A four-member ADB mission led by South Asia Department Deputy Director General John Samy conveyed the bank's willingness to assist in programmes for stepping up regional economic cooperation to Finance Minister M Saifur Rahman at a meeting at the latter's finance ministry office.

In response, Saifur proposed to hold a meeting of the Saarc finance ministers in February in Pakistan to work out the details of possible ADB assistance.

"ADB wants to use the momentum generated by the 13th Saarc Summit in Dhaka to speed up implementation of the Saarc initiatives. We, the Saarc finance ministers, will discuss the possible areas and modes of cooperations," Saifur told the press after the meeting.

A recent ADB report on its Bangladesh Country Strategy and Programme for 2006 to 2010 observed, "Bangladesh has the potential to become a transport and transhipment centre for the sub-region." Because, it explained, "Bangladesh borders India and Myanmar and is in close proximity to the landlocked countries of Bhutan and Nepal."

Besides, the report said, "With the opening of the Jamuna Bridge and development of the Padma Bridge, the DhakaChittagong transport corridor and other strategic transport corridors can serve to link the northeastern states of India to Bhutan, Nepal, and West Bengal."

But, the ADB observed, "Deficiencies in key infrastructure and a lack of transit rights frustrate opportunities for economic integration with Bangladesh's near neighbours." To address the shortcoming, it prescribed improving regional initiatives under the Saarc and, particularly, the bilateral agreements with India to facilitate trade in energy, to enhance cross-border transit trade and to effectively promote environmental co-operation, among other things.

The ADB's Regional Cooperation Strategy and Programme (RCSP) for South Asia (2005-2008) prioritises sub-regional projects for improving road networks connecting Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal, and developing regional railway and power projects.

The ADB also noted that Bangladesh's economic ties to East and Southeast Asia have increased as a result of foreign direct investments, particularly in the apparel sector. The bank envisages deepening of these ties with these regions by easing trade and investment barriers as central to Bangladesh's progress in regional cooperation.