UNB, Dhaka :
The United States has said their decades-long partnership with Bangladesh has helped bring about some of the most impressive development gains the world has ever seen.
The development gains include self-sufficiency in food production, a reduction of the poverty rate from over half the population to less than a third, and a drastic increase in the survival rate of new mothers and their children. The US also thinks Bangladesh, as one of the largest peacekeeper-contributing nations to the world, is an important partner in ensuring ‘security in hotspots around the globe’. Manpreet Singh Anand, Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs, made the remarks while addressing Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, Austin on Thursday on the United States, India, and the future of the Indo-Pacific.
“So we’ve come a very long way in a relatively short time, and while the wind may be at our backs, we have no illusions that there’s still a very long way to go,” Anand said. The Deputy Assistant Secretary said they have no doubt that the economic and strategic weight of this region will continue to grow
in the decades to come, making their relationships with India and its neighbours in South Asia ever more critical and important, both to the interests of the United States, and to the global community of nations.
In just the past couple of years, Anand said, India has peacefully resolved a long-standing land border dispute with Bangladesh, and has accepted the ruling of a UN tribunal that delimited maritime borders in the Bay of Bengal. “These resolutions have resulted in renewed economic activity across borders and in the Bay of Bengal, which is an increasingly active node of regional economic activity.”
All of this is tremendously important, because South Asia – with India at its geographic and economic center-is still one of the least economically-integrated regions in the world, with less than six percent of its total trade occurring within the region, Anand said. “These resolutions have resulted in renewed economic activity across borders and in the Bay of Bengal, which is an increasingly active node of regional economic activity.”
All of this is tremendously important, because South Asia – with India at its geographic and economic center-is still one of the least economically integrated regions in the world, with less than six percent of its total trade occurring within the region, Anand said. “So we know that South Asia can reap tremendous benefits from sowing the seeds of greater regional economic connectivity.”
The World Bank estimates that South Asia needs about $2.5 trillion in infrastructure investment over the next ten years. “No small feat, but the right policies and investment incentives can go a long way toward attracting that level of capital, especially with smart public-private partnership, ” Anand added.
The United States has said their decades-long partnership with Bangladesh has helped bring about some of the most impressive development gains the world has ever seen.
The development gains include self-sufficiency in food production, a reduction of the poverty rate from over half the population to less than a third, and a drastic increase in the survival rate of new mothers and their children. The US also thinks Bangladesh, as one of the largest peacekeeper-contributing nations to the world, is an important partner in ensuring ‘security in hotspots around the globe’. Manpreet Singh Anand, Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs, made the remarks while addressing Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, Austin on Thursday on the United States, India, and the future of the Indo-Pacific.
“So we’ve come a very long way in a relatively short time, and while the wind may be at our backs, we have no illusions that there’s still a very long way to go,” Anand said. The Deputy Assistant Secretary said they have no doubt that the economic and strategic weight of this region will continue to grow
in the decades to come, making their relationships with India and its neighbours in South Asia ever more critical and important, both to the interests of the United States, and to the global community of nations.
In just the past couple of years, Anand said, India has peacefully resolved a long-standing land border dispute with Bangladesh, and has accepted the ruling of a UN tribunal that delimited maritime borders in the Bay of Bengal. “These resolutions have resulted in renewed economic activity across borders and in the Bay of Bengal, which is an increasingly active node of regional economic activity.”
All of this is tremendously important, because South Asia – with India at its geographic and economic center-is still one of the least economically-integrated regions in the world, with less than six percent of its total trade occurring within the region, Anand said. “These resolutions have resulted in renewed economic activity across borders and in the Bay of Bengal, which is an increasingly active node of regional economic activity.”
All of this is tremendously important, because South Asia – with India at its geographic and economic center-is still one of the least economically integrated regions in the world, with less than six percent of its total trade occurring within the region, Anand said. “So we know that South Asia can reap tremendous benefits from sowing the seeds of greater regional economic connectivity.”
The World Bank estimates that South Asia needs about $2.5 trillion in infrastructure investment over the next ten years. “No small feat, but the right policies and investment incentives can go a long way toward attracting that level of capital, especially with smart public-private partnership, ” Anand added.
