Taking advantage of India's economic boom
Sunday, 31 October 2010
Moazzem Hossain
How can Bangladesh take the best of benefits out of its bilateral cooperation with India, now an emerging power, notwithstanding the latter's nagging problems of 'laggard' regions in its north-east and a growing challenge of the so-called Naxalites (or 'Maoists') mostly concentrated in the tribal areas in its eastern and some central states?
That is one critical issue of consequence for the policy-makers in Bangladesh to assess, review and analyse in the interest of the dynamics of the present-day situation. A new framework of Indo-Bangladesh bilateral cooperation has been put in place, following Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to New Delhi last January. The developments since then in bilateral relations have been taking the cue from the understanding that was reached between the two sides at the level of head of governments. Now, is the time for setting the course, sequence, pace and direction of this bilateral cooperation in operational details in a purposeful way, in order to ensure a 'win-win' situation for both the countries.
Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh is most likely to visit Bangladesh early next year. The visit, in response to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's invitation early this year, will provide an opportunity to both sides to give a fresh impetus to Indo-Bangladesh bilateral relations. The Indian Prime Minister would have liked to visit Dhaka earlier. But his heavy preoccupations at home made it difficult to do so, important policy-makers of the government of India told this in New Delhi to visiting members of a Bangladesh team of editors and senior journalists early this month.
Between now and early next year, several leaders of the Group of Eight (G-8), representing developed countries, will be visiting New Delhi. US President Barack Obama visits India early next month. That will closely be followed by the visits of France's President Nicholas Sarkozy and Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev. The UK Prime Minister David Cameron earlier visited India. And such visits by the world leaders suggest that no 'developed economy' in today's world would like to miss out on India's economic boom.
And the sage-like Prime Minister of India has just completed a visit to Japan. In Tokyo, he concluded negotiations on an economic partnership that is likely to pave the way for increased Japanese investment in the fast-growing Indian economy. He is also visiting Malaysia and Vietnam in this leg of his current overseas tour programme, mostly as part of India's new economic diplomacy.
India obviously remains actively engaged in efforts to maintain healthy relations with all major powers to help sustain an annual growth at the rate of 9.0 to 10.0 per cent which it aspires to reach in the foreseeable future. New Delhi is trying to achieve this through investment promotion, access to markets of the advanced economics, trade facilitation and transfer of modern technology.
However, India's key policy-makers, including Indian Finance Minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, Foreign Minister Mr. S. M. Krishna and Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia with whom the visiting Bangladesh media team had separate meetings in New Delhi, did not miss any opportunity to highlight the importance of cooperation, at both bilateral and regional levels, with South Asian countries, from the Indian perspective.
They took a strong note of "a palpable" desire of the peoples of South Asia to enhance cooperation, particularly on the economic front. India, they reiterated, must reciprocate this willingness for increased cooperation, while stating that "we cannot realise our growth ambitions unless we ensure peace and stability in South Asia".
In this context, the Indian Finance Minister particularly mentioned the strong potential for developing and deepening Indo-Bangladesh bilateral cooperation for mutual benefits of the two sides. "We are to develop together. We cannot develop in isolation. Otherwise, that will be a drag on our development", he observed.
The Indian External Affairs Minister said Indo-Bangladesh bilateral relationship is strongly rooted in deep historical, cultural and linguistic links and is now evolving into a sustained model of mutual benefits. India, he observed, considers Bangladesh as one of its important partners for future growth and prosperity together, for its benefits to be equitably shared by the peoples of the two countries.
The Deputy Chairman of the Indian Planning Commission took a very positive note of the performance of the Bangladesh economy in the recent times, notwithstanding very adverse global economic and financial circumstances. Bangladesh has done reasonably well, he stated while commending its efforts to improve some socio-economic development indicators. He also underlined the importance of co-operative Indo-Bangladesh partnership in South Asian regional context in order to harness its yet-untapped large potential for common benefits.
Certainly, such statements by the leading policy-makers of the Indian government to a group of visiting media people from Bangladesh, can hardly be treated as pleasantries. Rather, those do drive home the need for taking a pragmatic look at the new realities in an unfolding situation, involving matters of cooperation and partnership on a pragmatic basis.
