Business leaders of Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar (BCIM), during their upcoming meeting in Beijing in December, will press for establishment of an economic corridor for mutual trade and economic benefits, business circles said.
"We will participate in the meeting in Beijing in December. We will discuss with other business leaders of China, India and Myanmar for setting up an economic corridor (EC) among the BCIM countries for mutual trade and economic benefits," President of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed told the FE.
He said the meeting was supposed to be held in Dhaka in the current month. But it has been shifted to Beijing following request of Chinese businessmen. Businessmen of the BCIM region, high government officials and researchers will participate in the event.
"We think that establishment of a BCIM corridor will help gear up trade, investment and regional economic growth," he said.
He stressed the need for establishing connectivity among the BCIM countries for mutual economic benefits. Â
He said once the corridor is established, economic activities among India, China and Myanmar could be done through Bangladesh. This will help increase the country's economic growth.
To push the issue forward, the government has endorsed a proposal from China to start a feasibility study on the Bangladesh part to develop necessary infrastructure of the proposed 3,000-kilometre BCIM- EC.
The BCIM plan originated from an initiative of private sector through establishing a forum in Kunming of China in 1999. Later, the idea was turned into a BCIM-EC after it was endorsed by the governments of all the four member-countries last year.
The two-fifths of the world population live in BCIM countries that produce one-tenth of the global gross domestic product (GDP).
The BCIM- EC will increase socio-economic development and trade in South Asia. The initiative seeks to improve connectivity and infrastructure, energy resources, agriculture, and trade and investment.
It will connect India's northeastern provinces, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and the Chinese province of Yunnan through a network of roads, railways, waterways, and airways under a proper regulatory framework.
The BCIM- EC is a win-win arrangement. The linkages of transport, energy, and telecommunication networks will help the region to emerge as a thriving economic belt that will promote social development of communities along the corridor.
The BCIM-EC is a modern version of the Silk Road and a revision of the 1999 Track II Kunming initiative among BCIM countries.
It is planned to run from China's Kunming province to Kolkata in India, and link Mandalay in Myanmar and Dhaka and Chittagong in Bangladesh.
"We will mainly discuss economic corridor (EC) issue among the BCIM countries for increasing regional trade and investment," a high official of the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) told the FE.
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