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Indo Bangladesh
Relations
India’s outgoing Foreign Secretary;
Ms Nirupama Rao was in Dhaka. She highlighted the progress in Indo Bangladesh
relations at the Joint Press meet. Projects under the $ 1 billion LOC from
India was a high priority to include Railway infrastructure and purchase of
buses for Dhaka city which have been concurred and will be implemented.
Cooperation in the power sector, including grid connectivity, supply of upto
500 MW of power from India, including 250 MW of power at a preferential rate
and Bangladesh request for setting up of a high technology joint venture
thermal power plant of 1320 MW capacity is progressing well. The annual duty
free quota for export of Bangladeshi garments to India has been raised from 8
to 10 million pieces. Both sides are working on several projects to improve
trade infrastructure and connectivity.
Bangladesh exports to India have, according to Indian figures, increased
by 52% in the first nine months of 2010-11.
On the issue of boundary, the Joint
Boundary Working Group (JBWG) last met in November 2010, and on water issues, Bangladesh
Water Resources Secretary held talks in Delhi in June to discuss interim water
sharing of Teesta and Feni rivers. The land issue is complicated. Indo
Bangladesh border ironically is India’s longest at 4156 kms. Settling the same
will involve India partaking 10,000 acres. This comprises of 3,000 acres of land that Bangladesh
has inside India, 51 enclaves (7,000 acres of land) and 6.5 kilometres of
un-demarcated border, while India has around 3,500 acres of land and 111
enclaves (17,000 acres of land) adversely possessed inside Bangladesh. The
exchange of enclaves will lead to loss of Indian enclaves in Panchagarh,
Lalmonirhat, Kurigram and Nilphamari districts of Bangladesh. Bangladeshi
enclaves are in Cooch Behar district West Bengal. Of the 6.5 km un-demarcated
border, 1.5 km is at Doykhata in Nilphamari district, 2 km at Muhurir char in
Feni and 3 km at Lathitila in Moulvibazar.
Provision
of transit to India may face some challenges due to pricing considerations as
well as opposition from nationalist parties including principal opposition BNP.
For this international norms should be a good pointer and options exercised by
other nations under similar circumstances could be discussed. There is a need
for overall political consensus in both the countries for a transit treaty in
mutual benefit with some concessions offered to Bangladesh by India to make it
more palatable
Indian Army chief, General V K Singh was
in Bangladesh on invitation of chief of Bangladesh Army, General Mohammad Abdul
Mubeen. Resetting relations between Indian
and Bangladesh armed forces over a
period has resulted in a number of military exchanges and the visit of the Army
Chief to Bangladesh and particularly to take the salute at the passing out
parade of the Bangladesh Military Academy for training officer cadets is
significant. While Indo Bangladesh military relations were low key in the past,
these picked up momentum after the Caretaker Government in the country took
office in 2007 and was followed up by the Awami League since 2009. The
cooperation has fructified in visits by major dignitaries and led to cooperation
on the anti terrorism front as the Bangladesh government has acted against
Indian militant groups operating in the North East.
Thus with a general agreement on
improvement of relations between the two governments, issues such as water
sharing of the Teesta a crucial one for Bangladesh and transit for India may be
resolved compatibly. It remains to be seen how many agreements are implemented
for Indian response is tardy due to bureaucratic challenges and given impact of
water on agriculture there is all the more reason to worry for local agitations
in the days ahead unless the Treaty is properly packaged and the people well
informed.
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