Dhaka looks into Indo-Pacific economic framework: FM

Foreign minister AK Abdul Momen on Sunday said that his ministry was currently studying different aspects of the newly formed Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity to determine whether it would be beneficial for Bangladesh to join.  

‘We are studying it (IPEF),’ he told the media at his office when he was approached to make comments on Bangladesh’s stand on the new economic framework.

On May 23, in Tokyo, US president Joe Biden launched the IPEF with 12 other countries — Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam — which together represent 40 per cent of world GDP.

The USA said that there would be opportunities for other countries to join IPEF, and Washington expects that Bangladesh would follow it closely.

While asked about China’s stand on IPEF, the foreign minister said that there might be observations from different countries on whether Dhaka should join IPEF or not, ‘but we will only do what protects our national interest’.

He stated that prime minister Sheikh Hasina never compromises when it comes to the betterment of the country, and the Padma Bridge was a prime example of her unwavering commitment to national interests.

‘So, we are very happy that we have very strong leadership. We will do whatever we can for the good of our country,’ he said.

‘But, we will also hear advice from others. There is no harm in hearing it,’ Momen said.

The foreign minister said that the IPEF had put emphasis on four pillars—supply chain resilience, data management, corruption and money laundering, and free and fair trade in the Indo-Pacific.

He said that Dhaka had no observations regarding the supply chain and inclusive and open navigation in the Indo-Pacific area for free trade. ‘(As like IPEF), we also want no disruption on the supply chain, so we have nothing to worry about,’ he said.

Besides, the minister said, the concept of a free and open Indo-Pacific match with Dhaka’s principles as Bangladesh wants to see free, inclusive, and secure navigation in the region due to its being situated on the tip of the Bay of Bengal.

‘But, I don't know what is in that (IPEF) apart from our principles,’ he said.

The minister said that it was a good sign that IPEF wanted to put emphasis on the money laundering issue as most of the banks in western countries did not disclose the account information of foreign nationals due to their privacy acts. 

‘It’s good news, as we do not allow anyone to illegally transfer money from the country ... so we have to look into this,’ he added.

Regarding data management, the minister said, Dhaka needs to figure out what is under this topic.

Recently, US ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas said that the US first started consulting with Bangladesh's foreign ministry about IPEF in March by sharing information in the bilateral dialogues privately.