BANGLADESH INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AND STRATEGIC STUDIES

Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) jointly organized a policy dialogue titled “Regional Cooperation for Sustainable Development in South Asia” on 10 December 2019 at the BIISS Auditorium. In total, 100 participants including 35 UNESCAP delegates from several South Asian countries were presented in the dialogue to discuss various issues. The dialogue had seven sessions including the inaugural and concluding sessions. The remaining ones were working sessions, all with their respective themes, moderators, designated speakers, panelists and open discussion.
 

In the inaugural session, speakers were Major General A K M Abdur Rahman, OSP, ndc, psc, Director General, BIISS; Dr. Nagesh Kumar, Director, ESCAP, South and Southwest Asia Office, New Delhi; H.E. Dr. Puspa Raj Kadel, Vice Chairman, National Planning Commission, Nepal; and H.E. M Shahidul Islam, Secretary General, BIMSTEC. In his welcome address, Major General A K M Abdur Rahman noted that though process of globalization is in full motion, this region sadly lags far behind in critical matrix of poverty vs. prosperity, peace vs. violence and terrorism, corruption vs. governance, and state capability vs. fragility. Thus, countries of this region should understand the long-term benefits of regional multilateral cooperation because such cooperation can support the development of stronger transportation systems, collective action against climate change, agricultural best practices and contributions to scientific development. Dr. Nagesh Kumar brought out the fact that South Asia was having a very disproportionate challenge to deliver the SDGs. The region is lagging behind in 15 of the 17 SDGs. With this respect, he recommended strengthening of regional cooperation for discussing and debating the opportunities, challenges, best practices and sharing experiences. Similarly, Puspa Raj Kadel also emphasized on the importance of enhancing regional economic integration through increased connectivity, cultural exchanges, knowledge and technology sharing, trade and investment in this region. In this respect, roles of several regional organizations like SAARC, BIMSTEC, ESCAP to create synergy for regional development had been highlighted. M Shahidul Islam pointed out poverty as the greatest enemy of the people in this region. However, countries of South Asia pledged to work together to eradicate poverty from the Bay of Bengal Region by 2030, in line with the 2030 agenda for sustainable development.

 The first working session focused on potential and challenges of regional economic integration in South Asia in the new global context, moderated by Dr. Fahmida Khatun, Executive Director, CPD, Bangladesh. Speakers were Dr. Posh Raj Pandey, Executive Chairman, SAWTEE, Nepal; Dr. Mahfuz Kabir, Research Director, BIISS, Bangladesh; Dr. Athula Senaratne, Research Fellow, Institute of Policy Studies, Sri Lanka; Dr. Shiladitya Chatterjee, Adviser, Centre for Sustainable Development Goals, Government of Assam, India; Dr. Sabyasachi Saha, Assistant Professor, RIS, India; Dr. Selim Raihan, Executive Director, South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM), Bangladesh; Mr. Chanchal Sarkar, Director (ETF), SAARC Secretariat, Nepal; Shafquat Haider, Chairman, Council for Communication and IT and Dr. Mohammad Razzaque, Research Director, Policy Research Institute, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

In this session, discussions were held about growing trade protectionism in South Asia like in Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh, India pulling out of the RCEP and its bilateral trade deficits with China, the SAFTA, searching reasons behind failure of regional cooperation initiatives and deeper integration in South Asia, examples of bilateral integration in this region, focus on special economic zones, emerging business and political environment, e.g., US-China trade war, cooperation in agriculture, environment conservation, disaster risk management and climate change adaptation, harmonize South Asian countries’ interests at regional level, need for using innovative means to close existing gaps among these countries, urging governments to reduce trade barriers, extending portion of services besides goods in trade, lack of willingness among leaders for greater regional integration and reviewing commitments in these regards, ensuring assistance from developed nation to combat climate change, global rise and spread of nationalism like “America First” and “Brexit” which may lead into a new kind of Cold War, decline of multilateralism, paying attention to costs of non-integration, necessity of trade liberalization, development of infrastructure and reducing trade costs in South Asia, global GDP and growth rate ratio, effective role of media to promote integration etc. 

