It has been customary here in Bangladesh, and to a somewhat lesser degree in India, that any bilateral visit at the highest level between the two countries are prefixed with a flurry of speculations in the media, and the civil society, about the possible outcome from such visits. At the end of the visit, the chatter shifts to what has been achieved and what has not. In the second scenario, opinions among observers and analysts range from being outrightly negative, to a more subdued tone on promises made and results delivered, to a guarded positive optimism, depending on who one is talking to.
The recent two day official bilateral visit of Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina to Delhi from June 21-22 was no exception to this pattern. This time the additional spice was that it was the second visit by the Bangladesh Prime Minister to Delhi within a span of slightly less than two weeks, although the first one was to attend the swearing in ceremony of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was assuming office of the Prime Minister of India for the third time in a row. Other South Asian leaders were also present on that occasion.
Although the visit was primarily a ceremonial one, the two Prime Ministers took time to have an extended exclusive meeting. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also took time out to share quality time with Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and her two children, Rahul, now Leader of the opposition in the Lok Shobha, and Priyanka. This gathering was characterized by visible warmth and mutual personal fondness, one that has its roots when the family matriarch Indira Gandhi as Prime Minister provided shelter to Sheikh Hasina and her sister Rehana following the tragic assassination of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman along with other members of the family in August 1975. It had all the flavour of a happy family reunion.
However, it was Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s two day official visit to India between June 21 and 22 that was distinct, both in its form and substance for more reasons than one.
To begin with, the Bangladesh Prime Minister was the first foreign Head of Government to undertake an official bilateral visit to India after the NDA government under Prime Minister Modi had assumed office on 9 th June. Media attention on this side of the border was understandably huge. Observers hadassumed that the burning issue of sharing the waters of the common rivers, especially the Teesta, and the renewal of the Ganges Treaty due in 2026 would feature prominently at the talks between the two sides.
As results showed, they indeed did, with India agreeing to dispatching a technical team to take a more holistic look at the Teesta river issue that would work on developing a comprehensive project covering conservation and management of Teesta River inside Bangladesh with Indian assistance and within a mutually agreed time frame. The formation of a Joint Technical Committee to initiate discussions for the renewal of the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty was also clearly spelt out. Mention was also made to interim arrangements for water sharing.
While the river water issues found their due place in the discourse, more significantly, the visit served to develop a Shared Vision for the future through enhancing multi-modal connectivity, commerce and collaboration, leading to a regime of shared prosperity for the two neighbours, the relationship of which is rooted in undeniable history and conditioned by irreversible geography.
It is this statement of a shared vision for a mutually beneficial relationship that emerged as the biggest takeaway from the visit, both bilaterally and in the geo-political context.
Taken together, the vision statement is wide ranging in its scope, it is multi-faceted in its content and it looks at the immediate, mid and long term dimension of this relationship. Understandably, enhancing multi-modal connnectivity was given high priority.
Needless to say, a regime of seamless cross-border movement of people, goods and services, as well as energy connectivity and digital connectivity has been long overdue. As part of sub-regional connectivity initiatives from both sides, India will extend transit facilities for movement of Bangladesh goods to Nepal and Bhutanthrough extended railway network. Both sides welcomed a new MOU on Railway Connectivity as well as the decision to commence goods-train service from Gede-Darshana through Chilahati-Haldibari up to Hasimara via Dalgaon railhead (as and when operationalized) at the India-Bhutan border.
New Delhi also announced a much welcomed e-Medical visa system for Bangladeshis seeking medical treatment in India. The Vision statement also talks of continued expansion of power and energy collaboration and together develop intra-regional electricity trade, including competitively-priced power generated from clean energy projects in India, Nepal and Bhutan, through the Indian electricity grid. This included an expeditious construction of high-capacity interconnection between Katihar-Parbatipur-Bornagarwith suitable Indian financial assistance.
This, when implemented, will act as atransformative collaboration between India and Bangladesh by leveraging green and digital technologies to foster economic growth, sustainable and climate-resilient development, environmental conservation, cross-border digital interchange and regional prosperity. This will create the grounds for extensive collaboration in frontier technologies, including civil nuclear, oceanography and space technology.
To facilitate this, India will partner in a joint development of a small satellite for Bangladesh and its launch using Indian launch vehicle.The decision to commence early negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) was aimed at promoting bilateral trade and investment. This would include early operationalization of two Special Economic Zones (SEZs) offered by Bangladesh to India in Mongla and Mirsharai.
An important component of the visit was the agreement to strengthen defence cooperation between the two countries. This will include plans for modernization of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, explore defence industrial cooperation for modernization of the Armed Forces of Bangladesh and to strengthen their capability for defence. A continuation of the multifaceted military engagements of exercises, training and capability development was reiterated.
The discussions were not confined to the bilateral frame only, geo-politics also featured prominently in the discourse. This, significantly, included a convergence of a commitment to a free, open, inclusive, secure, and rules-based Indo-Pacific region, recognizing the vulnerability of the region to adverse impacts of climate change, cooperate to mitigate disaster risks, build disaster resilient infrastructure, and contribute to the sustenance of the shared maritime region.
A look at the bucket list shows that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s two-day visit to India might have been short in time but undeniably long on substance. While issues of bilateral importance and priorities were widely covered and plans were announced for the future, it was the reference to a shared view on a “free, open, secure and rule based” Indo-Pacific region that could have implications far beyond the bilateral canvas.
Shamsher M Chowdhury, BB is the former Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh.
