Published in The Independent on Saturday, 19 July 2014.
Revival of ‘BCIM silk routes’ suggested
Jagaran Chakma
A senior researcher has proposed reviving the ancient silk corridors in Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar (BCIM) to boost trade and investment. “A revival of ancient southern and western silk routes for transporting freight down Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar (BCIM) will significantly reduce costs of goods movement, enhancing regional trade and boosting investment,” said the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) executive director Prof. Mustafizur Rahman. The ancient southern and south-western silk routes once brought prosperity to the people of this region; those routes could be revived and expanded in the new, current context, he explained. Such modern-day silk corridor(s) would not only enhance export opportunities, but also cut the costs of imports, which would help both consumers and producers, the BCIM researcher said in a policy paper.
He added, “Identification and implementation of a concrete BCIM corridor could enhance intra-regional trade, stimulate flow of investments, and deepen people-to-people connectivity.”
Prof. Rahman is carrying out a study on the Bangladesh part of BCIM, which will be presented at the second meeting of the joint study group (JSG) of the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor (BCIM-EC), scheduled to be held in Cox’s Bazar in the second half of next month. This was decided at a meeting held at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) last month.
The CPD and the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) are conducting feasibility studies for the Bangladesh part. The report is about to be finalised, according to sources in the PMO.
The BCIM expert also said such steps would lead to a considerable reduction in the lead time, which is becoming a core element of competitiveness in a rapidly changing world.
On the other hand, sources in the China embassy said the economic and trade cooperation between China and Bangladesh has progressed further, maintaining good momentum in recent years, and the proportion of the bilateral trade volume is increasing in the total trade volume between China and South Asian countries.
Chinese statistics reveal that the trade volume reached USD 8.45 billion in 2012, which is seven times higher compared to 2002. The growth rate of bilateral trade has achieved 36.6 per cent, with that of Bangladesh’s exports to China standing at 37.5 per cent, which is quite encouraging, the sources added.
On June 4, foreign minister AH Mahmood Ali told reporters that serious efforts are on to implement the BCIM-EC initiative, adding that the next meeting of its joint study group is expected to be held in Cox’s Bazar in September.
He said enhancing political and economic cooperation among Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar is essential to materialising the idea of regional cooperation in Asia.
The first meeting of the joint working group on the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) Economic Corridor was ‘successfully’ held onDecember 18 and 19 in Kunming, officially setting up the mechanism to promote cooperation among the four nations.
One of the most recent developments in the BCIM came to fruition during the meeting between Chinese premier Li Keqiang and Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh in 2013.
Li’s visit marked the first meeting between top officials, who discussed the trade corridor.
Furthermore, earlier in the year, the first ever BCIM car rally was held between Kolkata and Kunming via Dhaka, to highlight road connectivity in the four countries.
On December 18, 2013, the four nations drew up a long-discussed plan, emphasising the need to quickly improve physical connectivity in the region, over two days of talks in the south-western Chinese city of Kunming, the provincial capital of Yunnan.
This marked the formal endorsement of the BCIM-EC by the four nations, wherein it was agreed that the corridor will run from Kunming to Kolkata, linking Mandalay in Myanmar as well as Dhaka and Chittagong in Bangladesh.