{"id":120672,"date":"2021-11-26T17:31:39","date_gmt":"2021-11-27T00:31:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=120672"},"modified":"2021-11-26T17:31:39","modified_gmt":"2021-11-27T00:31:39","slug":"laos-could-benefit-from-resolving-the-rohingya-crisis-between-myanmar-and-bangladesh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2021\/11\/26\/laos-could-benefit-from-resolving-the-rohingya-crisis-between-myanmar-and-bangladesh\/","title":{"rendered":"Laos Could Benefit From Resolving The Rohingya Crisis Between Myanmar and Bangladesh"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Laos-Myanmar-Bangladesh could\nexchange regional some advantages but Rohingya issue must be resolved. Closer\nBangladesh-Myanmar ties have great economic potential but the regional crisis\nshould be resolved as soon as possible for ensuring the greater interest of\nSouth Asia and South East Asia including Laos. Myanmar is one of Bangladesh\u2019s\nclosest neighbors with historic connectivity going back centuries. The 271 km\nlong Bangladesh-Myanmar border is very important for Bangladesh due to its\nstrategic position, although at present the area is militarized due to its\nongoing internal conflicts. Were this to be resolved, Bangladesh could develop\nroutes via Myanmar to access China to the east, and other southeast Asian\ncountries to the south.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hands, Laos is a\nneighboring state of Myanmar. Myanmar and Laos can be able to access in South\nAsia through Bangladesh. If Laos connects itself with\nBangladesh-Myanmar-Thailand-India connectivity project and\nBangladesh-China-India-Myanmar connectivity corridor, Laos would benefit. A\nhuge potential is waiting for Cambodia. If the two projects can be implemented\ntruly, Laos will be gainer in this regard. Bangladesh-Myanmar improved ties is\nvery needed in this regard. Laos is a very friendly country to both Myanmar and\nBangladesh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Myanmar can also use Bangladesh\nas a transportation route to reach markets such as Nepal, Bhutan, and India.\nBoth Bangladesh and Myanmar are members of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for\nMulti-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), an organization\nconsisting of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and\nThailand that seeks to foster regional and economic cooperation. Laos can and\nshould join BIMSTEC to utilize the benefits. Being a land locked country, Laos\ncan use the routes to enter in the Bay of Bengal and Indian ocean easily. Then\nit would be able to bolster its trade ties with South Asia, Central Asia and\nMiddle East Asia. Laos can decrease its dependence on Thailand, Cambodia,\nSingapore, Malaysia, Vietnam easily in such way in this regard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bangladesh is a Southeast Asian\ncountry and can be used as an important hub to connect ASEAN and the South\nAsian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). members of Afghanistan,\nBangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka is\ndifficult. Myanmar too, as an ASEAN member, can access the SAARC free-trade\nbloc through Bangladesh. Such a way, Laos would benefit economically to boost\nup their trade ties. Laos will be able to ensure its maximum business interest.\nLaos can access into the market of India, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka,\nAfghanistan and Central Asia easily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Myanmar and Bangladesh have also\nresolved a dispute over their maritime borders through the International Court\nof Justice. As a result, the rights of Bangladesh have been established in an\narea of 1,11,000 square kilometers. Myanmar\u2019s waters have also been properly\nidentified. Bangladesh-Myanmar-Laos has potential to invest in maritime\nbusiness in the Bay of Bengal. These countries should utilize and extract the\nmaritime resource from the maritime zone. Blue economy can bring benefit for\nBangladesh-Myanmar-Laos also.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The proposed construction of the\nAsian Highway, funded by the Asian Development Bank can increase land\nconnectivity between the two countries and increase trade in products such as\nfertilizers, plastics, cement, and furniture, etc. Laos should join the project\nto ensure its maximum business interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Myanmar and Laos which at\npresent does have sophisticated manufacturing, can import electronics and\npharmaceutical products that are readily produced from Bangladesh and benefit\nfrom the technology transfer. Bangladesh-Myanmar-Laos has potential of rice and\nfishery production. Trilateral effort is very needed