India expects to cement its ties with Bangladesh by completing a slew of developmental assistance projects in Bangladesh by next year, which happens to be the 50th year of the formation of Bangladesh, as well as of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two neighbours.
An early meeting of the foreign ministers of the two countries is also on the cards.
Some of the projects nearing completion are the Rampal Maitree Power Plant, the India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline and rail links between Akhaura-Agartala and Chilahati-Haldibari and the Khulna-Mongla rail line.
Foreign Secretary Harshvardhan Shringla was on a two-day visit to Dhaka on August 18 and 19, in which he met Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
India plans to issue a commemorative stamp of Bangabandhu during the ongoing Mujib Barsho as well as hold joint events with Bangladesh to commemorate the anniversary. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was expected to be in Dhaka for the inaugural ceremony of Mujib Barsho earlier in March, but the visit had to be called off because of the pandemic. He later addressed the event through a video conference.
The two sides also discussed the COVID-19 situation, with Shringla informing Hasina about India's efforts towards vaccine development and distribution. “Both sides agreed to continue their discussions in the area of vaccines and therapeutics,” said the ministry of external affairs (MEA) spokesperson Anurag Srivastava.
Currently, India is conducting trials for three potential vaccine candidates. These candidates are Covaxin by Bharat Biotech, ZyCoV-D by Zydus Cadila and a vaccine by AstraZeneca and Oxford University.
Shringla's visit comes in the backdrop of China making inroads into Bangladesh, with promises of not just the Chinese COVID-19 vaccine, but also soft loans for infrastructure projects and economic recovery from the pandemic. Bangladesh has given some initial nods for trials of the Chinese vaccine candidate, but the final decision is not yet made.
It has also been reported that China might fund some infrastructure projects on the Teesta river which runs through both India and Bangladesh. However, the Teesta water deal has not yet been sealed between the two, because West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee has been against it; India treats rivers as a state issue, not a federal one.
Srivastava said that Shringla's discussions in Dhaka did not touch upon the Teesta pact.
India has to consolidate its foothold in the neighbourhood, and Shringla's visit was an important step in strengthening ties with Bangladesh, which has shown worries over internal developments in India like the promulgation of the Citizenship Amendment Act and the inauguration of the Ram Temple construction in Ayodhya. Dhaka, however, has made it clear that it regards these developments as India's internal matters.
Delivering on promises is the best way to strengthen ties, and therefore a lot hinges on early delivery of the projects India has helped fund. In fact, during Shringla's tour, it was also proposed that a high-level monitoring mechanism be set up to regularly review the progress of the ongoing projects and that the next meeting of the Joint Consultative Commission at the level of foreign ministers be convened.
The foreign ministers of the two countries are also likely to meet soon to review the entire gamut of the bilateral relationship, including the projects.
The two countries have also decided to launch a travel air bubble, and open limited flights for official, business and medical travellers. Shringla also discussed issues “relating to the co-operation in areas of security, including fencing and joint efforts to prevent trans-border crimes,'' said Srivastava, adding that they also spoke about the safe repatriation of internally displaced persons from the Rakhine state. Bangladesh is grappling with a huge influx of Rohingyas who fled Myanmar over the last few years.
Shringla also met his counterpart Masud Bin Momen.
“This visit of Foreign Secretary was useful in discussing specific initiatives in several key areas of mutual interest,'' said Srivastava. “It also reflects the priority that India accords to Bangladesh as part of its Neighbourhood First policy. The top leadership of the two countries has remained in regular touch which has helped sustain the momentum in our excellent bilateral ties.”
