Bangladesh's proposal to change the route of that portion of the Asian Highway that will cross its territory has been turned down by the six countries that Bangladesh had approached, on the grounds of "time constraint."

Local daily New Age on Sunday quoted Foreign Ministry sources as saying that Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Sri Lanka, in separate letters, regretted that they could not agree to the government's proposal because it was too late to change the route.

Dhaka proposed a change in the route through Yangon via Teknaf - - southernmost tip of Bangladesh (AH-41 route) instead of the existing route from Tamabil, the border outpost in northeastern Bangladesh, to Benapole in western Bangladesh or Banglabandha -- the extreme north of Bangladesh (AH-1 route).

China also turned down the proposal due to time constraints earlier in November.

The Foreign Ministry sent letters to all these countries in line with the decision of an Oct. 20 inter-ministerial meeting on the Asian Highway which asked the ministry to pursue China, Thailand and Myanmar to support its proposal at the Asian Highway's joint working committee's meeting scheduled in Bangkok on Dec. 14-15.

The deadline for Bangladesh to ratify the inter-governmental agreement to join the Asian Highway, which will connect 32 nations from Tokyo to Ankara, is Dec. 31.

A total of 27 countries, including Japan, China, Malaysia, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey and all the South Asian nations except Bangladesh, signed the agreement in 2004.

The Foreign Ministry favored ratification of the agreement because of the importance of the road network's impact on trade and commerce and relations with neighboring countries.

"Bangladesh may be isolated if we do not link ourselves with the proposed road network. Joining the route will help Bangladesh to strengthen its 'look east' policy, especially its relations with China," the daily quoted the Foreign Ministry as saying.

The Foreign Ministry also said that according to article 15 (3) of the Asian Highway Agreement, Bangladesh does not have any obligation to provide a corridor or transit facility to India or any other countries. The government should ratify the agreement first and then bargain with the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the initiator of the project, to give the AH-41 road the status of AH-1.

The Oct. 20 meeting, presided over by Communications Minister Nazmul Huda, decided to stick to the government's earlier stance for recognition of the proposed AH-41 route as the Asian Highway within Bangladesh, as both the entry and exit points of the existing Asian Highway would fall in India. The government fears that the highway would thus turn into an Indian transit route.

The AH-41 route is considered sub-regional road in the Asian Highway map. Bangladesh had earlier pursued the ESCAP and member countries to treat the road as an international road like the AH-1.

Source: Xinhua