Dhaka: Bangladesh is eager to lease land in Burma’s western Arakan State for cultivation and agricultural farming.

The neighboring country will make a proposal for hiring lands in Arakan State during the upcoming third meeting of the Bangladesh-Myanmar Joint Trade Commission scheduled on 7- 8 April in Burma’s new capital Naypyidaw, according to an official of the Bangladesh Commerce Ministry.

The Joint Trades Commission was formed with the delegates of both countries in 2003 in order to facilitate improvement of bilateral trade. Their last meeting was held in November 2008 in Dhaka.

“We will raise the issue of leasing land in Rakhine (Arakan) State for ensuring our country’s food security through agriculture, animal husbandry, poultry and shrimp farming”, said the official.

Arakan, a coastal strip in western Burma, shares a border of 190 miles with Bangladesh and is abundant in natural resources and fertile lands.

Thousands of Arakanese people, as they said, have been leaving their homeland for Burma proper and neighboring countries in search of business opportunity as the Burmese army monopolizes the whole businesses in Arakan.

The official added that the issues of direct banking, letter of credit, establishing direct waterways and airway transportations, opening border markets and holding trade exhibitions of both countries would be on the top agendas in the meeting of the Joint Trade Commission, besides leasing land for contract farming in Arakan.

Bangladesh will also propose to upgrade the current system of settling payments, in which one importer is entitled to US $10,000 - 20,000 bank draft per each shipment of imports.

Burma exports timber, fish, rice, pulses, livestock, other farming products and raw materials to Bangladesh mostly via illegal ways while it imports pharmaceuticals, fertilizers and household utensils in return.

“Large scale cross-border smuggling occupies a significant role in the trades of the two neighbors due to Burma’s ignorance to take proper initiatives for this aspect,” said a border business source.

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