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Round The World
New Delhi, 9 September
2022
Hasina In India
REAFFIRMING TIES
By Dr D.K. Giri
(Prof. International Relations,
JIMMC)
Sheikh Hasina, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh arrived in
India last Monday on a four-day visit. This is her fourth visit as the Prime
Minister and seventh as an individual and the Opposition leader. This visit signals
to renew and reaffirm ties between India and Bangladesh, especially as Hasina,
though a friend of India historically, is criticised for her recent pro-China
tilt.
The current backdrop to India-Bangladesh bilateral
negotiations is the growth of the economies of both countries. India has just
overtaken the United Kingdom as the fifth largest economy of the world after
USA, China, Japan and Germany. Likewise, Bangladesh also has graduated to the
rank of a middle-income country in 2021. But the latter has run into rough
weather owing to the international situation mainly sparked by the war in
Ukraine. Energy and food prices were soaring causing widespread protests; the
depletion of foreign currency reserve has made crucial imports prohibiting; the
import orders from the West on garment has hit the industry, which is the
largest in the country; the skyrocketing demand for wheat has made Bangladesh
the fifth largest wheat importer in the world.
On the other hand, although India’s economy is growing, New
Delhi is facing political and security issues in the neighbourhood which are
largely instigated by China; be it Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives, Bangladesh and
of course, Pakistan, which has become almost a vassal state for China. The
recent floods although have made Pakistan rethink its neighbourhood policies. In
this atmosphere of hostility and poaching of neighbours by Beijing, New Delhi
would like to have friendly neighbours. Bangladesh under Sheikh Hasina has been
a steady and consistent friend.
During the Sheikh Hasina’s last visit in 2019, both the
countries had signed seven pacts. In this visit also seven memorandums have
been inked between India and Bangladesh in the areas of railways, science and
space technology and broadcasting, among others. These memorandums were signed after extensive
discussion on bilateral issues related to water, trade, economic ties and
regional and global issues. The MOUs were significantly signed in the presence
of both the Prime Ministers. These are as follows:
An MOU between Jal Shakti Ministry of India and Ministry of
Water Resources Bangladesh on withdrawal of water from common border river
Kushiyara; two, between Ministries of Railways of India and Bangladesh on
training of Bangladeshi Railway personnel in India; third, the two Railway Ministries
on collaborations on IT systems such as FOIS and other IT applications for
Bangladesh Railway; fourth, between National Judicial Academy of India and Bangladesh’s
Supreme Court on training and capacity building programmes for Bangladesh
Judicial officers in India; fifth, between India’s Council for Scientific and
Industrial Research (CSIR) and Bangladesh Council for Scientific and Industrial
Research (BCSIR) on scientific and technological cooperation; sixth, on
cooperation in areas of science and technology between New Space India Limited (NSIL) and Bangladesh
Satellite Company Limited (BSCL) and seventh, between Prasar Bharati,
India and Bangladesh Television on cooperation in broadcasting.
In addition to the above, New Delhi provided some
information about the projects to be signed and/or inaugurated by both
countries. These included the unveiling of the Maitree thermal power plant in
Rampal in the district of Bagerhat; the inauguration of the Khan Jahan Ali Bridge over Rupsha River in Khulna, Bangladesh also
known as Rupsha bridge, and Khulna Darshana railway line link by making
it double line.
Across Asia, India is the biggest market for exports from
Bangladesh. In order to deepen bilateral trade, both sides hinted at initiating
discussions on a bilateral Economic Comprehensive Partnership Agreement (CEPA),
which is expected to raise Bangladesh exports to India two-fold and enhance the
country’s GDP by at least two per cent.
There was, however, a concern from Bangladesh to rectify
the wide asymmetry in the bilateral trade. Bangladesh exports 1.9 billion USD
worth of goods to India and imports 16.15 billion USD from India. Sheikh Hasina
and her team of Ministers accompanying her would like to at least partly
balance the trade disparity. This would help her answer the domestic critics,
who argue that their country importing 600 million USD of rice, mostly
parboiled was a sign of India’s overarching shadow on the country’s economy.
The statement by Narendra Modi should lift the spirits of
Bangladeshis. He said, “the trade between India and Bangladesh is increasing
rapidly. We have decided to extend cooperation in the IT, Space and Nuclear
sectors. Talks are also underway on power transmission lines”. On another area,
which occasionally becomes controversial is the water sharing, mainly in Teesta
River. The Prime Minister said that 54 rivers flow through India and Bangladesh
border influencing the livelihoods of a large number of people in both countries.
An important agreement was signed on Tuesday on water-sharing in Kushiyara
River.
On the political front, the indication coming from the
joint statement was that the common ground for understanding and cooperation
was growing between two countries. Both leaders were full of appreciation of
each other as they resolved to fight common threats of cross-border terrorism,
radicalisation and covid like pandemics. Hasina reaffirmed that India is the
most important and closest neighbour of Bangladesh. She extolled the bilateralism
between the two countries as the ‘role model for neighbourhood diplomacy’.
Quite an assertion that! She attributed this to the visionary leadership of Modi
that continues to add momentum to the bilateral relations.
Modi reciprocated the goodwill for India and appreciation
of his leadership. He said that Bangladesh had witnessed rapid development
under the guidance of Hasina. “It is our biggest trade partner in the region
and we share strong cultural ties’, he added. Remember that Hasina has been at
the helm for 13 years. Although she has faced stiff opposition from her rival
party BNP who even called her ‘a proxy of India’, it is under Hasina, the same
radicalised elements suffered the biggest electoral setback – outright public
rejection.
Sheikh Hasina looks to India as a friend and mentor owing
to the strong historical inks from the days to liberation of her country. She
herself had sought political asylum in India for six years up to 1981. Her
family has had a 70-year-old link with the 12th-century shrine in
Ajmer. The Chistis of the Shrine have been the hereditary priests of Hasina
family. Her father Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, the founder of Bangladesh, had
visited the shrine in 1957.
Diplomats from Bangladesh asserted that the PM gives primacy
to India among all its allies even though it may not be so easy to state in the
geo-political stage. But it is evident in all her speeches and interviews she
gave in the run up to the visit. Sheikh Hasina’s inclination toward India is
obvious, but the challenge is to build solid relations between peoples of both
countries.
India should not repeat the mistake committed in Nepal by
supporting the part of the population, the Madhesis. Each country requires a
specially calibrated strategy. In Pakistan it is the government which is
antagonistic unlike in Bangladesh where it is the people. New Delhi should see
such nuances in the neighbourhood diplomacy.---INFA
(Copyright, India News & Feature
Alliance)
New Delhi
7 September 2022
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