Bangladesh Keen To Set Up RMG Factories In Myanmar

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Bangladesh Keen To Set Up RMG Factories In Myanmar

As Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy prepares to take the reins from the country's ruling military junta next month, Bangladesh is looking to see if ties between the two countries can be deepened. "We hope that with the change of government in Myanmar, the situation will improve," a senior Bangladesh government official said. The official said Bangladesh had put forward a number of proposals for improving bilateral relations. The government has twice proposed the setting up of RMG factories in Rakhine state that would hire only Myanmar nationals as workers, the official said. "We invited them to sign an agreement on setting up industries in the border areas where Bangladeshi entrepreneurs could invest in Myanmar, and vice versa, but they have not yet responded," he added.

Bangladesh would also like to finance development projects like schools and hospitals, and construct road and bridges in Rakhine state, to improve the quality of life of its residents, the official said. In security and development, Bangladesh has proposed two agreements - one has been agreed by both sides and the other is currently being negotiated. To increase people-to-people contact, Bangladesh has proposed to give scholarships to Myanmar students to study at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka Medical College and Dhaka University.