India looks to beef up connectivity with Bangladesh
The coronavirus pandemic has rattled the economies, nonetheless it has also brought some lessons: the world needs to cooperate and collaborate to develop resilient systems. Hence thinks Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Vikram Doraiswami.
"We are trying to increase our ability to shorten the global value chain. We've seen through the pandemic that the global value chain has been heavily stressed," he said within an exceptional interview with The Daily Star recently.
The envoy spoke how the two countries could boost trade and connectivity and take away the barriers.
"India and Bangladesh can be found next to each other. In such a situation, what I am thinking about is to look at some areas to get started on with where we can shorten the production chain and link up the two countries a lot more closely."
In line with the envoy, many people in India and Bangladesh will be dependent on agriculture, incorporating fisheries, poultry, food, food grain, vegatables and fruits, but they get hardly any value in trade terms from value-addition.
"The raw stuff goes off, gets packaged and tinned somewhere else, and both folks lose out. Both countries can work on a number of the issues."
"Due to this fact, production chains would be much better and simpler. It will be in an easier way, increase income and be section of the shorter value chain."
IT is another area where the two countries may cooperate. Lately, the Bimstec Startup Conclave happened where a large amount of young Bangladeshi corporations participated.
"This is a thing that is uniquely fitted to the two countries to cooperate as a result of cultural commonalities. Both countries can collaborate in the creation of OTT [over-the-top rated] contents and language-established AI [artificial intelligence]."
Bangladesh and India possess huge synergy in agriculture and IT which can be leveraged found in the post-pandemic phase, he said.
He backed strengthening connection and establishing more links concerning railway, truck, weather, cargo, inland water and coastal delivery connectivity.
"If a good container from Delhi needs 50 days to attain Bangladesh via the sea route, a whole lot of its benefit is dropped with the price tag on doing business found in India and the expense of the products in Bangladesh increasing."
"If we're able to enhance connectivity, it really is win-win."
Bangladesh, given its geography, is ideally suited to take the best good thing about its strategic location. "Bangladesh could reimagine itself as the 21st century Singapore on a much larger scale," he said.
A lot of connectivity jobs have been finalised, and India is looking forward to them to start.
"Trials have already been done. We happen to be keen to go forward because we assume that if they are done, we will be able to express on both sides that there is huge economic benefit for Bangladesh from such connectivity," Doraiswami said.
Citing an example, the envoy said, Bangladeshi trucks, port handling services and insurance firms will be used in the transfer of goods by Chattogram Slot to Tripura and above.
"Bangladesh will probably benefit by giving these offerings, while India gets faster motion of products and the price is low."
The envoy says he does not know why the connectivity projects are getting delayed.
"We see there are plenty of pushbacks, saying that India would like that… thus we have to not do it. I don't understand why which should happen."
"You should find whether it rewards you or not. You want to force through negotiations to receive all these moving."
"We think the easy fact is the power is shared. In the event that you look at it with an available eye, most of the products that will go through will benefit you."
Bangladesh has exceeded $1-billion mark in twelve-monthly exports to India, however the bilateral trade is heavily tilted towards India with about $6 billion value of goods coming from the country. Dhaka has raised the problems of non-tariff barriers and anti-dumping duty on jute items.
In response, Doraiswami stated the Indian side had nothing to avoid issues that Bangladesh raised.
"Some of it originates from inadequate understanding because we'd these dialogues at larger amounts -- ministerial and secretarial amounts. They don't really succeed in drilling right down to all the issues in details."
Now the problems are being mentioned at the experts' level and so are likely to be addressed.
"None of the issues have fundamental concerns. There are a few complexities about trade, including minimizing systemic restrictions on the activity of goods," the great commissioner said.
India has been offering a zero-tariff center to Bangladesh for several years. In many various other countries, there is normally generalised program of preferences (GSP), however, not necessarily zero tariff, he said.
In a zero-tariff ecosystem, if a country has a policy to make exports more competitive, it becomes a problem, he said.
"Due to our commonalities and historic ties, a lot of the things that you export happen to be also similar. So, we must come to be careful to ensure that whatever we carry out, we have to perform it in a fashion that also will not create market distortion or push back against trade."
He said if there is a product found in India providing Bangladesh something and the vice versa, that benefits buyers and reduces the costs, it is good.
"Thinking about pay more prices for something that comes in India at 50 percent the purchase price and similarly the additional way around? That is the basis of comparative benefits in trading, and we should do this. We simply need to possess these distinct conversations. We sometimes don't possess these clear conversations."
To the envoy, it is strange, considering the strong friendship, that the two countries possess seldom got the professionnals to drop to using the level.
He said he was focused on doing this on all issues of both countries and coming up with simple solutions in the next several months.
As Bangladesh is defined to graduate from the grouping of minimal developed countries in 2024, India and Bangladesh is in discusses signing a comprehensive monetary partnership arrangement for preserving Bangladesh's benefits in India and will address a number of other trade-related issues.
"India want to provide zero-tariff but under a unique regime," Doraiswami said.
On the Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal AUTOMOBILE Agreement, he stated the connectivity is quite logical. "Bangladesh would be one of the big beneficiaries of it."
He thinks the protocol for cargo and passenger transport should proceed. There are restrictions on the numbers of cars, which is manageable.
"We are extremely keen to go forward because we've lost almost a yr. We happen to be keen to move onward with the signing of both protocols on cargo and passenger movements. We are near the agreement. We must ensure that every person is more comfortable with it."
Bangladesh is seeking to join the India-Myanmar-Thailand Highway Job.
The road enters Myanmar from Manipur, which is on the other hand of Tripura and undergoes Barak Valley to Myanmar and to Thailand.
"If Bangladesh is keen, India can simply glimpse at how it really is doable."
"If connectivity develops between India and Bangladesh, particularly found in the Northeast, it could hook up Bangladesh up to the job."
"If we have connection, Bangladeshi trucks going right through Northeast and Indian trucks coming through, then that is straightaway doable. In that case we would not need to negotiate the street guidelines that apply. We simply need to perform our homework on the bilateral part of our protocol."
