The Prime Minister’s Visit to Bangladesh and the Future of Indo-Bangladesh Relations
Posted on : May 2, 2021Author : Sagnik Sarkar
2021 marks the 50th year of Bangladesh’s independence. Hence, it also marks the half a century year of its friendly relations with India. The India-Bangladesh relations have been close since the birth of this country, despite some minor annoyances. India’s role in the liberation of Bangladesh had been significant, and since then, the general trajectory of friendly relations has kept on moving higher, so much so that there has been better understanding of each other’s concerns over the years. India-Bangladesh maritime dispute, for instance, was referred to Permanent Court of Arbitration that gave verdict in favour of Bangladesh in 2014 and India accepted it, without any reluctance[i].
The nation’s 50th National Day celebrations were marked by the historic visit of the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as the guest of honour of the event. Before that, a Bangladeshi tri-service contingent was welcomed to take part in India’s Republic Day celebrations, thus portraying the bond shared by the two neighbours[ii]. Modi’s two-day visit to Dhaka, spanning from 26th to 27th of March, his first foreign visit since the Covid-19 wave hit the entire world, was indeed a positive one. His Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina lauded India’s contribution in Bangladesh’s evaluation since 1971. “India is not only our next-door neighbour, we have a historical, social, cultural heritage and geographical rapport. The people and govt of India were immensely involved the evolution process of Bangladesh during our liberation war in 1971,” Sheikh Hasina said[iii].
This two-day visit should be viewed in the larger context of should be viewed in the larger context of India’s policy towards its neighbours based on ‘Neighbourhood First’. This policy aims to come across its neighbours as a country which is growing economically and strategically and desires to share its prosperity with them as India believes that a prosperous neighbourhood means prosperous and secured India. This concept has been defined lately by India’s policy of Security And Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR), which is the bedrock of India’s diplomacy[iv].
Bangladesh occupies a very special place amongst all of India’s neighbours. India’s core economic and strategic interests depend on ties with Bangladesh. The success of India’s Act East policy, development of North East, economic integration with the South East region, progress of Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) as also Mekong-Ganga Cooperation, peace and security in the East of India are linked to its ties with Bangladesh[v]. And with the recent geopolitical developments such as the coming together of QUAD countries and the Indo-Pacific ready to be the new theatre of world politics, the Bay of Bengal will become an important region, thence making Bangladesh a key partner for India in its Indo-Pacific strategy. This has been rightly highlighted by the Indian Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar, who in his recent visit to Dhaka rightfully claimed that India sees Bangladesh as “a key neighbour and a valued partner not only in South Asia but also in the broader Indo-Pacific region”[vi].
Bangladesh should be rightfully considered essential not only for the development of India’s North-East, but also as India’s gateway to South-East Asia, and hence improving connectivity between the two states is seen as crucial. For India in particular, transit and trans-shipment across Bangladesh is important as it is expected to boost the economy of India’s Northeast. On the other hand, land connectivity with India’s Northeast, and its access to Southeast Asia through that region, may help Bangladesh achieve its ambition of gaining economic prosperity. Connectivity with India may also help Bangladesh earn money from the payment of transit fees and may also provide access to the Indian market. Realising the fact that enhanced bilateral relations promise to provide exponential benefits to both countries, New Delhi and Dhaka have become proactive in reviving this delinked physical connectivity[vii]. The pre-1965 rail links have been restored. Both sides also agreed to start a new passenger train service which is called Mitali Express between New Jalpaiguri and Dhaka, starting from Dhaka cantonment. Earlier in March, both Prime Ministers had jointly inaugurated the Maitri Setu, the road bridge connecting Tripura with Bangladesh on the Feni river. The air connectivity is to be doubled. The opening of the Maitri Setu retaliates the vision and progress of India in ensuring ‘HIRA’ connectivity- a conglomeration of Highways, I-ways, Railways and Airways, between the two neighbours[viii].
Besides these, the two countries have also agreed to drive-up the process of sharing waterways for efficient trade and transport. As indicated by the Joint Statement issued during the Prime Minister’s visit to Dhaka, both leaders have directed their respective Ministries of Water Resources to work towards an early conclusion of the Framework of Interim Agreement on sharing of waters of six common rivers, namely, Manu, Muhuri, Khowai, Gumti, Dharla and Dudhkumar. An early finalisation of the draft for interim sharing of water of Feni River has also been agreed upon[ix]. There have also been discussions on the Teesta river issue and India has vowed to continue its efforts to conclude this agreement in consultation with the relevant stakeholders.
All these joint initiatives highlight the ever-growing closeness between the two neighbours, and how each one of them sees the other as crucial to fulfil their aspirations, and the Prime Minister’s visit proves how important a friend India considers Bangladesh to be. India’s effort to significantly upgrade connectivity would not only boost trade and commerce but would also encourage promotion of tourism and medical treatment. In order to do so, both the leaders have agreed upon an early operationalization of the Bhutan-Bangladesh-India-Nepal (BBIN) Motor Vehicles Agreement through expeditious signing of the Enabling MoU for Bangladesh, India, and Nepal to commence the movement of goods and passengers, with provision for Bhutan to join at a later date. Alongside this, the leaders have also discussed the need for the removal of Non-Tariff Barriers(NTBs) fo better enhancement of bilateral trade. In this context, the upgradation of infrastructure and facilities of the Land Customs Stations (LCSs) / Land Ports in a coordinated manner has been agreed upon.