India, its cabinet ministers stressed, will like to make efforts, in tandem with those in the private sector in its immediate neighbourhood, for translating the opportunities of cooperation into concrete actions for mutual benefits, without letting up efforts to address the challenges that face all concerned countries in pursuit of meaningful partnership at both bilateral and regional levels.
Viewed in this context, Bangladesh in particular will need to do some necessary homework, setting out clearly its priorities with regard to its cooperation with India in today's changed circumstances.
If this is done well in time, the proposed visit of the Indian Prime Minister to Bangladesh early next year, may present a good opportunity for scaling up further Indo-Bangladesh bilateral relationship in the mutuality of interests of the two countries.
On all realistic grounds, the recognition of India as an emerging economic power, is not a matter of choice or discretion. India is today among the fastest growing economies of the world. Many international economic analysts expect its growth rate to reach 9.0-10% within three to five years in the near future, outpacing that of China.
McKinscy, a consultancy, has predicted that India's economy will grow five-fold in the next 20 years. It will grow at well over 8.0% in 2010 and is now the world's 10th largest economy with a GDP of $3.57 trillion and a per capita income of $3,100, in terms of Purshasing Power Party (PPP). The Indian economy is now Asia's third largest one after China and Japan, and is likely to outsize that of Japan sooner rather than later.
A good number of Indian business firms are increasingly becoming global in operation and world-class in performance. One may cite here the cases of Arcelar Mettal, Tata Motors and Bharti Airtel as three examples only. Many other Indian firms have also proved their prowess on global scale.
Being blessed with a young and growing workforce and having one of the best dependency ratios -- the proportion of child and old people to working age adults -- India is furthermore expected to benefit from the demographic dividend that has powered many of Asia's economic miracle. Its individualistic brand of capitalism has been expanding robustly.
India's large English-speaking and information technology (IT)-competent workforce has also lent strength to its growing international economic might. It has already made a headway in the knowledge-intensive IT industry in the services sector that contributes largely to its export earnings.
More next
How can Bangladesh take the best of benefits out of its bilateral cooperation with India, now an emerging power, notwithstanding the latter's nagging problems of 'laggard' regions in its north-east and a growing challenge of the so-called Naxalites (or 'Maoists') mostly concentrated in the tribal areas in its eastern and some central states?
That is one critical issue of consequence for the policy-makers in Bangladesh to assess, review and analyse in the interest of the dynamics of the present-day situation. A new framework of Indo-Bangladesh bilateral cooperation has been put in place, following Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to New Delhi last January. The developments since then in bilateral relations have been taking the cue from the understanding that was reached between the two sides at the level of head of governments. Now, is the time for setting the course, sequence, pace and direction of this bilateral cooperation in operational details in a purposeful way, in order to ensure a 'win-win' situation for both the countries.
Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh is most likely to visit Bangladesh early next year. The visit, in response to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's invitation early this year, will provide an opportunity to both sides to give a fresh impetus to Indo-Bangladesh bilateral relations. The Indian Prime Minister would have liked to visit Dhaka earlier. But his heavy preoccupations at home made it difficult to do so, important policy-makers of the government of India told this in New Delhi to visiting members of a Bangladesh team of editors and senior journalists early this month.
Between now and early next year, several leaders of the Group of Eight (G-8), representing developed countries, will be visiting New Delhi. US President Barack Obama visits India early next month. That will closely be followed by the visits of France's President Nicholas Sarkozy and Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev. The UK Prime Minister David Cameron earlier visited India. And such visits by the world leaders suggest that no 'developed economy' in today's world would like to miss out on India's economic boom.
And the sage-like Prime Minister of India has just completed a visit to Japan. In Tokyo, he concluded negotiations on an economic partnership that is likely to pave the way for increased Japanese investment in the fast-growing Indian economy. He is also visiting Malaysia and Vietnam in this leg of his current overseas tour programme, mostly as part of India's new economic diplomacy.
