Round The World
New Delhi, 12 July 2011
Krishna’s
Bangladesh Visit
DON’T SQUANDER GOOD
TIES
By Monish
Tourangbam
Research Scholar,
School of International Studies (JNU)
The External
Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna’s recent visit to Bangladesh
came at a tense moment on the heels of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s ill-timed
remarks on Bangladesh
which threatened to cause a diplomatic showdown. But, thanks to diplomats
across the border the crisis was averted which could have hindered the
otherwise positive trend in bilateral ties since election of Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina.
Importantly,
the Hasina Administration has shown a lot of maturity and willingness to carry
forward the relationship by successfully playing down the impact of Manmohan Singh’s
“gaffe”. The Prime Minister made the faux pas during
a media inter-action with newspaper editors in New Delhi.
According to sources, Manmohan Singh said, “with Bangladesh, our
relations are quite good. But we must reckon that at least 25 per cent of the
population of Bangladesh
swears by the Jamaat-e-Islami and
they are very anti-Indian, and are in the clutches, many times, of the ISI. So,
a political landscape in Bangladesh
can change at any time. We do not know what these terrorist elements, who have
a hold on the Jamaat-e-Islami elements
in Bangladesh,
can be upto.”
As the comments appeared in the official transcript,
it spread like a virus in cyberspace. And by the time, the Government acted and
deleted them from the transcript, damage had already been done with fears
lingering that it might affect the Foreign Minister’s visit to Bangladesh and
subsequently the big-ticket visit of the Prime Minister in September.
Even as the fall-out raged in both countries, in a
damage-control exercise, Manmohan Singh called Sheikh Hasina reminding her that
India
attached the “highest importance” to relations with her country. Fortunately,
the recent upward trend in Indo-Bangladeshi relations under the pro-India
Sheikh Hasina managed to successfully glide over the controversy.
Undoubtedly, Krishna’s
visit has been hailed a success, thus paving the way for a promising visit by
the Prime Minister. Asserted the Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dipu Moni in Dhaka, “Such type of mistakes do happen. There is no scope
for any misunderstanding now.”
During his visit, the Foreign
Minister delivered a speech on “India and Bangladesh: Partners in Progress”
at the Bangladesh Institute of
International & Strategic Studies (BIISS). He espoused faith in the
potentials of India and Bangladesh to work
together and “to play a greater role in regional, and global, affairs in
the years ahead.”
Significantly,
Sheikh Hasina’s term has been much appreciated for giving a new momentum to the
relationship, standing up to critics of an Indo-Bangladeshi convergence. An
initiation seems to have been made to better assess ties between the neighbours
in the light of changing times, and not let unsettled issues mar development
prospects.
Now, renovation work has to be
carried out in the mutual interest of both sides. In this pursuit, India as one of
the fastest growing economies in the world and a major player at the global
stage should take the lead, and prevent any untoward mistakes from sapping the
prospects of the relationship.
During Krishna’s visit, two agreements
were signed: Exchange of instruments of
ratification in respect of the Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection
Agreement (BIPPA) and SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) for entry of trucks
from Bhutan
into territories of the two countries near the border.
Both
sides have given utmost importance to the implementation of the joint
communiqué adopted last year and Krishna expressed
satisfaction that a number of proposals received for utilization
of the US$ 1 billion Line of Credit were under implementation.
Significant
convergences regarding cooperation in the power sector were highlighted with
both nations arriving at various agreements, including
establishment of grid connectivity up to 500 MW of power from India of which
250 MW would be at a preferential rate. New Delhi has also responded positively
to Dhaka’s request for setting up of a high technology joint venture thermal
power plant of 1320 MW capacity at Khulna and has completed the feasibility
report.
To
improve trade infrastructure and connectivity between the two countries, a new
Land Customs Station (LCS) at Fulbari-Banglabandha was opened in January 2011
and New Delhi has now undertaken to set-up seven Integrated Check Posts (ICP).
Border Haats in Meghalaya will also be
soon inaugurated.
As
rapidly developing countries with huge populations trying to match the march of
globalization, undeniably South Asian countries would increasingly struggle
with the need to find resources to feed the need of their developments. In this
context, effective resource management forms one of the most vital issues when
it comes to relations between South Asian neighbours. Hence, the water-sharing
frameowork between India and
Bangladesh
and its implementation in a spirit of mutualism and transparency is pivotal for
taking the relationship forward.
New Delhi and
Dhaka have expressed firm optimism on the signing of an interim deal on sharing
the waters of Teesta and Feni rivers and a framework agreement on land border
during the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's upcoming Dhaka
visit in September. The work on river bank protection and embankment
construction along the common rivers is progressing and the dredging of the Ichhamati River is nearing completion.
Clearly, zero-tolerance for terrorism and
jointly fighting terror in all its manifestation should be of paramount
importance. This issue is of utmost concern to India’s security and has been an
enduring piece of the inter-actions. Both sides have constantly reiterated that
their soils would not be allowed for activities inimical to each others’
interests. They reportedly agreed to closely coordinate activities to prevent
trafficking and smuggling of arms, narcotics and fake currency notes in order
to control criminal activities along the border.
North-East
insurgent groups taking advantage of the porous border and finding safe havens
on the other side has been India’s
major concern and sustaining efforts to contain these activities would be a
major fillip in bilateral understanding. Underscored Krishna,
“The rise of religious fundamentalism, extremism and terrorism
are not unfamiliar to our region… India
and Bangladesh
have had good cooperation in fighting such forces. It is imperative that we
continue to join hands to fight terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.”
True, the two countries are bound by age-old
cultural links and connected by the very nature in which an independent Bangladesh
evolved. However, the course of bilateral ties has not been linear, seeing some
lean phases wherein issues of resource-sharing arrangements and differences in
perceiving security issues have impeded relations.
Sheikh Hasina’s Premiership has increased
expectations and both sides expect good dividends. Given that India’s rise as
a global power cannot negate its concerns of a complex neigbourhood, our
leaders do not have the luxury of “attention lapse”. The momentum achieved in India’s relations with Bangladesh
should not be squandered and every effort should be made to assuage the
Bangladeshi leaders and people that all new developments would be
carried forward on the basis of mutual interest and consent. ----
INFA
(Copyright, India
News and Feature Alliance)
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