The Governor of the Central Bank, Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy, highlighted the need for integration of the Bay of Bengal (BOB) countries for common prosperity under a rule-based framework.
He made these views delivering the key note speech at Trincomalee Consultations - 2018’, which was conducted by the Pathfinder Foundation’s Centre for Indo-Lanka Initiatives recently in Colombo.
The event, convened in collaboration with two New Delhi based think tanks ‘Carnegie India’ and ‘Vivekananda International Foundation’, was sponsored by Japan. The theme of the conference was A Secure and Safe Bay of Bengal for Common Development and Prosperity.
“The Indian economy is going to continue to grow fast. The asymmetry between India and its neighbors is going to increase. In such a context it's in the interest of the smaller country to have a rules based framework within which trade, investment etc. take place. Because if you don’t have those rules, given the size of the Indian economy, given the rate of growth India is going to record, it will be a much more untidy and potentially more disruptive process, if you don't have a rules based framework to govern the bilateral relationship between the two countries.”
The governor also emphasised that it's not often understood that rules based frameworks are actually the protection for small and vulnerable countries. According to the governor, there is a strong rationale for putting this bilateral relationship, whether it’s Sri Lanka, Nepal or Bangladesh, Bhutan or Myanmar, with a much larger player in the region, within a rules based framework.
Speaking on Trincomalee, the governor said that if the BOB region takes off, the strategic importance of Trincomalee which has been known for millennia would be reinforced even further.
“Not only just the port which is very well placed as a hub for the BOB region but also the hinterland around Trincomalee can be developed whereby it can become an engine of growth not only for Sri Lanka but for the broader region as well.”
Coomaraswamy also urged that it is high time to come up with a proper mechanism to grasp emerging opportunities in the Bay of Bengal region.
To this end, it is pertinent to negotiate effectively to make sure that national interests of each countries are pursued vigorously within a corporate of framework, the governor pointed out. (IH)
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