Discuss the regional implications of Bangladesh’s economic success especially with respect to the South Asian region. (200 Words)
Refer - The Indian Express
Enrich the answer from other sources, if the question demands.
IAS Parliament 3 years
KEY POINTS
· The International Monetary Fund’s latest World Economic Outlook published last week has triggered much outrage in India. The provocation was the IMF’s prediction that Bangladesh’s per capita GDP will overtake that of India this year.
· The economic rise of Bangladesh is changing some of that. If there is no end to bad news from Pakistan, Bangladesh provides a positive narrative about the subcontinent’s prospects.
· The second implication is about the changing economic weights of Bangladesh and Pakistan in South Asia. This year, Bangladesh’s GDP is expected to reach about $320 billion; the IMF did not have the 2020 numbers from Pakistan to report but in 2019, Pakistan’s economy was at $275 billion.
· Even more consequently, while Bangladesh continues to grow, the IMF suggests that Pakistan’s economy will contract further this year. A decade ago, Pakistan’s economy was $60 billion larger than Bangladesh. Today, Bangladesh’s weight is bigger than Pakistan by the same margin.
· Third, Bangladesh’s economic growth can accelerate regional integration in the eastern subcontinent. Whether one likes it or not, the region’s prospects for a collective economic advance are rather dim.
· Thanks to Pakistan’s opposition to economic cooperation with India and its support for cross-border terror, the main regional forum for the subcontinent, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc), is in a coma.
· The BBIN sub-regional forum — involving the four, activated in the middle of last decade — has not advanced fast enough. It is time for Delhi and Dhaka to take a fresh look at the forum and find ways to widen the scope and pace of BBIN activity. Meanwhile, there is growing interest in Bhutan and Nepal for economic integration with Bangladesh.
· Fourth, the economic success of Bangladesh is drawing attention from a range of countries in East Asia, including China, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore. The US, which traditionally focused on India and Pakistan, has woken up to the possibilities in Bangladesh.
· Bangladesh is getting ready to celebrate the golden jubilee of its liberation from Pakistan. India must use the special occasion to jointly develop and pursue with Dhaka an ambitious framework for shared prosperity. That would help India consolidate the golden chapter in India-Bangla relations .
Venkateshwaran R 4 years
Kindly provide feedback. Thank you
