Sep 12, 2010

Indo Bangladesh Relations: Advantage Bangladesh

India’s Finance Minister Mr Pranab Mukherjee visited Bangladesh to sign a landmark US$ One Billion Line of Credit Agreement between EXIM Bank and Government of Bangladesh and resetting the relationship after some fears of a slow down due to lack of follow up of the positive outcome of the visit of the Bangla Prime Minister to New Delhi in January 2010. India also agreed to export of 3 lakh tones of rice and 2 lakh tones of wheat, in spite of a ban on exports of these essential commodities. India is also allowing transit for Bangladesh to Nepal and Bhutan.  The Land Customs Stations along the Tripura and Mizoram border will be reactivated, a bridge over river Feni at Sabroom-Ramgarh and other border infrastructure strengthened.

Border trade is likely to resume on the Meghalaya border with setting up of Border Haats. Experts will be assisting Bangladesh in upgrading the Standards and Certification procedures. After a gap of several years, the Joint Rivers Commission was convened and both sides have already exchanged drafts on Teesta water sharing. Works on 50 river embankments on both sides have started. The electrification cables for Dahagram and Angarpota have also been laid. Thus there is much happening on the Indo Bangladesh relations front. Bangladesh and India also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for setting up two 1,320 megawatt coal-fired power plants each in Chittagong and Khulna between Bangladesh Power Development Board and Indian National Thermal Power Company (NTPC).

The soft credit provided to Bangladesh will go a long way in alleviating the people’s problems in the country and will provide succour in implementation of infra structure and other projects in Bangladesh at the discretion of the government. The agreement will also build Indo Bangla relations further adding to dividends that have been gained during the time of the Awami League regime in Dacca. Will this also result in gaining the ground locally for the Awami League however remains to be seen, for there are concerns of the nationalist leadership flagging the same as a sell out though the soft nature of the loan cannot make out any case against it.

            On the security front however a border agreement is yet to be worked out though as per the broad contours it is not proposed to disturb settled populations and thus Bangladeshi enclaves in Indian territory will probably go to Bangladesh and Indian enclaves return to India but this involves transfer of some land to Bangladesh which is seen as a political road block due to forthcoming West Bengal elections and is thus not being agreed to by Ms Mamta Banerjee the current Railways Minister who has her eyes set on the post of Chief Minister of West Bengal.

            Bangladesh is also deftly mixing good relations with India and China, the two regional rivals with plans to have a tri-nation 111-km highway connecting Bangladesh-Myanmar-China evoked during the visit of Governor of Yunnan province Qin Guangrong to Dacca. This will provide the Bangladesh economy an ideal mix of trading with both India and China. The policies of Sheikh Haseena, the Prime Minister and Awami League chief integrating Bangla economy with that of the Asian power houses, India and China will no doubt reap rich dividends for the country if these are followed through over the years.

SEP 2010