Bangladesh needs to formulate necessary strategies and policies to reap the benefits of its strategic location in the Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean region, speakers told a roundtable on Monday.
The country would have to play a much more proactive role with respect to the region that has attracted all the major powers in the world, they said.
Describing the Bay of Bengal as very important for Bangladesh strategically and economically, the speakers said that the government needed to ensure more resources to benefit from the blue economy.
Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka TribuneDespite being a maritime nation, Bangladesh has not placed proper emphasis on its sea resources, they lamented, calling for maritime awareness among the population.
The experts were speaking at a roundtable on “The Strategic Significance of the Bay of Bengal and Role of Bangladesh” at a local hotel. As part of a series of discussions on important national and international issues, the leading English daily Dhaka Tribune and Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies (BIPSS) jointly organized the roundtable. BIPSS President Major General (retd) ANM Muniruzzaman moderated the roundtable that was attended by academia, local and foreign diplomats, former and serving government officials, journalists and university students.
A panel of experts comprising Brigadier General (retd) Shahedul Anam Khan, former associate editor of The Daily Star, Rear Admiral (retd) Kazi Sarwar Hossain, former Bangladesh high commissioner in the Maldives and East West University Assistant Professor Parvez Karim Abbasi shed light on different aspects of the topic.
“Bangladesh sits at a strategic point of the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean. Bangladesh is going to be a key strategic player in the Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean region, said BIPSS President Muniruzzaman, initiating the discussion.
The region is now the focus of major powers, including the US, Russia, the United Kingdom, Japan and Australia, as well as rising powers like China and India, he said.
Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka TribuneMuniruzzaman said: “Unfortunately, Bangladesh has not been playing a prominent role as it should. We are an important maritime country. The Bay of Bengal is not only strategically important. It is economically important as well.”
This area needed attention with respect to maritime infrastructure, he said, stressing the need for the formulation of a comprehensive policy.
The major powers were militarizing the region and steps needed to be taken to stop that, said the BIPSS president.
“We want a peaceful Bay of Bengal,” he said.
Brigadier General (retd) Shahedul Anam Khan said: “We often forget that Bangladesh is a maritime country. We have to understand what the stake for Bangladesh is and what the economic power of the Bay of Bengal is.”
Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka TribuneNearly 1.4 billion people lived around the Bay of Bengal, making it an important economic powerhouse, he said, placing great emphasis on maritime awareness, blue economy, connectivity, climate change and formulation of foreign policy.
Rear Admiral Kazi Sarwar Hossain described the Bay of Bengal as the economic highway of the world and said that important aspects like maritime connectivity, trade and commerce and maritime infrastructure were related to it.
Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka Tribune“Geopolitical rivalry has given rise to the militarization of the region,” he observed, laying emphasis on the formulation of a comprehensive strategy to deal with all the challenges.
Awareness among not only the stakeholders but also the entire population should be created in a coordinated manner, said the retired Naval official.
He also stressed the need for protecting the Bay of Bengal from the adverse effects of climate change.
East West University Assistant Professor Pervez Karim Abbasi said: “Despite being a maritime country, Bangladesh is a land lover.”
Unless Bangladesh developed a stronger navy, he said, “We will not be able to benefit from blue growth. The navy’s capacity expansion is required to protect maritime resources.”
Noting that proper resource management was vital, Abbasi said that measures should be taken to enhance capacity with regard to deep sea fishing and extracting valuable minerals through research and technology transfer.
