiative after Chinese president Xi Jinping sought prime Sheikh Hasina’s cooperation in this regard during her visit to China in July.
They said they were expecting the details about the new Chinese initiative soon.
They said China articulated the new concept last year and invited Southeast and South Asian nations to join the initiative for maritime cooperation.
Experts said China floated the concept to increase its economic ties with neigbours.
They said the government of Bangladesh should make its feasibility study to know what role it could play in the proposed Maritime Silk Road.
China also invited Bangladesh to join an Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank it wants to establish with Bangladesh, India and other Asian countries to finance big infrastructure projects for connectivity among Asian countries.
Bangladesh should avail of the opportunities after careful review, said Dhaka University international relations teacher Imtiaz Ahmed.
Dhaka withheld, in the last minute, awarding a billion dollar deal to Beijing for the construction of a deep sea port at Sonadia Island in the Bay of Bengal.
In 2013, China built Colombo International Container Terminal in Sri Lanka investing half a billion dollar.
China also built a deep seaport in the southern Lankan city of Hambantota in 2012 investing $450 million.
China’s maritime trade was over $690 billion in 2012, or 17.9 per cent of its foreign trade, according to Chinese commerce ministry.
China is keen to increase its trade on maritime routes.
China has been eyeing to create maritime access for its fast emerging provinces and Chittagong port could be an option, said Centre for Policy Dialogue executive director Mustafizur Rahman.
Bangladesh needs a clear policy to be able to seize the opportunities that come its way, said Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies director general Mustafa K Mujeri.
It needs to strengthen trade ties with the East Asian through sea routes, he said.