Move legitimises military takeover, according to Sajith Premadasa
Sri Lanka’s Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa “vehemently” condemned the Rajapaksa administration’s invitation to the Myanmar junta’s Foreign Minister, for a virtual meet of regional body BIMSTEC early April. The invitation “basically legitimised the military takeover”, Mr. Premadasa said, describing the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena’s move as “distasteful and dastardly.”
In a letter sent earlier this month, Mr. Gunawardena invited the junta-appointed Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin for a ministerial meeting of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation that Sri Lanka currently chairs.
India, Bangladesh build stronger connectivity as Delhi looks to embrace Dhaka in Indo-Pacific
Apart from boosting bilateral ties, New Delhi is increasingly looking to embrace Dhaka under the Indo-Pacific initiative to assert greater power in the Bay of Bengal region.
Nayanima Basu 12 March, 2021 8:00 am IST Text Size:
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New Delhi: Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s much-awaited visit to Bangladesh on 26-27 March, India has given a massive push to enhance infrastructure connectivity with the neighbouring country, as New Delhi plans to take Dhaka into its strategic embrace under the umbrella of Indo-Pacific cooperation.
Dhaka will be Modi’s first trip abroad since the Covid-19 lockdown. Earlier this week, Modi and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina virtually inaugurated the ‘Maitri Setu’, which will allow the landlocked Northeast easy access to the Chittagong Port of Bangladesh.
Time to invest in Bangladesh as economy is set to grow faster
Says Enamul Huque, StanChart’s country head for corporate, commercial and institutional banking, in an interview
Enamul Huque
Bangladesh has a golden opportunity to strengthen its economic ties with neighbouring countries and forge greater integration with regional and sub-regional blocs to boost exports and accelerate economic growth, according to a top banker. While Bangladesh s achievements so far are no doubt commendable, there always remains potential to do more, said Enamul Huque, country head of corporate, commercial and institutional banking at Standard Chartered Bangladesh.
Analysis suggests that Bangladesh can leverage only around 40 per cent of its trade potential with its South Asian neighbours, the banker said.