here. Bangladeshi\nmedicines, agricultural products garments, footwear and leather goods,\nknitwear, pharmaceuticals, tableware, home textiles, textiles, seafood and\nmarine products, tea, potatoes, jute and jute products, light engineering\nproducts, spices, cosmetics and ceramics, Toilets, etc. can be exported easily\nto Laos through Myanmar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Bangladeshi media\noutlets, On the other hands. Laos mainly exports Machinery, boilers, Manmade\nstaple fibers, Paper and paperboard, articles of pulp, paper and board, Cotton,\nPearls, precious stones, metals, coins, Raw hides and skins (other than fur\nskins) and leather etc. to Bangladesh. One of the major problems is the lack of\nadequate transport links for the expansion of bilateral trade between the two\ncountries. Both countries are working to resolve this transportation issue and\nare in the process of joining the Asian Highway Network, which is expected to\naddress this issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prime Minister of Bangladesh\nSheikh Hasina visited Laos in 2012. Bangladesh and Laos have been supporting\neach other in various international forums. In 2012, Laos supported\nBangladesh\u2019s inclusion in the AESM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

China is now the biggest\ninvestor in Myanmar. China has invested over US$3 billion since the 2016-2017\nfiscal year. One of the most strategic components of these investments is the\nUS$1.3 billion Kyaukphyu deep seaport, which when completed, can provide\nChina\u2019s Yunnan province a shortcut to the Indian Ocean. Cambodia can extract\nsome benefits from the investments for its own gain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The country\u2019s biggest economic\nadvantage for Myanmar is that they are a member of ASEAN. ASEAN controls about\n24 percent of total world trade and its share in world trade is growing yearly.\nASEAN\u2019s trade relations with China, Japan, and South Korea are deepening due to\nthe increase in trade and the upcoming RCEP agreement. ASEAN countries account\nfor more than 50 percent of total trade between themselves and these three\ncountries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bangladesh is keen to provide\nassistance to Myanmar. Covid-19 vaccine distribution and counter-terrorism\ntraining are some areas for cooperation. The Rohingya refugee problem has,\nhowever, created some tension between the two countries, and find the solution\ncan serve the longer-term interests of Bangladesh and Myanmar even Laos also.\nMyanmar and Bangladesh should resolve this problem to serve its own and reginal\ninterest. Myanmar should understand that it is the issue of the region. Whole\nSouth Asia and South East Asia may be volatile and unstable for this problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Laos can play a very significant\nrole in this regard. Laos can mediate to bolster the strained relations between\nBangladesh-Myanmar. Laos can play to repatriate the Rohingyas in Rakhine in\nMyanmar. Laos can easily resolve the problem because it has a very good\nrelations with Myanmar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the three countries can\nalso increase production in the agricultural sector through joint ventures.\nApart from adopting joint investment projects, Bangladesh can increase imports\nof various agricultural products including pulses, spices, fish and rice. Thus,\nenhancing trilateral relations could contribute to the growth of trade and\ninvestment relations with ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries. This will create an\nopportunity to resolve the Rohingya problem and stop militant activities.\nTherefore, Myanmar should take effective steps to strengthen bilateral\nrelations to connect the South East Asia with South Asia. Laos should play an\neffective role to motivate Myanmar to bolster ties with Bangladesh. Laos should\ntake significant initiative to resolve the crisis. Benefit is waiting not only\nfor Myanmar but also for Laos.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MD Pathik Hasan Laos-Myanmar-Bangladesh could exchange regional some advantages but Rohingya issue must be resolved. Closer Bangladesh-Myanmar ties have great economic potential but the regional crisis should be resolved as soon as possible for ensuring the greater interest of South Asia and South East Asia including Laos. Myanmar is one of Bangladesh\u2019s closest neighbors with […]<\/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-120672","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\/120672","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=120672"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120672\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}