[🇧🇩] Bangladesh's Look East Foreign Policy and ASEAN.

[Old School]

I agree 100% that Hasina's overture toward ASEAN is inept and incomplete.

If we have to do anything, we should become some part of ASEAN, though we are not physically a part of the South East Asia.

Our entire involvement with SAARC during Hasina's rule has been a time-waster of sorts and has helped Modi become the trade hegemon of the region.

We should have spent more time on ASEAN involvement.

In fact, the ASEAN countries have more "look West" policies than anyone else. Only in the sub-continent can one get away with such a myopic terminology as "look east."

 

[Saif]

I agree 100% that Hasina's overture toward ASEAN is inept and incomplete.

If we have to do anything, we should become some part of ASEAN, though we are not physically a part of the South East Asia.

Our entire involvement with SAARC during Hasina's rule has been a time-waster of sorts and has helped Modi become the trade hegemon of the region.

We should have spent more time on ASEAN involvement.

With 'Look East' policy we could be a part of rising economic bloc ASEAN and the 2nd largest economic market-- China. A developing country like Bangladesh needs money to take the economic growth to next level and ASEAN and China could be our cash cow to achieve such economic growth that we desire.

 

[Bilal9]

In fact, the ASEAN countries have more "look West" policies than anyone else. Only in the sub-continent can one get away with such a myopic terminology as "look east."

What can they do bhai.

From Bangladesh, looking West is looking at India, from where no developmental help is going to come. Plus Bangladesh' relationship is at a pretty low level right now with Modi govt.

In fact most of India itself (North and North-East India) is in equal or rather worse situation than Bangladesh is. They have little industrial infra and China-hate, red tape and baboo-dom means these are not places ASEAN countries will invest anytime soon.

ASEAN Plus Three countries (like China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan) were (and still are) in a far better financial situation to invest in a semi-skilled country like Bangladesh.

Though there has been some higher value addition skilled industries in Bangladesh (like freelancing and backoffice) - most of the country's labor pool is largely semi-skilled, who have wage demands much lower than these ASEAN countries.

Unlike India, Bangladesh is a bottom-up sort of economy. India is a back-office top-down economy which drives the other sectors.

This means only way Bangladesh will develop is by low wage workers adding value in massive numbers.

Some Asian countries have almost same low wages too like Bangladesh, but these (Vietnam, Cambodia. Myanmar) have their own issues.

Vietnam is rapidly moving upward in wages, going into electronics and auto manufacturing higher value addition. Vietnamese wages are going to exceed Chinese wages (or close) soon. Brother @Beijingwalker can maybe confirm. My Thanks in advance.

Cambodia's labor pool is almost gone, they have a limited supply of workers.

Myanmar is a cluster-f. And will remain so for a while.

The only choice is Bangladesh and Pakistan.

 

[Old School]

What can they do bhai.

From Bangladesh, looking West is looking at India, from where no developmental help is going to come. Plus Bangladesh' relationship is at a pretty low level right now with Modi govt.

In fact most of India itself (North and North-East India) is in equal or rather worse situation than Bangladesh is. They have little industrial infra and China-hate, red tape and baboo-dom means these are not places ASEAN countries will invest anytime soon.

ASEAN Plus Three countries (like China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan) were (and still are) in a far better financial situation to invest in a semi-skilled country like Bangladesh.

Though there has been some higher value addition skilled industries in Bangladesh (like freelancing and backoffice) - most of the country's labor pool is largely semi-skilled, who have wage demands much lower than these ASEAN countries.

Some Asian countries have almost same low wages too like Bangladesh, but these (Vietnam, Cambodia. Myanmar) have their own issues.

Vietnam is rapidly moving upward in wages, going into electronics and auto manufacturing higher value addition.

Cambodia's labor pool is almost gone, they have a limited supply of workers.

Myanmar is a cluster*. And will remain so for a while.

The only choice is Bangladesh and Pakistan.

The real culprit is the rotten education system which continues to mass produce monkeys instead of knowledgeable people in a vicious cycle. The few who migrate to the West are owed to the Western education and their country of origins gave them birth only. You know how pathetic is the education system.

 

[Bilal9]

The real culprit is the rotten education system which continues to mass produce monkeys instead of knowledgeable people in a vicious cycle. The few who migrate to the West are owed to the Western education and their country of origins gave them birth only. You know how pathetic is the education system.

I guess we should not point the finger at India all the time, but lot of Bangladeshis are of the opinion that RAW with the help of Hasina's education ministry has ruined Bangladesh education system in the past decade, so that Indians will come in to fill the gap and run things in Bangladesh. There are plenty of Nateeja to support this opinion.

 

[Old School]

I guess we should not point the finger at India all the time, but lot of Bangladeshis are of the opinion that RAW with the help of Hasina's education ministry has ruined Bangladesh education system in the past decade, so that Indians will come in to fill the gap and run things in Bangladesh. There are plenty of Nateeja to support this opinion.

I am talking about those who are the products of the 70s and 80s. They are now the architects of producing monkeys. It all started right after 1971. The Chinese have been writing books for the last five thousand years, and your people often compare their language with the Chinese or Japanese, while all you can write in Bengali is poetry. Can you do scientific research in Bengali without learning English? Most Bengalis think so. Read below how Canada based Bengali professor hit the bull's eye:

 

[Bilal9]

I am talking about those who are the products of the 70s and 80s. They are now the architects of producing monkeys. It all started right after 1971. The Chinese have been writing books for the last five thousand years, and your people often compare their language with the Chinese or Japanese, while all you can write in Bengali is poetry. Can you do scientific research in Bengali without learning English? Most Bengalis think so. Read below how Canada based Bengali professor hit the bull's eye:

View attachment 3709

You speak the God's honest truth brother.

Sheikh Mujib did one misdeed is that he turned the official language to Bengali in Bangladesh.

Some say this was RAW saazish to turn back the clock 50 years in Bangladesh.

Azadi le kar Bharti ka ghulam ban gaya.

Even preschoolers speak Hindi now in Bangladesh.

BTW I love Taj Hashmi - for the same reasons the Modi boot-lickers in Bangladesh hate him.

Too many Modi-shills in Bangladesh.

 

[Old School]

You speak the God's honest truth brother.

Sheikh Mujib did one misdeed is that he turned the official language to Bengali in Bangladesh.

Some say this was RAW saazish to turn back the clock 50 years in Bangladesh.

Azadi le kar Bharti ka ghulam ban gaya.

Even preschoolers speak Hindi now in Bangladesh.

BTW I love Taj Hashmi - for the same reasons the Modi boot-lickers in Bangladesh hate him.

Too many Modi-shills in Bangladesh.

HuMu Ershad removed English from higher studies; since then, Bengali people are proud of not knowing Enhlish. That guy never took part in any war while collecting his salaries in the Pak Army. It was a big surprise how he managed to get permanent status in the Amry because he was originally recruited on temporary basis and he never went to the military academy. The pro-Soviet-Indian leftists were behind this plot to remove English.