Dhaka proposes tri-nation talks on link with China

Staff Correspondent

Bangladesh on Tuesday proposed a tripartite meeting to discuss the possibility of linking itself with China through a cross-border road in Myanmar, said an official.
The chief adviser, Fakhruddin Ahmed, made the proposal in a meeting with Myanmar’s vice-senior general, Maung Aye, who is now in Dhaka on a three-day official visit, said the foreign affairs adviser after the meeting.
Myanmar’s officials did not respond immediately to the proposal, saying that they would think of it, said Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, the foreign adviser, adding that further discussion would take place between the ministries concerned.
He, however, could not give any date for the proposed tri-national meeting.
Issues like the delimitation of the maritime boundary, import of Myanmar’s gas through a bilateral gas pipeline for fertiliser production in Bangladesh, contract farming in Myanmar by Bangladeshi farmers, repatriation of 21,000 Rohingya refugees and military cooperation between the two countries were also discussed at the meeting held at the Chief Adviser’s Office.
In September, when Bangladesh’s chief adviser visited Beijing, China expressed its eagerness to establish a road-link with Bangladesh through Myanmar as the construction of a road to link Bangladesh and Myanmar was already underway.
After signing an agreement in 2004, Bangladesh improved the road up to Myanmar’s border, and is getting prepared for constructing a 23-kilometre road inside Myanmar at a cost of $20.3 million. Only Bangladesh will bear the cost of construction.
During the meeting between Fakhruddin and Aye, high officials of the two countries signed a deal to avoid double taxation to boost trade between the neighbouring nations. They have set an ambitious target of increasing the bilateral trade volume to $500 dollars’ worth from the existing $140 million, the balance of trade being in favour of Myanmar.
Bangladesh has shown interest in importing natural gas from Myanmar and in the construction of a bilateral gas pipeline for this purpose. It proposed at the meeting the setting up of a gas-based fertiliser factory in Bangladesh, whose products would be exported again to Myanmar.
A proposal for setting up a hydro-power project and the much-talked-about tri-national (Bangladesh-Myanmar-India) gas pipeline will also be featured at a meeting in the energy ministry on Wednesday.
When Dhaka requested Yangon to export rice to Bangladesh to meet its growing demand for food, the Myanmar delegation responded positively. The foreign adviser said that they agreed to export up to 100,000 tonnes of rice to Bangladesh on a regular basis as the country has repaired the damaged caused by cyclone Nargis.
About contract farming in Myanmar’s land, which Bangladesh has been wanting for a long time, the government proposed that a secretary-led delegation of the agriculture ministry should be permitted to visit Myanmar to assess the prospects of farming there.
‘It is a complex issue and it will take a little time to settle. There are a number of problems to be solved before farming in a foreign land,’ said Iftekhar while briefing newsmen at the Chief Adviser’s Office.
On delimitation of the maritime boundary, the foreign affairs adviser said that matter was discussed at the high-level meeting. It will be further discussed at the line ministry. The chief adviser sought the Myanmar’s leaders’ political cooperation to resolve the issue that has remained pending for nearly four decades.
Bangladesh has been hosting the Rohingya refugees, who were driven away by Myanmar’s military junta, in its south-eastern district of Cox’s Bazar for a long time. The chief adviser requested Myanmar’s general to expedite the repatriation of 21,000 refugees now living in squalid camps in Bangladesh.
For this purpose, said the foreign adviser, Fakhruddin has requested another tripartite meeting involving the two countries and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees as soon as possible.
The two sides agreed on military cooperation in training, visits and exchange of best practices.
In the afternoon Iftekhar called General Maung Aye in his hotel suite where he stressed the need for negotiated resolution of all the pending bilateral issues.
It was described as a very warm discussion covering a wide range of bilateral, regional and international issues.
‘It was an extremely cordial dialogue. I said how pleased Bangladesh was to work with Myanmar in BIMSTEC and also SAARC, where the country is now an observer,’ said Iftekhar.
‘Furthermore, our nations are both least developed countries with common problems and aspirations. I underscored the need to address and resolve all pending bilateral issues,’ he added.
Repatriation of the remaining Rohingya Muslim refugees to Myanmar and demarcation of the maritime boundary are among the long-standing issues between the two neighbours.
Iftekhar expressed the hope that the visit would lead to a long-lasting friendship between the two countries.
General Maung Aye arrived in Dhaka on a three-day official visit with a 55-strong entourage to discuss the outstanding issues between the two nations.
The chief adviser and his wife, members of the Cabinet and the army chief greeted Maung Aye, who is also the vice chairman of the Myanmar State Peace and Development Council, at the Zia International Airport in the morning.
Dhaka’s main thoroughfares were decorated with colourful flags, including the national flags of the two countries, and bill-boards erected on the roadside were inscribed with the legend: ‘Long live Bangladesh-Myanmar Friendship.’