India & Bangladesh, the two nations share a common colonial past, heritage, values of secularism, democracy, linguistic & cultural ties. The relationship between India and Bangladesh is anchored in history and lies on the principles of sovereignty, equality, trust, understanding, growth, vision of peace & stability that goes far beyond a strategic partnership.
Virtual Summit between India’s Prime Minister and Prime Minister of Bangladesh.
- Signing of Bilateral Documents and Inauguration of Projects: in fields such as Hydrocarbon Sector, Trans-boundary Elephant Conservation, High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDPs), Cooperation in the field of Agriculture etc.
- Cooperation in Health Sector: India assured that vaccines would be made available to Bangladesh as and when produced
- Cultural Cooperation: A commemorative postal stamp was issued by India on the occasion of birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman founding leader of Bangladesh and country’s first Prime Minister.
- Border Management and Security Cooperation: work toward delineation of the fixed boundaries along Icchamati, Kalindi, Raimongol, Hariabhanga and the Kuhsiyara Rivers.
- Trade Partnership: study on the prospects of entering into a bilateral Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
- Connectivity: newly restored railway link between Haldibari (India) and Chilahati (Bangladesh), which was defunct since the India-Pakistan war of 1965.
- Cooperation in Water Resources, Power and Energy: need for early conclusion of Framework of Interim Agreement on sharing of waters of six joint rivers, namely, Manu, Muhuri, Khowai, Gumti, Dharla and Dudhkumar and agreed to expedite implementation of projects including India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline, Maitree Super Thermal Power Project etc
- Global Partnership: towards achieving early reforms of the UN Security Council, combating climate change, attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and protection of the rights of migrants
Steps taken to strengthen India-Bangladesh relations
- Sharing of river water: Memorandum of Understanding in October 2019 on water sharing of the Feni river. Maitri Setu
- Fuel pipeline: Indian assistance for India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline for supply of diesel from Siliguri in India to Parbatipur in Bangladesh.
- Assistance during COVID-19:medical assistance in the form of test kits, PPE and medicines, as well as online trainings for medical professionals.
- Trade Facilitation: In May 2020 addendum to the Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade (PIWTT) and added two new routes and five port of call, facilitating trans-shipment of Indian goods from Kolkata to Agartala via Chattogram.
- Financial aid: 3 Lines of Credits (LOC) to Bangladesh in the last decade amounting to US$ 8 billion for development of infrastructure in various sectors including roads, railways, shipping and ports.assistance to Bangladesh for various infrastructure projects such as the Agartala- Akhaura rail link, dredging of inland waterways, and high impact community development projects (HICDPs) in the areas of education, health, water, culture, urban development etc.
- Soft skills training program by India for women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh
Significance of Bangladesh for India
- Enhancing Connectivity: Bangladesh strategic geopolitical location, acts as a gateway to Southeast Asia. It is a central component to various regional connectivity projects such as the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) initiative.
- Important Trade Partner: Bangladesh is India’s biggest trade partner in South Asia and destination for Indian exports.
- Security and border management: extensive and porous boundary with Bangladesh. cooperation crucial for effective border management and tackling transnational crimes such as smuggling of arms, narcotics, fake Indian currencies and trafficking of women and children.
- Development of North- Easter Region (NER): Transit and transshipment to NER through Bangladesh helps increase connectivity with the NER and ensure peace, stability and economic development of the region. Indo-Bangladesh security cooperation has helped in the taming of insurgency in India’s northeast.
Contentious issues in India-Bangladesh ties
- River water disputes: 54 trans-boundary rivers between them given rise to concerns in Bangladesh over sharing of river waters, interlinking of the rivers and building of dams in India. Several issues in this regards are-
- Doubts about the credibility of bilateral Joint Rivers Commission (JRC) working since 1972 for the resolution of water disputes. 2019, the 38th round of meeting of JRC was held after a gap of around seven years.
- Delays in signing of the interim agreement for sharing of the Teesta waters
- Trade imbalance: Bangladesh complained bilateral trade tilts towards India.
- China factor: The Chinese influence on Bangladesh has been increasing in the past few years through enhancing the list of products for duty-free access into its markets and providing massive loans for development projects.
- Issues in Border Management: Loss of civilian lives at the border and smuggling of arms, narcotics and fake currency
- Concerns related to Citizenship Amendment Act: implied the poor treatment of religious minorities in Bangladesh and brought negative publicity for Dhaka.
Way Forward
- Institutionalizing a framework for management of the rivers: basin-wide approach in formulating a new framework
- Allowing work permits, to resolve the migration issue, in a manner that does not adversely impact the society and economy
- Conducting meetings of JRC on regular intervals and enhancing cooperation in the field of sharing hydrological data
- Expediting projects in Bangladesh: including India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline, Maitree Super Thermal Power Project etc. to highlight the highest priority India attaches to Bangladesh under India’s Neighbourhood First Policy.
- Addressing issues of non-tariff barriers and trade facilitation including port restrictions, procedural bottlenecks etc. for reducing the trade imbalance.
- Effective implementation of the ongoing Coordinated Border Management Plan.