People don't know jack, it doesn't matter what the people want. Its all about feasibility for the elites and elites are the ones that run the country, not the people. Awami League is an Indian dalal amd Bnp is also an Indian dalal but they are subtle about it. Talk to any politican in Bangladesh be it bal or bnp, they will tell you; you need a good backing from india in order to get into power in BD. I have nothing against with strong trade and commerce with India but with keeping our sovereignty in check and as long as our interest rates are on par with India, right now we have a higher interest rate......joining the asean countries is a pipe dream of every Bangladesh, its not even on the agenda of any politician to join asean.....they have a much high per capita gdp than india, the parity won't match up, where else it will be easier for us to integrate with India.
I will explain the interest rate bit, the reason we can't match Indian pricing is because their bank interest rate is lower than our's. I believe their interest rate is 8-9%; where ours is 11-13%. That is why if we have a free trade agreement with India; their goods will flood our economy and our businesses wont be able to match their pricing. If the bank interest rate is on par, we can match their prices. Geopolitics is all about feasibility and money. Countries are basically like big companies.
Yes, I expected that we would get that view from you. Looks like you are trying to represent the 1% elite view of Bangladesh, but you see many of us here are also from Bangladesh and many are also from that 1% elite. So we know well about what big industrialists are thinking and if we don't know, it would not be too hard to find out. One former BGMEA chairman I know, predicted that Jamaat will come to power, although I don't personally hope to see that happen.
I am not sure where you get the idea that BNP is pro-India, as far as I can tell it is the exact opposite, but whoever rules Bangladesh has to work with India, it does not mean that they get their orders from India like Hasina does.
If joining ASEAN is pipe dream of every Bangladeshi, then we will make it happen, Insha-Allah. You say our per capita GDP is low, we will wait till we make it high enough and then we will apply for membership.
We were a part of British India, so of course it would be very natural and easy to integrate with India, but
they don't want us in, just like they do not want Muslim Pakistan. For the nth time, they don't want to loose their Hindu overwhelming majority, they are scared to let us in, and as an excuse they say that we are "Islamist terrorists" bent on Jihad to take over the world. In 1947 we were scared and got out and now they are scared to let us in, ironic isn't it. But the feeling is mutual now, Bangladesh or Pakistan do not want to integrate with a Hindu Nationalist India either.
I am no economist, but I have been through macro and micro economics in university, so I know a little bit. As far as I can tell, bank interest depend on risk factors, inflation and supply and demand of funds. If Bangladesh risk factors, inflation and demand of funds are higher than India, then of course interest rate in Bangladesh would be higher, just like Greek bond prices are higher than German bonds. In a free trade arrangement, the only way our business can compete with theirs is that if we also become a part of a large group like ASEAN, we become as or more politically stable than India, as a result,have less inflation than India and have more supply of funds than India, as FDI always go for safer and stable places, where the ROI is higher and more secure. In order to make Bangladesh more competitive, we need to become a part of ASEAN and integrate with ASEAN countries.
You have got one statement right, countries are like companies, but they are also much more than companies. The sole purpose of companies is to make profit. Countries also have one or more cultures that they want to uphold and follow. So Geopolitics is not just about money, but you could say that it is mostly about power, of which money is just one small aspect.
