{"id":120545,"date":"2021-11-22T18:45:16","date_gmt":"2021-11-23T01:45:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=120545"},"modified":"2021-11-22T18:45:16","modified_gmt":"2021-11-23T01:45:16","slug":"gwadar-port-provides-benefits-for-sri-lanka-and-bangladesh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2021\/11\/22\/gwadar-port-provides-benefits-for-sri-lanka-and-bangladesh\/","title":{"rendered":"Gwadar Port Provides Benefits For Sri Lanka and Bangladesh"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Pakistan’s\nGwadar port has brought a new dream for the region. This port is not only for\nPakistan but also all regional states. Chinese Investment has accelerated the\npace of aspirations in this regard. China’s multibillion dollar project\n“CPEC’ is linked with Gwadar port. This port creates some sort of\npossibilities and potentials for entire South Asia, South East Asia, Central\nAsia, Western Asia, Eurasia, East Asia and Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri\nLanka and Bangladesh can utilize the facilities of Gwadar port.  Sri Lanka and Bangladesh can use Pakistan’s\nGwadar port to boost up its trade with Central Asia, Western China and\nPakistan. Gwadar port is going to be regional trade hub in the region.  Sri Lanka and Bangladesh can reach Western\nChina, Central Asia, and Pakistan easily. Pakistan has some regional\nconnectivity with Central Asian States through Afghanistan. If Bangladesh’s\nports such as Chittagong (Chattogram), Payra, Mangla ports can be connected\nwith Pakistan’s Gwadar port, Karachi port or Port Qassim via Sri Lankan Colombo\nor Hambantota port, both Bangladesh and Sri Lanka would benefit. Pakistan,\nAfghanistan and Central Asian states would also benefit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri\nLanka can use Gwadar Port for warehousing to facilitate trade with Afghanistan,\nCentral Asian Republics and Middle East. Pakistan’s exports to Sri Lanka have\ndoubled. Total trade is $ 400 million, with exports over $ 300 million whereas\nimports are less $ 100 million.  Sri\nLanka\u2019s main export item is tea and Pakistan imports a very meager quantity\nfrom Sri Lanka with bulk of Sri Lankan tea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri\nLankan can use Gwadar Port\u2019s gateway for export to Afghanistan and then\nUzbekistan and from there to entire Central Asia. Sri Lanka has already showed\nkeen interest in the proposal during the visit of PM Imran Khan in February\nthis year. Pakistan decided to allocate land to Uzbekistan for warehousing and\nexport. Sri Lanka should try to get the same facility from. Sri Lanka could\nbenefit by offering special packages to international shipping lines for the\nuse of facilities in both Colombo and Gwadar ports, especially to vessels\ncoming from East Asia. On the hand, Pak-China-Sri Lanka-Bangladesh trade ties\nwould boost up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Afghanistan\nis now viable and politically stable. Taliban has formed a government. Regional\nstates including China, Russia are interested to invest for the development of\ninfrastructure and Connectivity of Afghanistan. Sri Lanka and Bangladesh can\nalso play a role to take part in the development process in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore,\nSri Lanka and Bangladesh should use Gwadar port to reach these countries for\nensuring its own business interest. Although there are some bilateral crises\nbetween Bangladesh and Pakistan, both the governments should reconsider the\nissue of mutual interest under present global order. Pakistan should play an\nimportant role in this regard. It has some responsibilities to Bangladesh. It\nhas to be understood and realized. But these problems must be solved\ndiplomatically with bilateral efforts. On the other hand, there is a free trade\nagreement between Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Pakistan\u2019s top exports to Sri Lanka\ninclude textiles and cement with and the latter\u2019s top exports to Pakistan being\ntea, rubber, and readymade garments. Pakistan and Sri Lanka both could benefit\nfrom growing trade ties if the connectivity amongst Sri Lanka-Bangladesh and\nPakistan could be ensured. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pakistan’s\nGwadar port has very strategic significance. China and Pakistan are working\ntogether to establish ‘Gwadar port’ into a regional hub. Using Gwadar port, Sri\nLanka and Bangladesh can easily access into the markets of Central Asian\nstates, Western part of China, Pakistan, even Afghanistan and Western Asian\nstates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri\nLankan and Bangladeshi products can be exported from those regions easily. The\nraw materials for apparel sector (cotton) can be imported easily from Pakistan\nand Central Asian states. Such a way, the business relations amongst Bangladesh\nand other Muslim countries will be strengthened. Sri Lanka-Bangladesh-Pakistan\neconomic ties (Triad) and to some extent Sri Lanka-Bangladesh-China-Pakistan\n(Quadrilateral) will be further bolstered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lankan traditional tea, apparel, rice, and agricultural\nindustries, together with up-coming machinery and industrial manufacturing\nindustries such as auto tyres can be mixed with Bangladeshi apparel, medicines,\nfruits, and vegetables along with its upcoming IT services and