Growing up with the giants

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Md Robiul Hoque India and China are two emerging countries in terms of economy and population in Asia. India and China command more than 20 per cent of the world GDP. Their combined population is more than 2.6 billion which is 35 per cent of the total population of the world. China is very much advanced in manufacturing, while India is extremely well in services sectors. China has built world class infrastructure like roads, ports, airports and energy systems to attract domestic and foreign investment for industrial growth. China invests her savings which is equal to 40 per cent of her GDP and India saves 24 per cent of her GDP to invest in industries and services. The two countries are also advancing in technology, software industry, tourism and other sectors as well. The question now is how a smaller economy like Bangladesh can stride with these giants far from considering them rivals. Bangladesh has a comparatively smaller population, inadequate infrastructure, poorly skilled workforce and improper governance to keep pace with China and India. But the issue here is more of a vision than a matter of comparison. Bangladesh has a population of 160 million and one of the most fertile pieces of agricultural land. The country has the possibility along with the other two giants to create a bright economic prospect for the people of this large region. It is also needed that Bangladesh acts in a way that takes into account its national interest. As Lord Palmerston's doctrine says there are no permanent enemies or eternal allies and what is permanent is national interest. China and India share the great Himalaya mountains along with a few small neighbours. These mountains bear great potentials in generating hydroelectricity. China, India and Bangladesh have huge energy needs for industrialisation and growth. They can invest in hydroelectric projects in the vicinity of the Himalayas. For this, India and China have to shift their policy and agree to become strategic partners. By shifting their policy they can generate clean, safe and sufficient energy. The three countries can share the waters of common rivers, like Brahmaputra, flowing through them for agriculture and industries. The three countries have huge markets. Mutual collaboration can lead to penetrate the markets in each other's country for promoting their products. All the three countries have enormous human resources. They also have cheap labor resource that they can effectively use to produce value added product cheaply if the manpower is trained to make them efficient in production. This collaboration offers an attractive window of opportunity - a window that presents vast prospects to Bangladesh to prosper together with these economic power houses. To do that Bangladesh will need to adopt an effective approach to building and strengthening cooperative economic linkages with these countries. However, problems emanating form political stances of the countries appear to create barriers in building up a desired platform that can bring these nations close enough to work out collaborative endeavours. If the positives out-weigh the negatives a bright future is in wait for the region's overall progress and development. The writer is a student of accounting and information systems, University of Dhaka. jewel16ais@gmail.com