Fourth BIMSTEC Summit Declaration And The Reality

Fourth BIMSTEC Summit Declaration And The Reality

Siddhi B Ranjitkar

Representatives of the BIMSTEC countries have done a good job issuing the Fourth BIMSTEC Summit Declaration in Kathmandu on August 31, 2018, and committing to do something to improve the lives of the common folks of this region, and relieved them from the poverty by 2030. However, the most valid question is whether these dignitaries would not forget what they have said in Kathmandu, and what they have committed in the declaration upon return to their respective countries. If they were not to forget their commitments then they needed to do two or more things immediately.

First, the opening of the trade among the BIMSTEC countries needed to be done immediately; only the trade could bring prosperity to this region, as the trade would benefit all the countries and nobody would lose from the open and fair trade, which would encourage each country to do best to make more money, and to make the use of the comparative advantage each one has.

In the interview posted on www.myrepublica.com on August 28, 2018, Alice G Wells: Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs of the US Department of State has said that the South Asian region has one of the lowest rates of inter-regional trade, less than five percent, Europe has 60 percent inter-regional trade.

In other words, countries of this region have not been doing trading among themselves at all; if they have, the regional trade would not be even less than five percent. So, there is plenty of room for enhancing the trade among the BIMSTEC member countries. They needed to open up their borders and their minds to increase the regional trade. They also needed to understand why they have so low percentage of the regional trade.

She (Wells) also said, “This (Trump) administration is also focused on learning lessons of South China Sea and ensuring that in Indian Ocean region we have free and open trade and maritime access. We estimate 70 percent of trade flows through the channels between India and Sri Lanka. This is the part of the world we deeply care about. United States brings 1.4 trillion in trade and 850 billion in foreign direct investments to the Indian Ocean region.”

Why the BIMSTEC member States should not take the advantage of such a trade flow through the channels between India and Sri Lanka is the question to the BIMSTEC member States. Probably, Chinese have been trying to penetrate into this area through Pakistan constructing the highway that reaches the Arabian Sea, and operating the seaport in Sri Lanka to take the advantage of those trade channels between India and Sri Lanka.

Second, connectivity is the most important part of the trade. Without roads, railways and air access to the BIMSTEC countries, trade could not flourish even if the custom and tax barriers and other legal barriers are lifted. So, the railways and roads networks of the BIMSTEC countries should be opened up to each other in general, and to Bhutan and Nepal in particular so that they could reach other BIMSTEC countries without any hindrances.

Nepal would have surplus hydropower after three years. So, Nepal could sell its surplus energy or power to the northern neighbor, and the southern neighbor, too, and going beyond the two neighbors, Nepal could sell its surplus power to the BIMSTEC member States. Bangladesh might be the immediate customer for the Nepalese power if India were to open up the 15km Indian Territory that separated Nepal and Bangladesh. Chinese have already proposed to construct transmission lines so that power from Nepal could flow to its Tibetan Autonomous Region when Nepal would have surplus power.

All the six BIMSTEC members States have the sizable population that believes in the Buddha’s teachings. Even Bangladesh in its eastern region has the Buddhist population, said former ambassador and foreign relation expert Hiranya Lal Shrestha speaking to the anchor of the Radio Nepal morning program called “antar sambad” on September 1, 2018.

So, the Buddhist Circuit proposed in the fourth BIMSTEC Declaration would be beneficial to all the folks in the BIMSTEC countries. It would increase the interactions among the people at the grassroots level; and the folks in the BIMSTEC countries would know each other better.

Whether such a Buddhist Circuit would be the road circuit or railway or air or the combination of all the three transport systems remains to be seen. The Air Buddhist Circuit might be the costliest; however, some folks might be able to or willing to pay for the comfort and the safety of travel. The road Buddhist Circuit might be not so comfortable given the tropical climatic condition in the BIMSTEC member countries even though modern buses might be fitted with the air conditioning system. The railway Buddhist Circuit might be the choice of most of the folks, as the railway travel is relatively safe and comfort and even comparatively cheap.

