By IANS
Dhaka : The current unrest in Myanmar has stalled some key deals between Yangon and Dhaka, including one meant to eliminate illicit cross border trade.
Bangladesh’s foreign ministry fears that prolonged turmoil in the neighbouring country could frustrate their efforts to court Yangon’s military regime, which has been busy suppressing public protests.
Dhaka was looking to sign at least two deals on border-management to tackle illicit cross-border trade and hoped to create a joint commission with Myanmar to gain access to East Asia, particularly China, officials told The Daily Star.
Among the stalled talks are those pertaining to return of the Rohingya refugees, the Muslim tribals from Myanmar who fled their country due to reported suppression by the Yangon authorities.
Bangladesh has received these refugees each time there was a problem in Myanmar.
Dhaka is also looking to build a road through Myanmar that would connect the country to the Asian Highway Network and provide access to China’s Kunmin city.
Dhaka’s relation with Yangon has been marked by a series of high-level visits and announcement of energy, trade and transport deals.
Three deals were expected to get the go ahead during the Sep 10 visit of Myanmar’s second highest military leader Deputy Senior General Maung Aye. The meeting was cancelled because of internal unrest in that country, foreign ministry officials said.
The latest efforts to boost relations include creating new bilateral mechanisms such as initiating a joint-border management agreement and annual talks between the two countries’ border forces – Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) and Nasaka.
Border management would be helpful, foreign ministry sources say, as massive revenue is lost on both sides due to illicit transactions across the porous border.
Border trade dominates the $60 million annual trade volume between the two neighbours.
Imtiaz Ahmed of the Department of International Relations, Dhaka University, says such a deal would “regularise” the huge illicit trade and boost the official trade volumes of Bangladesh and Myanmar, the newspaper said.
Dhaka has announced plans to jointly build a hydroelectric plant in Myanmar, lease land for farming, and sign an agreement with Yangon to avoid double taxation.
–Indo-Asian News Service
ved/rn/jg
11 IANS 52 1ved11
INT
Bangladesh-Diplomacy/Business (370 words)
Myanmar unrest stalls bilateral deals with Dhaka
From Indo-Asian News Service
Dhaka, Oct 11 (IANS) The current unrest in Myanmar has stalled some key deals between Yangon and Dhaka, including one meant to eliminate illicit cross border trade.
Bangladesh’s foreign ministry fears that prolonged turmoil in the neighbouring country could frustrate their efforts to court Yangon’s military regime, which has been busy suppressing public protests.
Dhaka was looking to sign at least two deals on border-management to tackle illicit cross-border trade and hoped to create a joint commission with Myanmar to gain access to East Asia, particularly China, officials told The Daily Star.
Among the stalled talks are those pertaining to return of the Rohingya refugees, the Muslim tribals from Myanmar who fled their country due to reported suppression by the Yangon authorities.
Bangladesh has received these refugees each time there was a problem in Myanmar.
Dhaka is also looking to build a road through Myanmar that would connect the country to the Asian Highway Network and provide access to China’s Kunmin city.
Dhaka’s relation with Yangon has been marked by a series of high-level visits and announcement of energy, trade and transport deals.
Three deals were expected to get the go ahead during the Sep 10 visit of Myanmar’s second highest military leader Deputy Senior General Maung Aye. The meeting was cancelled because of internal unrest in that country, foreign ministry officials said.
The latest efforts to boost relations include creating new bilateral mechanisms such as initiating a joint-border management agreement and annual talks between the two countries’ border forces – Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) and Nasaka.
Border management would be helpful, foreign ministry sources say, as massive revenue is lost on both sides due to illicit transactions across the porous border.
Border trade dominates the $60 million annual trade volume between the two neighbours.
Imtiaz Ahmed of the Department of International Relations, Dhaka University, says such a deal would “regularise” the huge illicit trade and boost the official trade volumes of Bangladesh and Myanmar, the newspaper said.
Dhaka has announced plans to jointly build a hydroelectric plant in Myanmar, lease land for farming, and sign an agreement with Yangon to avoid double taxation.