I was in Bangkok on Friday, speaking with the Bank of Thailand about relations between China and the Middle East. I also stopped by Precious Shipping, a large shipping company. The owner is an ethnic-Indian, but his father was born in Rangoon, before eventually migrating to Thailand where he got his start as a rice-trader. The company is now staffed by largely ethnic-Indians. It is an impressive operation and a reminder of the region’s deep commercial ties.
I was fascinated to learn that the shipping industry has laid-off a large number of Bangladeshi crew in recent years. It seems Bangladeshi nationals have had trouble obtaining United States visas since 2001.
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