Japan for better connection between Cox’s Bazar and Rakhine
Japan wants to improve the connection between Cox's Bazar of Bangladesh and Rakhine State of Myanmar as a way to promote regional economic production, according to Ito Naoki, Japan's ambassador to Bangladesh.
"Once realised, the increased connection will improve the lives of folks on both sides of the border," he explained yesterday.
Naoki was speaking on the beginning day of a two-day debate styled, "The Bay of Bengal as connectivity hub in Indo-Pacific area".
The function was organised by the Centre for Bay of Bengal Research of Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB).
Referring to regional connectivity, japan ambassador lauded the inauguration of Friendship Bridge more than Feni River, which links Sabroom in India with Ramgarh in Bangladesh.
"This is a substantial achievement towards enhanced connectivity found in South Asia since it will boost efficiency when linked to the Cross-Border Street Network Improvement Project appearing applied by the Japan International Cooperation Company (JICA)," Naoki said.
"It will indeed be a trilateral job including Japan," he added.
Japan believes that the expansion of Bangladesh is significant not only to Bangladesh itself, but also to the entire stability and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific place and beyond.
Japan has been growing Bangladesh's first deep-sea interface in Matarbari. The job aims to make Matarbari a free of charge and open regional hub.
Once completed, Matarbari will hook up Bangladesh not merely to South Asia as a whole, but as well to South East Asia and possibly East Asia, including Japan.
With an try to supercharge regional connectivity, Japan has been developing numerous mega infrastructure jobs in Bangladesh, including the Dhaka Metro Rail and expansion of Hazrat Shahjalal AIRPORT TERMINAL.
These assignments are being applied by JICA under the "Bay of Bengal Industrial Growth Belt (Big-B)" initiative.
Beneath the Big-B, Japan has a leading role in promoting "the Moheshkhali-Matarbari Integrated Infrastructure Development Initiative (MIDI)" in Southern Chattogram.
As per the MIDI, deep-sea interface and power station assignments in Matarbari have already been vigorously promoted.
Bangladesh's location is essential in geopolitical terms as it is an intersection between South Asia and Southeast Asia.
Naoki also touched after the problems of Rohingya refugees since it is a basic and acute concern of the region.
Lasting answers to these issues will be significant not only for Bangladesh, but also for the balance of the entire area, and thereby conducive to the quest for a free and available Indo Pacific, he explained.
Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen and different diplomats, academicians, students and researchers about regional connectivity participated in the event, moderated by Tariq Karim, director of the Centre for Bay of Bengal Analyses at IUB.
Vikram K Doraiswami, high commissioner of India to Bangladesh, said the countries of this region could work together to enhance regional and sub-regional connectivity found in the Bay of Bengal location.
For instance, the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Complex and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) can be an organisation under which countries with maritime conveniences and their landlocked counterparts support each other to improve regional connectivity.
Like Japanese Ambassador Naoki, Doraiswami also praised the construction of Friendship Bridge, which stretches about 1.9 kilometres from commence to finish.
The connectivity between Kolkata and the northeastern region of India has improved substantially because of the construction of the bridge, he said.
The foreign minister said the concept of Indo-Pacific Ocean would help Bangladesh improve its connectivity and investment climate, promote blue economy together with strengthen its measures against terrorism and different organised crime in the maritime sector.
"Bangladesh talks about the initiatives generally from a development perspective and for that reason considers them complementary, not conflicting or contradictory," he added.
Manmohan Parkash, country director of the Asian Expansion Bank, said the Bay of Bengal is a crucial monetary highway for the world since it handles about 66 per cent of all essential oil shipments for Japan, China, and India.
Besides, over 33 per cent of the world's mass cargo go through the Bay, indicating that this is a conduit of global integration.
With almost 25 % of the global human population living in the spot and with a gross domestic product of over $3 trillion, the spot is home to a number of the fastest monetary numbers that the community has observed in recent times.
A recent article in New York Times sets Bangladesh's development story found in perspective.
Apart from Bangladesh, landlocked countries like Nepal and Bhutan and the northeastern claims of India can all be a part of this tale, Parkash said.
Mercy Miyang Tembon, the Globe Bank's nation director to Bangladesh and Bhutan, said the blue market has huge probable to foster Bangladesh's expansion as the Bay of Bengal is probably the most resourceful seas on the planet.
A whole lot of income is generated from the area every year from tourism, aquaculture and offshore coal and oil extraction.
A lot more than 30 million people are involved in those businesses at the Bay of Bengal, Tembon said, adding that the future business of a blue economy found in the Bay of Bengal will be offshore oil and gas extraction and shipbuilding.
Tenzin Lekphell, secretary general of the BIMSTEC, and Tanweer Hasan, vice chancellor of IUB, also spoke at the function.
