RELATIONS WITH NEW MYANMAR GOVT

Dhaka to prioritise energy, connectivity

Rohingya, security issues to get less importance for now

Bangladesh is keen to take the relations forward with Myanmar under its new government through cooperation in connectivity and energy sectors, attaching less importance to sensitive issues like Rohingya and security for the time being.
Giving priority to other aspects over unsettled issues in the changed situation in Myanmar is seen as an opportunity to strengthen the bilateral relationship with Myanmar, diplomats working in Dhaka and Yangon told The Independent.
However, they stressed that the issues related to Rohingya and security will not be forgotten, rather these will be ‘moved to back seat’ just for now.
Former diplomats consider Dhaka’s move to take the ties ahead in the changed context as positive. They are, however, of the opinion that the success of Bangladesh’s efforts will very much depend on the new Myanmar government’s ability to make successful policy-making decisions.
Having agreed with the former colleagues, officials of the foreign ministry acknowledged that almost everything will depend on how independently National League for Democracy (NDL), led by Aung San Suu Kyi, will be able to run the country.
The first six months after assuming office in March are going to be crucial for NDL, they said, adding that in that case Bangladesh will have to see as to how the party is running the country in its first year in government.
Bangladesh’s initiatives will only be successful if everything goes well in Myanmar, they said.
“The next year is very important in terms of Bangladesh’s relations with Myanmar,” said an official.
According to a senior official, there is no reason to believe that everything will go smoothly just because the NDL won a huge majority.
“One has to remember that according to the Constitution drafted by the generals, the military in Myanmar will be in charge of three vital ministries – Defence, Home and Border Affairs. And, 25 per cent of the seats in Parliament are reserved for the military. Therefore, whatever the election result is, the military’s role will still remain influential in the coming days,” he said. “Under such a situation, it will be very difficult for the NDL to run the country if they do not have the military on their side,” he added.

Another official said, “We are now attaching importance to establishing communication network under BCIM (Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar) initiative, because there are many problems in implementing Teknaf-Buthidaung road via Gundam. The main problem is that this road will be connected with Rakhine state and Myanmar is not that interested in this road due to the history of sectarian violence in this Rohingya-majority state.”
“The new road planned under BCIM will connect Myanmar’s Chin state with Bandarban. Upon completion of this road, Kunming of China will be connected through Mandalay and Myanmar’s south-east region. If the whole road can be completed up to Kunming, Bangladesh will be able to connect with East-West and North-East corridors of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations),” he said. On the cooperation in energy sector, a diplomat stationed in Myanmar said that even a year ago, Myanmar was not interested to talk on this issue.
But, he said, “It (Myanmar) has recently changed its position after Bangladesh has explained its stance. Bangladesh will produce electricity with gas imported from Myanmar. Afterwards, the surplus electricity will be sold back to Myanmar. Myanmar has responded positively to this proposal.”
An official of the Foreign Ministry admitted that there is a ‘crisis of confidence’ between the two neighbours.
Therefore, he said, it is better not lay too much emphasis on issues like Rohingya and security, at least for the time being.
But, said the official, some steps may be taken into consideration to keep the borders with Myanmar peaceful.
To do that, he said that establishment of Border Liaison Office (BLO) can be helpful and preparations are on to sign an agreement between Bangladesh and Myanmar in this regard.
Such BLO produced positive result between India and Myanmar, the official said.
Besides, he said that a proposal is being considered to sign an agreement between government-funded research organisations of the two countries.

RELATIONS WITH NEW MYANMAR GOVT

Dhaka to prioritise energy, connectivity

Rohingya, security issues to get less importance for now

Bangladesh is keen to take the relations forward with Myanmar under its new government through cooperation in connectivity and energy sectors, attaching less importance to sensitive issues like Rohingya and security for the time being. Giving priority to other aspects over unsettled issues in the changed situation in Myanmar is seen as an opportunity to strengthen the bilateral relationship with Myanmar, diplomats working in Dhaka and Yangon told The Independent. However, they stressed that the issues related to Rohingya and security will not be forgotten, rather these will be moved to back seat just for now. Former diplomats consider Dhakas move to take the ties ahead in the changed context as positive. They are, however, of the opinion that the success of Bangladeshs efforts will very much depend on the new Myanmar governments ability to make successful policy-making decisions. Having agreed with the former colleagues, officials of the foreign ministry acknowledged that almost everything will depend on how independently National League for Democracy (NDL), led by Aung San Suu Kyi, will be able to run the country. The first six months after assuming office in March are going to be crucial for NDL, they said, adding that in that case Bangladesh will have to see as to how the party is running the country in its first year in government. Bangladeshs initiatives will only be successful if everything goes well in Myanmar, they said. The next year is very important in terms of Bangladeshs relations with Myanmar, said an official. According to a senior official, there is no reason to believe that everything will go smoothly just because the NDL won a huge majority. One has to remember that according to the Constitution drafted by the generals, the military in Myanmar will be in charge of three vital ministries Defence, Home and Border Affairs. And, 25 per cent of the seats in Parliament are reserved for the military. Therefore, whatever the election result is, the militarys role will still remain influential in the coming days, he said. Under such a situation, it will be very difficult for the NDL to run the country if they do not have the military on their side, he added. Another official said, We are now attaching importance to establishing communication network under BCIM (Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar) initiative, because there are many problems in implementing Teknaf-Buthidaung road via Gundam. The main problem is that this road will be connected with Rakhine state and Myanmar is not that interested in this road due to the history of sectarian violence in this Rohingya-majority state. The new road planned under BCIM will connect Myanmars Chin state with Bandarban. Upon completion of this road, Kunming of China will be connected through Mandalay and Myanmars south-east region. If the whole road can be completed up to Kunming, Bangladesh will be able to connect with East-West and North-East corridors of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), he said. On the cooperation in energy sector, a diplomat stationed in Myanmar said that even a year ago, Myanmar was not interested to talk on this issue. But, he said, It (Myanmar) has recently changed its position after Bangladesh has explained its stance. Bangladesh will produce electricity with gas imported from Myanmar. Afterwards, the surplus electricity will be sold back to Myanmar. Myanmar has responded positively to this proposal. An official of the Foreign Ministry admitted that there is a crisis of confidence between the two neighbours. Therefore, he said, it is better not lay too much emphasis on issues like Rohingya and security, at least for the time being. But, said the official, some steps may be taken into consideration to keep the borders with Myanmar peaceful. To do that, he said that establishment of Border Liaison Office (BLO) can be helpful and preparations are on to sign an agreement between Bangladesh and Myanmar in this regard. Such BLO produced positive result between India and Myanmar, the official said. Besides, he said that a proposal is being considered to sign an agreement between government-funded research organisations of the two countries.