Technological and financial partnerships are set to grow as Bangladesh adopts a blue economy outlook.
The geopolitical and strategic importance of the Bay of Bengal is also growing.
“I think the Bay of Bengal and its 1.4 billion people are experiencing a transformation – not only in their ideas and thought but also in terms of their geopolitical and geostrategic importance,” Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque said yesterday.
He was speaking at the concluding session of the two-day International Workshop On Blue Economy arranged by the foreign affairs ministry in the city where 32 experts from 19 countries took part.
“The Bay of Bengal of today certainly is not the same as it used to be 400 or 500 years ago. It has certainly gained a lot of strategic importance,” the foreign secretary said.
Bangladesh won more than 118,813 sq-km of waters altogether comprising territorial sea and an exclusive economic zone extending out to 200 nautical miles (370km).
It also has undeniable sovereign rights in the seabed extending as far as 354 nautical miles [around 656km] from Chittagong coast in the Bay of Bengal with all the living and non-living resources.
Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali in his concluding remarks said everybody was aware of the potential of the blue economy but also recognised the challenges and space for further investment and exploration.
He summarised the workshop’s discussions and spelled out a course of action to move forward to tap into the resources of the Bay of Bengal.
The minister said the blue economy must be inclusive and people-centric and awareness about maritime prospects must be created among the people, communities, and policymakers in the legislative and executive branches of government.
“The generation of knowledge and data – horizontally and vertically – is crucial,” Mahmood said.
Data must be relevant to the greater benefit of the lives and livelihoods of the population and developing countries must have access to contemporary and critical data from across the world, he said.
The development of adaptive technology and transfer of critical technology to developing littoral states needs to be considered by the developed world, he said.
“Finance, including innovative financing, securing Blue Growth, has to be facilitated – not just left to market mechanisms,” the minister said.
About the role of private sector, he said the government needs to steer or create policy frameworks to attract critical private investment for the blue economy.
He stressed the need for effective governance in terms of policy and strategy for the maritime and related sectors, and the need for robust institutional frameworks.
He said: “Let us move together ahead with a ‘Bay of Bengal partnership for Blue Economy’ to secure sustainable development among the coastal and littoral states.”
The Bay of Bengal is the largest of 64 bays in the world and 1.4 billion people live along its coastline in Bangladesh, India, Thailand and Myanmar.