During the British East-India-Company rule in India, the British denied Nepalis to have trade deals with other countries other than the British India. So, they diplomatically or with a bit of pressure kept the Nepalese traders away from doing businesses with countries other than India.

The rise of Ranas in Nepal made the British Indian rulers even easy to keep Nepal closed within its borders bounded by India because the Rana prime ministers believed that opening the country to the outside world would be the threat to their despotic rule. So, they were happy to keep the common folks illiterate, poor and hungry so that nobody would challenge to their authority.

Before the British era in India, Nepalis had reached Tibet, Myanmar, Thailand, and China in the course of trade, religious, and cultural missions. There are some Nepalese communities living there even today, according to former ambassador and foreign relation expert Hiranya Lal Shrestha, who spoke to the anchor of the Radio Nepal morning program called “antar sambad”, and revealed this fact on September 1, 2018. The trade between Nepal and those countries flourished, and Nepal had been one of the wealthiest countries in the region at that time.

Nepalese renowned architect Arniko went with 80 builders to Tibet and built several monasteries in Lhasa and other areas in Tibet. Hearing the expertise of Arniko, the Chinese emperor invited Arniko to Beijing to build unique buildings, and certainly the unique White shadow-less Chaitya in Beijing in thirteenth (13^th) century. It is commonly known as the shadow-less Chaitya because it has no shadow, according to Satya Mohan Joshi, who researched into the life and deeds of Arniko and wrote a book on Arniko. Anybody could guess how genius Arniko had been even at that time to create such a shadow-less building. So, Nepalis had been everywhere in this region in the past.

Then, India became independent in 1947. The British has gone forever but the hangover of the British Raj in India remained, and continued even today after 70 years of the departure of the British.

Then, the powerful Rana prime minister signed off a Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1950 with India hoping that the Rana autocratic rule could be continued with the good will of India. So, the treaty made Nepal dependent on India to some extent.

Then, Nepalese removed the Rana autocrats in 1951. Then Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru brokered the power deal between the political party and the king giving the absolute power to the king believing to deal with a single man called king would be much more easier than the democratic minded political leaders. The treaty of 1950 remained.

So, only if India wanted Nepal and other tiny countries to do good businesses in the trade, and opened up not only the roads and railways network but also the minds of the Indian ruling and opposition political leaders then the trade among the BIMSTEC countries, and then the connectivity, the Buddhist Circuit, and so on would be a reality.

Speaking to the anchor of the Radio Nepal morning program called “antar sambad” on September 1, 2018, former ambassador and foreign relation expert Hiranya Lal Shrestha has also said that the BIMSTEC member States are holding the military exercise in India from September 10 to 17, 2018; if it were to be the show of the military strength then China and Pakistan would not take it easily; if it were entirely for the counter terrorism, it might work.

Former ambassador Shrestha has also said that India and Pakistan have no choice but to sort out their problems of enmity, and then live peacefully, and revive SAARC; so, SAARC would not die and would not fall in the shadow of BIMSTEC, too; in addition, Prime Minister KP Oli said that SAARC or BIMSTEC would not replace with each other rather they would be supplementary to each other in his opening and closing speeches.

How much Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi could digest those words of Prime Minister Oli on SAARC remains to be seen. India would not surely impose sanctions on Nepal for teaching Prime Minister Oli a lesson because Prime Minister Modi has already learned one or two lessons from the sanctions he had imposed on Nepal in the past. He had attempted to bully the Nepalese political leaders into postponing the announcement of the constitution that had been set to do within days imposing sanctions on Nepal causing the tremendous sufferings to the common folks in 2015.

However, Nepal is sitting on the lap of India, Modi could squeeze, grope, pinch, and even rape Nepal mercilessly. Whenever he thinks it is necessary to do so.

Prime Minister Oli has been courageous to repeatedly say that SAARC would come to life again despite Modi’s intention to set SAARC aside. Whether the words of Prime Minister Oli on SAARC would really come true remains to be seen.

September 1, 2018