Bangladesh is stepping up its bid to be a sectoral dialogue partner of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), with Chief Adviser Prof Dr Muhammad Yunus emphasizing the country’s economic and strategic advantages as key to deepening ties with the bloc.
Prof Yunus highlighted that Bangladesh’s population of more than 170 million offers Asean both a substantial market and an available workforce for regional industries, while its untapped economic potential presents significant opportunities for collaboration and growth.
He said: “There are many unexplored areas of investment which would be easy to pursue with Myanmar. We don’t do deep-sea fishing, for example. We have a big ocean right outside, but we never exploit that.”
“So with Myanmar joining in, it becomes another opportunity to work together in deep sea fishing because we share the ocean together,” he told the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) in a recent interview held on the sidelines of his official visit.
The South Asian nation has sought a sectoral dialogue partner status with Asean and the pursuit has gained momentum since Yunus assumed leadership of Bangladeshi interim government in August last year.
Yunus was on an official visit to Malaysia from Monday-Wednesday said the matter was also discussed during his meeting with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the current ASEAN Chair.
One of the things we have been discussing since his visit on October 4 last year was joining Asean.
“So we took this chance to talk and revive this whole issue. He (Anwar) was very supportive of how to go through the process,” he said.
Prof Yunus also acknowledged that Bangladesh’s bid could face resistance from some member states.
“It will take time. We will not give up. We have very good reasons to explain to them that we are neighbours. We will go ahead and once we see that there are some supporters within Asean, it makes it easier for us (to advance the bid),” Prof Yunus said.
Bangladesh has been a party to Asean’s Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) since 2007.
It is also a participant of Asean Regional Forum.
In 2013, Bangladesh accredited its first ambassador to Asean and the Asean Committee in Dhaka was established the following year with a view to promoting Asean’s profile and cooperation with Bangladesh.
Established on August 8, 1967, Asean on Sunday comprises 10 member states.
They are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Asean and Bangladesh have enjoyed upward economic relations with two-way trade reaching $6.16 billion in 2023-24.
Bangladesh, the second-largest economy in South Asia, is a significant player in the Asia-Pacific region, ranking 35th globally in nominal terms and 25th by purchasing power parity.