Md. Muzibur Rahman :
Bangladesh and UAE are both the Muslim majority states which have similarity with religion and other socio-economic culture and both the countries are time-tested friends. UAE (United Arab Emirate) recognized Bangladesh independence early in the post-independence years. Both the countries are the members of OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation) and have cordial diplomatic, sound economic and business relation. Many Bangladeshi migrants are living and working in UAE for their livelihood in different industries and factories. UAE has an excellent geographical location in the global map which is a confederation of seven Sheikdoms (regions headed by a Sheik or Emir), or Emirates located on the shore of the Persian Gulf.
The recent visit of our Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to UAE has given a new dimension in the brotherly ties of the two countries. During the visit of our PM, several memorandum of understanding (MoU) on economic cooperation were signed. Businessmen from both the countries discussed the current trends of trade and investment, success stories, operational problems and challenges of doing business, future growth prospects and prioritized cooperation areas. Bangladesh is a unique platform for foreign investors; the return on investment is very high rest of the world and wants more trade, investment and economic cooperation from UAE.
UAE can invest in possible potential sectors like big infrastructures, RMGs, energy and power, ICT, ports and aviations, blue economy, tourism sectors, leather and jute goods, light engineering, jewelry, plastic products and other agro-related industries. They can increase trade volume, import-export activities for both countries’ interests. Presently, the UAE keens to invest in different sectors of Bangladesh and wants to strengthen its bilateral relation for mutual benefits. UAE has two great business and trade center Abu-Dhabi and Dubai which are the famous commercial hubs in the world. They are advanced in medical science, marine science and sports. They celebrated the incredible success of the Special Olympic World Games, when more than 7,500 athletes and 3,000 coaches from 190 nations gathered for 24 events held in Abu-Dhabi and Dubai.
The Gulf is overtaking Asia as the global leader in crypto currencies, as countries such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE embrace block chain technology despite the crash in coin prices according to the cofounder of a new digital-currency exchange. Henceforth we see the Gulf will lead digital currency in the world in near future. Bangladesh can export more skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled manpower to UAE. Bangladesh also can find more trade and business facilities and explore more possible and potential investment there. The UAE have succeeded on many onshore and off-shore economies and has great ideas in maritime resource exploration activities. Their maritime sector to boost UAE’s position as global hub is visible. They recently invested about $65 billion in ports across the country.
The future of UAE as a maritime hub both regionally and globally is looking immensely promising. UAE’s maritime sector remains upbeat, with the solid foundation and solid fundamentals reinforced by continuous initiatives of the government and unwavering support of the visionary leaders. With 20 international ports, many of which are among the top ports in terms of advanced infrastructures in maritime transport and shipping, UAE was ranked 14th globally in the first global survey of leading maritime nations and the country was placed fourth overall in terms of ports and logistics. They also have taken initiatives for bidding for joining the 40 member executive body of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for 2020-21. UAE pledges to fulfill its responsibilities to participate and add value to the IMO’s technical and legal discussions by contributing to the proposals regarding strengthening of safety and security regulations, and also preventing marine pollution from ships and maintaining a clean and safe shipping world.
Bangladesh has a large maritime area with the Bay of Bengal. With the landmark verdict on the delimitation of maritime boundary with the Myanmar and India, Bangladesh has been endowed with a large sea area which is still now unexplored and untapped though Bangladesh Government has taken several steps and initiatives for the exploitation of maritime resources. Bangladesh can learn from UAE’s experiences of maritime and blue economy exploitation activities and other same related areas in this respect. Bangladesh and UAE have stood on great friendship and fraternity for long years and now can extend more economic cooperation and economic diplomacy for mutual benefits and economic development.
(Md. Muzibur Rahman, Freelancer; writes on development and economics issues; e-mail: [email protected])
