{"id":119987,"date":"2021-11-04T19:07:48","date_gmt":"2021-11-05T02:07:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=119987"},"modified":"2021-11-04T19:07:48","modified_gmt":"2021-11-05T02:07:48","slug":"thailand-and-bangladesh-the-chittagong-ranong-port-connectivity-potential","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2021\/11\/04\/thailand-and-bangladesh-the-chittagong-ranong-port-connectivity-potential\/","title":{"rendered":"Thailand and Bangladesh: The Chittagong-Ranong Port Connectivity Potential"},"content":{"rendered":"

MD Pathik Hasan<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

Bangladesh\nand Thailand are near neighbors, connected by the Bay of Bengal. The\ndevelopment of these maritime ties would benefit both countries in terms\nof trade, investment, and regional communications. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\ntwo countries are in talks to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) to boost trade\nand investment. Bangladesh is geographically positioned as a gateway between\nASEAN and SAARC with potential access to both for each other\u2019s export-driven\nmanufacturers. ASEAN includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,\nMyanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, while SAARC includes\nAfghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nChittagong seaport is the main seaport in Bangladesh. 90 percent of Bangladeshi\ntrade is conducted through the Chattagram Port Terminal, with the rest being\ntaken up by Bangladesh\u2019s Ports at Mangla and Payra.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thailand\u2019s\nRanong Port is situated on the Kraburi River of the Kra Peninsula, across from\nMyanmar and on the Indian Ocean, coast and lies 1,220km from Chittagong. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thailand\u2019s\nSouthern Economic Corridor project, approved by the Government in August 2018,\nemphasizes the development of Ranong port as a gateway to trade with\nBangladesh, India, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka. Using Ranong port for trade with\nBangladesh\u2019s Chittagong, Payra, and Mangla ports will reduce the distance\nbetween the two countries and boost trade. Then this connectivity can then be\nextended to India\u2019s Kolkata, Chennai, and Mumbai ports. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nlaunch of direct shipping services between Chittagong and Ranong ports has\nreceived a new push as trade between the two countries is increasing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bilateral\ntrade between Bangladesh and Thailand reached US$837.08 million in 2019-20.\nBangladesh\u2019s total exports to Thailand in 2020 were US$35.46 million while\nimports from Thailand were worth US$801.3 million, very much in Thailand\u2019s\nfavor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bangladeshi\nexports to Thailand are on an upward trend, however. This year exported values\nare expected to reach just under US$40 million, a 12 percent increase\nYoY. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According\nto FDI stock data in Bangladesh, Thailand is the 15th largest investor in the\ncountry. This however would increase significantly if an FTA can be agreed\nupon, and the two countries build direct maritime connectivity between\nChittagong and Ranong ports. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\nis precedent. When Bangladesh signed FTA with the SAARC members in 2006, its\nimports and exports doubled within ten years, being a relatively constant\n(there was a dip in 2011) and sustainable 10% GDP growth in trade per\nannum. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\nterms of commodities, Thailand mainly exports cement, cereals, plastics,\nman-made staple fibers, sugar and sugar confectionery, machinery and mechanical\nequipment, cotton and cotton cloth, salt, sulfur, clay, stone, and mineral\nfuels to Bangladesh. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\nthe reverse direction, Bangladesh exports garments, vegetables, textile fibers,\ngarments, animal products, electrical and electronic equipment, frozen fish, and\ncrustaceans to Thailand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Direct\nsea connectivity between Chittagong and Ranang can be expected to play an\nimportant role in expanding trade and commerce between the two countries. The\ntime and cost of transporting goods between them can be reduced by 30 percent\nand are likely to play a key role in building ties with other Southeast Asian\ncountries, including Myanmar and India. The introduction of direct shipping\nbetween the two countries will encourage traders from both to expand their\nregional trade and investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thailand\ncould increase trade ties with India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka under the\nframework of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and\nEconomic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nestablishment of trade and economic corridors through coordination between the\nLook East Policy of Bangladesh and the Look West Policy of Thailand and the\nestablishment of connectivity through coastal shipping is likely to bring\nprosperity for both. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dhaka\nis additionally counting on Bangkok\u2019s support for Bangladesh\u2019s bid for\nmembership in the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation Forum as well as the ASEAN Sectoral\nPartnership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thailand\nand Bangladesh are also both active partners in the Belt and Road Initiative.\nIf Chittagong and Ranong port connectivity can be extended to Iran\u2019s Chabahar port and Pakistan\u2019s Gwadar port\nvia Sri Lanka\u2019s Colombo and the International North South Transport Corridor\nproject<\/a> (INSTC)\nthrough to Central Asia and Turkey, this will create significant trade\npotential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although\nthe Maritime Assistance Agreement between Bangladesh and Thailand was completed\nin 1986 and is currently in force, changes need to be made to bring these\nopportunities to fruition. But the Bangladesh and Thailand can renew the\nagreement for ensuring their business interests. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Progress\nis being made. Thai ambassador to Bangladesh, Makawadee Sumitmor stated at\na bilateral business meeting with the Chittagong World Trade Center in\nSeptember this year that there is a trade gap between the two countries. She\nalso said that the expansion of the India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral route\nwill boost trade in this region and that she was waiting for the signing of a\nmemorandum of understanding between Thai authorities and the Chittagong Port\nAuthority to establish direct shipping links by sea. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\nare huge opportunities for Thai investors in infrastructure, light engineering,\nagriculture and food processing, and tourism and healthcare. Thailand and\nBangladesh both could and should utilize these potentials. But smooth\nconnectivity is needed to boost the Trade. Chittagong and Ranong port\nconnectivity would boost up the trade, expansion of tourism. Bangladesh and Thailand\ncan both benefit from this mutually rewarding sea connectivity project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\narticle was first appeared in Hong Kong based <\/strong>ASEAN\nBriefing<\/strong><\/a> on November 04, 2021.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MD Pathik Hasan Bangladesh and Thailand are near neighbors, connected by the Bay of Bengal. The development of these maritime ties would benefit both countries in terms of trade, investment, and regional communications.  The two countries are in talks to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) to boost trade and investment. Bangladesh is geographically positioned as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[179],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-119987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-md-pathik-hasan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119987"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119987\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}