The Bangladesh China Silk Road Forum organised a photo exhibition and discussion meeting in a hotel in the capital Dhaka on September 12 to mark the tenth anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Attracting support from a broad range of progressive forces in Bangladesh, the meeting was chaired by Dilip Barua, Chairman of the Bangladesh China Silk Road Forum, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Bangladesh (Marxist-Leninist) and former minister. The Chief Guest was MA Mannan MP, Bangladesh’s Minister of Planning and member of parliament from the Awami League, while the Special Guest was Yan Hualong, Chargé d’affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Dhaka.
Speakers were: Rasheed Khan Menon MP, President of the Workers’ Party of Bangladesh and former minister; Hasanul Haque Inu MP, President of the Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal (JSD – National Socialist Party) and former minister; Shah Alam, President of the Communist Party of Bangladesh; and Munshi Faiz Ahmed, former Bangladeshi Ambassador to China.
Dilip Barua noted how the aborted Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor (BCIM), which had been one of the first routes proposed under the BRI, could have brought much prosperity for the region had it materialised. (India has refused to participate in the BRI citing the existence of projects under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor in Pakistan-administered Azad Kashmir, which India also claims.)
Planning Minister Abdul Mannan said Bangladesh has received loans from China on good conditions and through amicable negotiations. Saying that China is a leading Asian neighbour of Bangladesh, he added: “China has been there for thousands of years. Now, we see a rejuvenated China… We don’t have enmity or favour for any country, we decide projects based on our benefits and needs.”
As Bangladesh lags behind in the infrastructure sector, including rail, road and power, he said, “we revamped them with Chinese loans.” Bangladesh can benefit more by sharing technology from China.
Former Bangladesh Ambassador to China Munshi Faiz Ahmed said: “BRI is a Chinese idea but China doesn’t own it alone, all the participating countries own it.”
The following report was first published by the Financial Express, which is the second largest English language newspaper in Bangladesh.
The aborted Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor (BCIM) under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) could have brought much prosperity for the region if materialised, former industries minister Dilip Barua said.
The project did not see the light of day as a neighbour quit it, he told a photo exhibition and discussion on the 10th founding anniversary of BRI on Tuesday.
“BRI has various infrastructure projects and we had economic corridor under BRI. But our neighbour withdrew itself from the project,” added Mr Barua, also general secretary of the Communist Party of Bangladesh (Marxist-Leninist).
The Bangladesh China Silk Road Forum organised the event at a city hotel with Dilip Barua, who is the chairman of the forum, in the chair.
Indicating the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), which was initiated through signing a MoU during the 2023 G20 New Delhi Summit, he said India is now initiating another economic corridor.
BCIM is a proposed corridor connecting India and China through Myanmar and Bangladesh while IMEC will connect India, the United States, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, France, Germany, Italy and the EU.
IMEC is a counter to BRI, commented Mr Barua.
Speaking as the chief guest, planning minister Abdul Mannan said Bangladesh has received loans from China on good conditions and through amicable negotiations.
Citing that China is a leading Asian neighbour of Bangladesh, he said: “China has been there for thousands of years. Now, we see a rejuvenated China.”
“We don’t have enmity or favour for any country, we decide projects based on our benefits and needs.”
Mr Mannan said Bangladesh has diverse projects and collaboration based on mutual respect and trust with China.
As Bangladesh lags behind in the infrastructure sector, including rail, road and power, he said, “We revamped them with Chinese loans.” Bangladesh can be benefited more by sharing technology from China.
“We have deficit in technology. So, we want collaboration in that area,” said the minister, adding that both countries have so many things to give and take.
Speaking as the special guest, Chargé d’Affaires of Chinese Embassy in Bangladesh Yan Hualong said China would continue to assist Bangladesh in its development.
“China is proud to be part of the development of Bangladesh,” he added.
Former Bangladesh high commissioner to China Munshi Faiz Ahmed said the mission of BRI is to establish connectivity, infrastructure and shared prosperity.
“BRI is a Chinese idea but China doesn’t own it alone, all the participating countries own it,” he added.
I am from Vancouver,Canada and i wanted to say that here in Canada the only thing we hear about Bangladesh is the Garment Industry there and the Fires that took place in these Garment Factories a few years ago caused by Criminal Negligence on the part of the Owners of these Garment Factories.
Garment Stores here in Canada and the USA buy a lot of Clothes made in Bangladesh. The Garment Workers who work in these Garment Factories in Bangladesh have very bad working conditions and low money. Fire is a constant risk there because and buildings where these Garment Workers work are old and no maintenance work is ever done on them. The owners of the Garment Stores in Canada and the USA get cheap Clothing from Bangladesh and that is all they care about. They don’t give any Aid to Bangladesh to get these Buildings safe to work in. There have been hundreds of Garment Workers killed in Bangladesh due to Fires in their Workplaces and the Store Owners in Canada and the USA does nothing About it. I have been to Demonstrations here in Canada condemning the Store Owners and the Canadian Gov’t for doing nothing to improve the working conditions of Garment Workers in Bangladesh.
It is good that China is helping Bangladesh and hopefully these Garment Workers will be able to work in a safe Workplace and better working conditions and more money.