Good move; now follow them up

The Bangladesh-India prime minister-level summit on Thursday was a remarkable step forward in advancing not only bilateral relations but also regional connectivity and economic integration, analysts have said.

They observed that the outstanding issues, including water-sharing deals, border killings, and trade barriers, need to be settled at the earliest, clearing the path for continued progress between the two friendly neighbours who share a common history.

The summit also opened a scope for deepening friendship as the countries will be celebrating jointly and separately the 50 years of Bangladesh's victory, which is also a victory for India whose army fought against Pakistan for Bangladesh's birth in 1971, and the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations.

Foreign relations experts say there were some concerns in Bangladesh over India's National Register of Citizenship (NRC) and Citizenship Amendment Act. Leaving those aside, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her counterpart Narendra Modi on Thursday spoke with great warmth, albeit virtually, in a clear demonstration of the will to move ahead.

The two sides signed seven MoUs for advancing cooperation on modernising agriculture, digital economy, renewable energy, hydrocarbon, environment conservation, technology transfer and trade and investment.

A significant event in the summit was the inauguration of the Chilahati-Haldibari rail link after 55 years. The Karimganj-Mahisashan rail link on the Assam side is likely to become operational in 2022. With these, all six rail connections between the two countries will be operational, making it easy for mobility of goods and passengers.

"This [Chilahati-Haldibari] is an important rail link that will eventually facilitate Bangladesh's connectivity to Nepal and Bhutan," said Munshi Faiz Ahmad, former ambassador and chairman of Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS).

India is also getting connected via inland waterways. Trial run of trans-shipment of Indian goods from Kolkata to Agartala via Chattogram has already taken place. The Sonamura-Daudkandi protocol route has been operationalised, while the trans-shipment of Indian goods through Chattogram and Mongla ports will also begin in the near future.

Munshi Faiz said India is investing in these connectivity projects, which is likely to draw more investments in the future. Indian High Commissioner Vikram Doraiswami on Thursday said Bangladesh can also use Indian ports for third-country exports.

Bangladesh earnestly wants implementation of the Motor Vehicle Agreement (MVA) of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) for augmenting regional connectivity. For the same purpose, Dhaka sought to join the ongoing India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway project.

Prof Mustafizur Rahman, distinguished fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue, said it is very positive sign that Dhaka sought to join the trilateral highway project, which Delhi may consider.

"This highway would be crucial for Bangladesh as it connects South and Southeast Asia, and talks are underway for FTA in the BIMSTEC," he told this correspondent.

Implementation of the MVA is taking long, and the countries involved need to speed up to do whatever is necessary for its operationalisation, Prof Mustafizur said. He lauded Bangladesh's proposal to India on allowing Bangladeshi trucks to use the Feni Bridge, once completed, to transport goods from Chattogram port to India's North East.

The talks on Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement that took place between the two premiers need to be taken forward as it would be important for Bangladesh that is moving to graduate from the LDC category soon, he said.

The economist said it is a good sign that exports from Bangladesh to India are growing, but there are still some non-tariff barriers and anti-dumping duty on exports of jute products -- issues that need to be sorted out.

He also said it is a positive sign that India offered Bangladesh to join the New Development Bank of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) as it can help get concessional loans for infrastructure projects.

"These are all great talks. What's needed now is to take these forward," Mustafizur said.

Dhaka University International Relations Prof Amena Mohsin agreed that the PM-level summit ushers new hope and is expected to yield concrete results.

While India's support to Bangladesh for Covid-19 vaccine supply as well as co-production is welcome news, one needs to keep in mind that lots of vaccine doses will be required for the pandemic to be controlled. Therefore, all avenues of vaccine supply should be kept open, she said.

All three analysts said the long pending issues of Teesta water-sharing deal and bringing border killing to zero has seen little progress, which may create mistrust in the public mind and therefore needs special attention from the Indian side.

Amena Mohsin said although India supports Bangladesh's position on Rohingya repatriation and is investing for development in Myanmar's Rakhine state, it is not clear how initiatives at the political level are being taken by India to convince Myanmar. It is more a political problem than an economic or social one and needs a political solution, she said.

Munshi Faiz said sorting out these issues can make the bond between the two nations even stronger. Also, it will help India lead on the global stage -- something to which the regional power is aspiring.