Deepening economic ties with Myanmar

Myanmar, Bangladesh's important neighbour to the east, has promising prospects for deepening economic relations with the latter. The economic relationships can blossom very quickly indeed if only the governments on the two sides want an acceleration in that direction. Thus, the on-going visit to Bangladesh by the Vice-Chairman of the ruling State Peace and Development Council of Myanmar, Vice-senior General Maung Aye, is seen as significant in the backdrop of recent high level visits to Yangon from Dhaka. The current visit to Bangladesh by the number two man in the government of Myanmar signals a quest on the part of both countries to try and exploit the potentials of economic cooperation between them.
Generally, the prospects of bilateral economic cooperation between the two next-door neighbours are extensive. Myanmar is considered to be rich in natural resources. But a great deal of these resources remains untapped. Geo-physical proximity, in the context of the situations in both the countries vis-a-vis the region and the rest of the world, makes Bangladesh an ideal partner of Myanmar for trade and investment related matters. The two countries enjoy friendly and good relations and the openness of Yangon towards Dhaka makes Bangladesh especially suitable for Myanmar to expand its trade and seeking of investments.
For example, Myanmar has huge fallow lands which are not producing any returns at the moment. Bangladesh has offered to rent and farm a part of these lands under either production sharing contract or any other form of arrangement. The materializing of this plan can be highly beneficial for both countries. Without any form of investment, Myanmar stands to gain from receiving large scale output of rice and other agro-products. Bangladesh can gain from a steady source of supply of food grain and other agro-oriented raw materials from an external but very near source for its upcoming industries. Thus, the government in Myanmar will certainly appreciate the merit of the Bangladeshi proposal in this regard and act in response to it, in view of the given socio-economic realities facing the two countries.
Bangladesh has offered to extend its road building activities inside Myanmar at its own costs up to the Chinese borders. The completion of such road construction will lead to an increase in bilateral trade between Bangladesh and Myanmar and also aid in trilateral expansion of trade between Bangladesh, Myanmar and the economic superpower, China. Besides, such road building will also bring Myanmar and Bangladesh closer to the East Asian countries like Thailand for greater trading activities with them. Therefore, Yangon is also expected to show real interests in these endeavours to improve road communication to give a boost to the regional trade.
Energy is one sector where both countries can engage in mutually supportive activities with no loss of time. Myanmar has huge reserves of gas far in excess of its current and projected rate of consumption. In this context, the proposal for having a gas transmission line from Myanmar to Bangladesh can serve useful purposes for the better and through Bangladesh, to any third country, provided a win-win situation is created for all to harness equitable benefits thereof. On its part, Bangladesh has always been ready to play a positive role in making concerted efforts for creating such a situation. Therefore, with similar position moves by Myanmar, the benefits of cooperation can equitably be shared by all concerned. Bangladesh also wants to buy gas from Myanmar and this can be made possible through a gas pipeline or an independent project. A proposal is also there to set up fertilizer factories inside Bangladesh using Myanmar's gas and the related arrangement to share the produced fertilizers. A positive response to it from Myanmar can be a big step taken towards contributing to the food security of both countries.