Resumption of border trade depends on Covid situation in Bangladesh, says Arakan State govt spox

By DMG 20 Aug 2021

DMG Newsroom
20 August 2021, Sittwe 

Reopening of the border trade camps in Arakan State will depend on the status of the Covid-19 pandemic in neighbouring Bangladesh, according to the head of the Arakan State military council’s information team, U Hla Thein. 

The number of Covid-19 infections and deaths in Arakan State has begun to decline, as have hospitalisations due to the virus, he said, but the situation in Bangladesh continues to be monitored. 

“No matter how much virus infections in Arakan State fall, it will be necessary to monitor the situation in Bangladesh, where goods will be traded, before deciding whether to reopen the trading camps,” he told DMG.  

The Arakan State military council also plans to adjust the procedure and shift the cost burden of quarantining boatmen involved in the border trade. 

“In the past, the border trading boatmen were quarantined on the boats, and the local government paid for their costs. The border trading boatmen will be quarantined on land and they will have to bear their own costs,” he said. 

Negotiations are being made with the local government to revise the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the resumption of border trading in Arakan State, said U Tin Aung Oo, chairman of the Arakan State Chamber of Commerce and Industry.  

“The Arakan State Chamber of Commerce and Industry is working to resume the border trade in Arakan State. Even if the border trade camps are reopened, there will be discussions on what to do,” he explained.  

Due to the trade camps’ closure, workers involved in trading and their families have struggled to make ends meet. The camps were closed on July 15 amid rising Covid-19 infections in both Arakan State and Bangladesh.  

Daily new cases of Covid-19 in Bangladesh have been decreasing since early this month, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). There were 6,566 new cases on August 19, the WHO data show.