Indo-Pacific bloc a blessing for interregional trade: US

A United States emissary said in Dhaka Tuesday a newly propounded instrument styled Indo-Pacific Strategy could help Bangladesh and other regional countries raise interregional trade manifold.

Terming very prosperous the Indo-Pacific region that stretches from the U.S. West Coast through the Bay of Bengal, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Dan N. Rosenblum noted that this vast bloc represents more than half the global population and more than half the global economy.

While delivering a lecture on 'The United States and the Indo-Pacific region' at Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS), he said despite this rapid growth, South Asia lags behind Southeast Asia in terms of intraregional trade and connectivity.

The US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of South and Central Asia, extrapolated facts from the history of this subcontinent to draw a contrast between its past harmony and present disharmony.

For centuries South Asia had been a region bound together by the exchange of goods, people, and ideas. But today it is one of the least economically integrated regions in the world, he told his Dhaka audience-incidentally in the wake of various developments on the Pacific front, where the US has a strong trade-and-strategic presence.

"Intraregional trade has languished, sitting at around five per cent of the total trade. Compare that with ASEAN, where interregional trade stands at 25 per cent of total trade," he said to make his point.

Citing World Bank estimation, Mr. Rosenblum said with barriers removed and streamlined customs procedures, interregional trade in South Asia would nearly quadruple from the current $28 billion to over $100 billion.

"Bangladesh would stand to benefit better than most from greater regional connectivity, both in terms of soft and hard infrastructure. Currently less than three percent of Bangladesh's exports go to India and other countries in South Asia," he added.

Bangladesh's recent socioeconomic success for reaching lower-middle-income status after consistently achieving growth rates of more than 6 per cent for the past 10 years came into reference.

In the lecture, moderated by BIISS Chairman Ambassador Munshi Faiz Ahmed, he revealed the policy of the strategy that will not force any country to take any decision.

"All countries should be playing by the same sets of rules commonly agreed by them. That's what the Indo-Pacific policy is."

Asked whether the strategy is to contain China -- an emerging economic superpower close by the Pacific -- the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State termed it a positive strategy that would open up more trades, connecting more countries, and ensure maritime safety by jointly addressing the challenges.

"It's not about containing China or creating any negative impacts to any country," he said.

About recent Rohingya crisis, he appreciated Bangladesh's efforts sheltering them and assured of continuation of US support for resolving the problem, arising from a crackdown on the minority community in Myanmar. US Ambassador in Bangladesh Marcia Bernicat also spoke at the meet.

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