India obviously remains actively engaged in efforts to maintain healthy relations with all major powers to help sustain an annual growth at the rate of 9.0 to 10.0 per cent which it aspires to reach in the foreseeable future. New Delhi is trying to achieve this through investment promotion, access to markets of the advanced economics, trade facilitation and transfer of modern technology.
However, India's key policy-makers, including Indian Finance Minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, Foreign Minister Mr. S. M. Krishna and Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia with whom the visiting Bangladesh media team had separate meetings in New Delhi, did not miss any opportunity to highlight the importance of cooperation, at both bilateral and regional levels, with South Asian countries, from the Indian perspective.
They took a strong note of "a palpable" desire of the peoples of South Asia to enhance cooperation, particularly on the economic front. India, they reiterated, must reciprocate this willingness for increased cooperation, while stating that "we cannot realise our growth ambitions unless we ensure peace and stability in South Asia".
In this context, the Indian Finance Minister particularly mentioned the strong potential for developing and deepening Indo-Bangladesh bilateral cooperation for mutual benefits of the two sides. "We are to develop together. We cannot develop in isolation. Otherwise, that will be a drag on our development", he observed.
The Indian External Affairs Minister said Indo-Bangladesh bilateral relationship is strongly rooted in deep historical, cultural and linguistic links and is now evolving into a sustained model of mutual benefits. India, he observed, considers Bangladesh as one of its important partners for future growth and prosperity together, for its benefits to be equitably shared by the peoples of the two countries.
The Deputy Chairman of the Indian Planning Commission took a very positive note of the performance of the Bangladesh economy in the recent times, notwithstanding very adverse global economic and financial circumstances. Bangladesh has done reasonably well, he stated while commending its efforts to improve some socio-economic development indicators. He also underlined the importance of co-operative Indo-Bangladesh partnership in South Asian regional context in order to harness its yet-untapped large potential for common benefits.
Certainly, such statements by the leading policy-makers of the Indian government to a group of visiting media people from Bangladesh, can hardly be treated as pleasantries. Rather, those do drive home the need for taking a pragmatic look at the new realities in an unfolding situation, involving matters of cooperation and partnership on a pragmatic basis.
India, its cabinet ministers stressed, will like to make efforts, in tandem with those in the private sector in its immediate neighbourhood, for translating the opportunities of cooperation into concrete actions for mutual benefits, without letting up efforts to address the challenges that face all concerned countries in pursuit of meaningful partnership at both bilateral and regional levels.
Viewed in this context, Bangladesh in particular will need to do some necessary homework, setting out clearly its priorities with regard to its cooperation with India in today's changed circumstances.
If this is done well in time, the proposed visit of the Indian Prime Minister to Bangladesh early next year, may present a good opportunity for scaling up further Indo-Bangladesh bilateral relationship in the mutuality of interests of the two countries.
On all realistic grounds, the recognition of India as an emerging economic power, is not a matter of choice or discretion. India is today among the fastest growing economies of the world. Many international economic analysts expect its growth rate to reach 9.0-10% within three to five years in the near future, outpacing that of China.
McKinscy, a consultancy, has predicted that India's economy will grow five-fold in the next 20 years. It will grow at well over 8.0% in 2010 and is now the world's 10th largest economy with a GDP of $3.57 trillion and a per capita income of $3,100, in terms of Purshasing Power Party (PPP). The Indian economy is now Asia's third largest one after China and Japan, and is likely to outsize that of Japan sooner rather than later.
A good number of Indian business firms are increasingly becoming global in operation and world-class in performance. One may cite here the cases of Arcelar Mettal, Tata Motors and Bharti Airtel as three examples only. Many other Indian firms have also proved their prowess on global scale.
Being blessed with a young and growing workforce and having one of the best dependency ratios -- the proportion of child and old people to working age adults -- India is furthermore expected to benefit from the demographic dividend that has powered many of Asia's economic miracle. Its individualistic brand of capitalism has been expanding robustly.
India's large English-speaking and information technology (IT)-competent workforce has also lent strength to its growing international economic might. It has already made a headway in the knowledge-intensive IT industry in the services sector that contributes largely to its export earnings.
More next