The unique concept of ‘Border Haats’ have also played a crucial role in the building up a new horizon of energising connectivity and nurturing old bonds between the citizens of the two nations. A Border Haat is ‘a rough-and-ready market’ allowing ‘local people to trade in locally-grown agricultural and manufactured’ items along the border. The core idea behind the Border Haats is to provide a formal arrangement of trade between the local communities of the two countries who have limited access to big markets, mainly due to long distances. It is also argued that through the formalisation of cross-border trade by setting up Border Haats, it would be possible to reduce informal trading at the borders. The possibility to reduce informal trade would be higher if the scopes of trade can be expanded in the haat areas. Border Haats also improve the relationship between the local people of both countries by creating business opportunities and facilitating interactions between them. They have opened new opportunities for women living in the border areas to sell products produced by them at a better price[x]. And while currently there are 4 Border Haats in the India-Bangladesh border, the establishment of three new ones to lift economic development has also been decided. The Indian Prime Minister has also invited 50 young entrepreneurs from Bangladesh, to visit India and present their ideas to venture capitalists. Significantly, a World Bank study has projected exponential growth in trade with a consequent effect on GDP for both India and Bangladesh if there is free trade and liberal connectivity[xi].
Significant talks were held emphasising on bilateral cooperation in the energy and power sector. Stress was put on cooperation in the civil nuclear program. Both sides directed the High-Level Monitoring Committee for the energy and power sectors to provide recommendations for the prompt execution of projects under the Lines of Credit. Under the LoC, the transmission lines for the evacuation of power at Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant is to be constructed by Indian companies. The total value of the line of credit for the transmission lines will be more than one million dollars[xii].
In the Covid-19 world, health cooperation has also played a key role in strengthening the relationship between the two nations. Bangladesh has lauded India for gifting 3.2 million doses of Oxford Astra Zeneca Covishield vaccine made in India and appreciated the prompt delivery of the first batch of 5 million doses. India is providing 102 million doses of vaccines[xiii]. Bangladesh is the largest recipient of ‘made in India’ vaccines, demonstrating India’s priority for Bangladesh once again.
The visit of the Prime Minister which coincided with Bangladesh’s National Day celebrations has indeed positively pushed the bilateral relations between the two neighbours to a higher level. This visit assumes great significance also in the context of the Free, Open and Inclusive Indo-Pacific. Bangladesh is important for this endeavour. Bangladesh, which would assume the chairmanship of the IORA for the first time in October 2021, has also requested the support of India for working towards greater maritime safety and security in the Indian Ocean region, and has also received assurance in this regard. Besides, the two sides have also identified new areas of cooperation, such as science, artificial intelligence, peaceful uses of nuclear technology as also big data and technology-enabled services in health and education. Several Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) have also been signed, covering disaster management, trade remedial measures, two development partnership projects, and between the National Cadet Corps of the two countries[xiv].
To sum up, the two-day programme of the Indian Prime Minister has been ‘substantive, historically symbolic and very special and it included many diverse elements’, as rightly pointed out by the Indian Foreign Secretary. India and Bangladesh have always been friends, and their relationship has been growing closer throughout the years. Both the nations are pivotal for each other, and the recently concluded events only signify that their relationship is to grow stronger and multifaceted in the times to come.
[i] SD Pradhan, “PM Modi’s Visit to Bangladesh: Ties move to higher level”, The Times of India, March 30 2021
PM Modi’s visit to Bangladesh: Ties move to higher level (indiatimes.com)
[ii] “Celebrating 50 years of India-Bangladesh relations”, Journals of India, January 30, 2021
Celebrating 50 Years of India-Bangladesh Relations – JournalsOfIndia
[iii] “PM in Bangladesh: PM Modi attends inaugural programme of Bangabandhu-Bapu Museum in Dhaka | HIGHLIGHTS,” India Today Web Desk, March 26, 2021
[iv] Ibid [i]
[v] Ibid [i]
[vi] Alakh Ranjan, “Bangladesh: The Vital Cog in India’s Act East Policy,” The Kootneeti, 31 March 2021
Bangladesh: The Vital Cog in India’s Act East Policy (thekootneeti.in)
[vii] Ahana Basu Ray Chaudhury, “India-Bangladesh Relations @50: Commemorating Bilateral Ties- Introduction,” Observer Research Foundation, March 2021
India–Bangladesh Relations @50: Commemorating Bilateral Ties | ORF (orfonline.org)
[viii] Sabyasachi Dutta, “Bangladesh-India Relations: Empowering the Third Space,” Observer Research Foundation, March 25 2021
Bangladesh–India relations: Empowering the third space for a way forward | ORF (orfonline.org)
[ix] Ibid [I]
[x] Nazneen Ahmed, “Border Haats: A new horizon of revitalising connectivity and old bonding between citizens of Bangladesh and India”, Observer Research Foundation, April 17, 2021
[xi] Ibid [i]
[xii] “Transcript of Special Press Briefing by Foreign Secretary after Prime Minister’s visit to Bangladesh (March 27, 2021)”, Ministry of External Affairs, March 28 2021
[xiii] Ibid [i]
[xiv] Ibid [i]
Sagnik Sarkar
Intern, Asia in Global Affairs
The article is highly informative, and written up in a well knit format.