Editorial
Dhaka-Delhi contact rejuvenated
Menon's visit had some positive vibes
The foreign secretary-level talks between India and Bangladesh, first in the last two years, that ended Tuesday in Dhaka have gone down well with keen watchers of the ups and downs in the multi-faceted relationship between the two neighbouring countries. Seldom has a joint statement issued at the end of a visit of an Indian dignitary to Dhaka been marked by so little rhetoric and so much of a commonality of approach to face facts and deal with specifics in a well-ordered sequence based on an acknowledgement of the degrees of complications involved in handling long standing issues. That which could be approached easily has been taken up first followed by the rest. Admittedly, whilst it may appear to be a practical way to go about addressing outstanding issues, the pressing nature of some problems over others can get a little diluted. In terms of the joint statement, India is to give Bangladeshi goods duty-free access to its market by December 31'in phases'. The joint working group on trade meets next month to sort out ways to reduce the number of goods on India's 'sensitive lists' protected from duty-free access. Bangladesh is drawing up its list of exportable items for the duty-free access. Bangladesh and India have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to standardise their quality controls for certification, testing, measurement and quality assurance systems, which would help effectively remove non-tariff barriers for Bangladeshi goods. How far these steps will go to reduce the huge trade deficit Bangladesh has with India, only time can tell. Of significance is the understanding forged to share intelligence information on cross border crimes. This could lead to enhanced security cooperation between the two countries. However, one would have expected a more emphatic statement on boundary demarcation, exchange of enclaves and adverse possessions than merely identifying these as 'priorities that require early resolution.' More than three decades have passed since Bangladesh and India signed the land boundary agreement, with the former actually ratifying it in her parliament, and yet its implementation is now regarded as being contingent upon consideration of 'ground realities.' All that it involves is demarcating 6.5km of borderland. The discussions on greater land and rail links, coordinated development of land customs stations, establishment of 'border haats' and greater Indian investment into Bangladesh have sounded very forward-looking.
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