Bangladesh intends to be a ‘sectoral dialogue partner’ of ASEAN

Bangladesh now wants to become a ‘sectoral dialogue partner’ of the Association of the Southeast Asian countries or ASEAN as it cannot be a full dialogue partner of the 10-country grouping which becomes a centre of global attraction.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam showed Bangladesh’s interest to be a sectoral dialogue partner on Tuesday and sought member countries support.

He was speaking at the celebration of the 50 years of establishment of ASEAN at the Thai Embassy in Dhaka.

Bangladesh will have a better say in selected sectors if it becomes a sectoral dialogue partner in the regional grouping.

ASEAN Dhaka Committee, comprising of missions of Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Brunei Darussalam and the Philippines, organised the celebration.

Ambassadors and high commissioners along with officials of all eight ASEAN countries in Dhaka were present during the ceremony.

Cambodia and Laos, who do not have missions in Dhaka, are the two other members of the 10 states grouping established in 1967.

Together, they form the seventh largest economic bloc in the world, with a population of 622 million and a total GDP of $2.6 trillion in 2014.

ASEAN's total trade in 2014 was $1 trillion, and intra-ASEAN trade comprised 24 percent of ASEAN's total trade. Of the world's multi-national companies, 227 have a presence in ASEAN, with a total of $1.068 trillion in revenue.

The association is not taking any full dialogue partner now as what Bangladesh was trying for long.

The State Minister congratulated the governments and peoples of the ASEAN countries on the anniversary.

He hailed “remarkable” success achieved by the ASEAN in the last 50 years.

He also noted the contribution of the ASEAN in facilitating “extraordinary economic development, peace and prosperity in the region”, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

He said Bangladesh shares a common agenda with ASEAN when it comes to peace, security and economic prosperity.

High Commissioner of Malaysia Nur Ashikin Mohd.Taib spoke on the occasion as the Chair of ASEAN Dhaka Committee. The committee also organised a “Food Festival” at the Thai embassy as part of the celebration.