The second working session was about strengthening regional transport connectivity as an enabler. It was moderated by Professor Dr. Bishwambher Pyakuryal, Chairman, Institute for Strategic and Socioeconomic Research (ISSR), Nepal. Mr. Anil Gupta, former Chairman, CONCOR Limited, and Consultant, UNESCAP, made a presentation. Panelists were Ambassador Gyan Chandra Acharya, Chairman, SAWTEE Centre for SDG and former UN Undersecretary General; Professor Dr. Mustafizur Rahman, Distinguished Fellow, CPD; Mr. Pankaj Hazarika, Director (connectivity and security division), BIMSTEC Secretariat, Bangladesh; Mr. Raghubar Dayal, Senior Fellow, AITD, Delhi; and Mr. Nazir Kabiri, Executive Director, Biruni Institute, Afghanistan. This session examined present status of regional cross-border transport linkages in South Asia, policy options for furthering connectivity and also highlighted particular challenges faced by Landlocked Least Developed Countries (LLDCs) here. 

The third working session was titled “Fostering Energy Connectivity”. Professor Dr. Ijaz Hossain, BUET was the moderator. Benuka Ferdousi and Lam-Ya Mostaque, Research Fellow and Research Officer, BIISS, respectively, made a joint presentation. Panelists were Dr. Sultan Hafeez Rahman, Professorial Fellow, BIGD BRAC, Bangladesh; Dr. Posh Raj Pandey; Mr. Tshering Dhendup, Senior Planning Officer, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Bhutan; and Dr. Damaru Ballabha Paudel, Director (Social Affairs Division), BIMSTEC Secretariat. Energy remains a crucial issue in South Asia. While some countries have considerable reserves

and potential for producing this resource, those prospects are facing diverse challenges—environmental, political, security, economic and so on. These are becoming more complicated with the absence of necessary connectivity, both in terms of transport and energy. This session explored, growing demand and lesser supply of energy, ways and means of extending various bilateral frameworks to form an integrated regional power grid and regional energy market, need for collective efforts to ensure viable protection from climate change etc

The fourth session titled “Regional Cooperation for addressing Disaster Risks and Building Climate Resilience” was moderated by Dr. A R Subbiah, Director, RIMES, Bangkok. A presentation was made by Dr. Madhurima Sarkar-Swaisgood, Economic Affairs Officer, UNESCAP. Panelists were Mr. Md. Moyazzem Hossain, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, Bangladesh; Dr. Suman Kumar Karna, Former Project Chief, Post Flood Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Project and DRR Specialist, Nepal; Dr. Arvind Kumar, President, India Water Foundation, India; and Dr. Sufia Khanom, Senior Research Fellow, BIISS, Bangladesh. Issues discussed in this session included harmful impacts

of natural disasters threatening sustainable development, trans-boundary nature of climate change and natural calamities, their impact on agricultural production and food security in South Asia, necessity of adaptation to climate change, regional solutions to mitigate these common challenges and climatic risks; explore the scope of innovative technologies and sustainable ways of developing climate-resilient agricultural systems; examine ways of sharing resources, knowledge and financing mechanisms for sustainable use of natural resources while securing long-term food supply, and highlight opportunities and constraints for South Asian economies in agricultural value chains and regional food markets etc. 

The last working session was centred on cooperation among think-tanks for achieving SDGs in South Asia. Dr. Nagesh Kumar, Director, UNESCAP, South and South West Asia Office, New Delhimoderated it. Panelists were Mr. Nazir Kabiri, Executive Director, Biruni Institute, Afghanistan; Dr. Selim Raihan, Executive Director, South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM), Bangladesh; Dr. Posh Raj Pandey, Executive Chairman, AWTEE), Nepal; Dr. Mahfuz Kabir, Research Director, Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS), Bangladesh; Dr. Ganga Tilakaratna, Research Fellow & Head of Poverty and Social Welfare Policy Research, IPS, Sri Lanka; and Dr. Sabyasachi Saha,

In the Concluding Session, Dr. Mahfuz Kabir, Research Director, Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS), Bangladesh and Dr. Nagesh Kumar, Director, UNESCAP, South and South West Asia Office, New Delhi extended their sincere thanks and gratitude to the session moderators, panelists and presenters for their ensuing contribution to the policy dialogue. They also expressed their heartiest gratitude to the learned audience for their presence.