A new phase ushered in Indo-Bangla relations

THE emphasis that the present leaders of Bangladesh and India have laid on creating a mutually beneficial and productive relationship between the two next-door neighbours has been epitomised by the joint communiqué issued on Tuesday after the Hasina-Manmohan summit in New Delhi.
Significantly, the communiqué acknowledges the vital issues having important bearing on Indo-Bangladesh relationship exhaustively and expresses a common resolve to address those. Most important, it does not just stop short of expressing the intention to resolve the tricky issues, but make clear commitment to work together with a new sense of urgency.
Admittedly, during the past seven years at least, no serious effort at the highest government level could be made to resolve the outstanding issues hindering establishment of an atmosphere of constructive engagement between the two countries. The proactive diplomacy of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina reciprocated by the Indian leadership has paved the way for breaking the ice and expanding the horizon of bilateral relationship out of the box.
Now that the joint communiqué provides a comprehensive framework for cooperation and development on the either side of the border, the two governments should get down to brass tacks of implementing the commitments made. These cover India's access to Chittagong and Mongla seaports, sharing of Teesta waters including those of other common trans-boundary rivers, demarcating the maritime boundaries and so on.
The prospect of India's and other neighbours like Nepal's and Bhutan's using the two Bangladseshi seaports opens up a new vista of cooperation on economic and commercial fronts. Bangladesh will gain from it by way of earning revenue from the overseas business the neighbours may carry out through these ports. It holds out the potential for a regional hub to be created. However, it would be important to see that all the countries involved could share the advantages of connectivity that the provision would create.
Similarly, for Bangladesh, sharing of water from Teesta and other common rivers is a critical issue to her delicate ecosystems fed by those rivers. On it also hinges the economic sustainability of the country. So, the announcement as made by the two leaders to instruct the ministries concerned to hold meeting of the Joint River Commission (JRC) by the first quarter of the new year should be materialised in earnest. Hopefully, the urgency that has been reflected at the summit would permeate the meetings to be organised not only at the ministerial, but also down the line at the official and technical levels.
Equally important is the issue of the proposed Tipaimukh barrage in India. Though India's commitment at the summit to the effect that it would do nothing harmful for Bangladesh there is reassuring, we would still be looking forward to see concrete steps towards materialising the commitment.
The agreement to amicably demarcate the common maritime boundaries is an achievement of the summit. Admittedly, the summit between the two top government leaders of Bangladesh and India bears a mark of maturity in handling the sensitive issues vital to the mutual interest of both the neighbours.