Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar Forum for Improving Trade, Transport and Tourism

"The forum emphasized the critical importance of improved transport connectivity for efficient movement of goods and people in the interests of both regional and global competitiveness and in order to promote tourism and better understanding among the people," the BCIM said in its Dhaka Declaration 2007 at the conclusion of the two-day meeting.

The declaration was signed jointly by the chairman of the Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Prof. Rehman Sobhan, the deputy secretary general of the Yunnan Provincial Government, Che Zhimin, the former ambassador and governing board member of the Center for Policy Research of India, Eric Gonsalves and the deputy foreign minister of Myanmar, Maung Myint.

The forum members also found that the level of existing trade between their nations could be expanded greatly through appropriate initiatives. Those initiatives are in the area of market access through removing all non-tariff barriers and more exchange between private sectors of the member countries including holding regular trade fairs, the declaration adds.

"....the Dhaka declaration of the BCIM could contribute significantly to capacity building within countries and between them and remove barriers to effective implementation in the regional interest," retired Maj. Gen. Abdul Matin told the concluding session of the forum at the BRAC Center in the capital, Dhaka. Matin is communications, shipping, civil aviation and tourism and liberation war affairs advisor of Bangladesh.

Matin also said the strategically located sub-regional areas of North-East India, Bangladesh, Myanmar and South-West of China constituted a natural economic zone. "Such a regional grouping has the potential to play an important role in emerging global economic order."

"We want to extend cooperation among the countries strengthening relations particularly in trade, transport and tourism sectors to improve living standard(s) of the people in the region," CPD Executive Director Dr. Debapriya Bhattacharya told AHN in Dhaka.

The next meeting of the BCIM forum will be held in Burma, officially known as Myanmar, in 2008 to review overall progress of the initiatives.

"We are hopeful about holding the next meeting of the BCIM by the early (part) of the next year in Rangoon," Prof. Mustafizur Rahman, Research Director of the CPD, told AHN in the capital.

The forum also recommended that a car rally would be arranged among the BCIM member countries next November to demonstrate the possible areas of cooperation.

Sources: ALLHEADLINENEWS