electronic\nsectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bangladesh and Sri Lanka both import\ngoods such as cotton from Pakistan, Central Asian States, Western and Central\nChina and even Russia. Pushing this existing trade however requires a holistic\ntrilateral effort. If Sri Lanka and Bangladesh can make better use of Gwadar\nport and CPEC, they can take part in the development process in Afghanistan\nwith Pakistan, China, Russia, and Iran. The South Asian SAARC trade bloc may\nalso be revived through these activities. Intra-regional and international\ntourism can also become a platform for services growth. Religious tourism can\nbe a growing sector amongst Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the visit of Sri Lanka,\nKhan commented that Pakistan is allocating land to Uzbekistan for warehousing\nand export services, and that\nthe same facility can also be provided to Sri Lanka. Uzbekistan<\/strong> is a rapidly developing\nCentral Asia nation and although landlocked, can access other regional markets\nthat open these up for Sri Lankan made products. Uzbekistan is surrounded by\nfive countries: Kazakhstan<\/strong> to\nthe north, Kyrgyzstan<\/strong> to\nthe north-east, Tajikistan<\/strong> to\nthe southeast, Afghanistan<\/strong>to\nthe south, and Turkmenistan<\/strong>to\nthe southwest. Collectively the Central Asian nations have a GDP (PPP) of US$1\ntrillion, a projected post-covid growth rate of about 5-6% and a\npopulation of some 73 million. Its average GDP (PPP) per capita is four times\nhigher than Sri Lanka meaning the region is a wealthy market for Sri Lanka to\ntarget for exports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As regional states, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh should be\nexamining a revival of connections with Pakistan. The Belt and Road Initiative\nhas and is being built to promote such interconnectivity. South and Southeast\nAsian Governments and businesses should be examining how best to exploit it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\nis no shipping line connection between Bangladesh and Pakistan. Bangladesh\nimports raw materials and products from western China and Central Asian\nCountries through either Singapore via Malacca strait or by air. So, the cost\nof transportation and wastage of time is huge for Bangladesh. Bangladesh can\neasily overcome this utilizing the Pakistan’s Gwadar port. Bangladesh has\nalready joined China run BRI project in 2017.  Pakistan, Bangladesh and\nSri Lanka all are the members of Chinese BRI project. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whole\nSouth East Asia, South Asia, Central Asia and West Asia would benefit. ASEAN\nand SAARC free trade zones could be created. Bangladesh could benefit\nultimately. The dependence of Bangladesh on India will be decreased. A greater\nregional interest could be confirmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why\nSri Lanka and Bangladesh should utilize Pakistan’s Gwadar port?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why\nSri Lanka and Bangladesh should utilize Pakistan\u2019s Gwadar port?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. For\nensuring their own business interest.<\/strong><\/li>
  2. To\nstrengthen the economic and trade ties with Pakistan, Afghanistan, Central\nAsian States, West Asian countries and Even Russia and China.<\/strong><\/li>
  3. To\ndecrease their huge trade dependence on India,<\/strong><\/li>
  4. For\ncreating the ASEAN and SAARC free trade of zones.<\/strong><\/li>
  5. This\nconnectivity could unite the ASEAN and SAARC free trade zones.<\/strong><\/li>
  6. The all\nstates in those regions would benefit mutually in the sector of trade,\nCounter-terrorism approach from multilateral ties.<\/strong><\/li>
  7. Enhancing bilateral relations could\ncontribute to the growth of trade and investment relations with ASEAN and\nBIMSTEC countries. This will create an opportunity to serve greater regional\ninterest.<\/strong><\/li>
  8. Re-establishing the Himalayan-South Asian connectivity\ncan occur if political and diplomatic solutions of Bangladesh-Pakistan strained\nties can be found. Sri Lanka could be mediator in this regard. <\/strong><\/li>
  9. Usage\nof Gwadar port by Sri Lanka and Bangladesh would ensure the maximum benefit of\nthe people.<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n


    \nSo, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh should use Pakistan’s Gwadar port. There is no\nalternative for each and every state in the world without being connected with\nothers. There are huge potentials for Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in this regard.\nNow it’s time for Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to utilize this.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    MD Pathik Hasan Pakistan’s Gwadar port has brought a new dream for the region. This port is not only for Pakistan but also all regional states. Chinese Investment has accelerated the pace of aspirations in this regard. China’s multibillion dollar project “CPEC’ is linked with Gwadar port. This port creates some sort of possibilities and […]<\/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-120545","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\/120545","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=120545"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120545\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}