Look east with Bangladesh

Half a century of shared history between India and Bangladesh should not be lost

Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his first international trip to Bangladesh post COVID-19-imposed international travel restrictions. In more ways than one it was a well thought out trip, aiming to address many issues at domestic as well as international level. The trip culminated into a lengthy joint statement issued by both the Governments addressing (in some points without specific targets) key topics of the bilateral cooperation.

First, let us look at the trade-related announcements and their significance in the deep economic ties between the neighbours. It would be worth mentioning that the first trade agreement with Bangladesh was signed in 1972 just a year after its creation. Since then the relationship has grown to a healthy $9.5 billion of bilateral trade in 2019-20 nurtured on shared culture, history and principles. Against this backdrop, one of the thorny issues like non-tariff trade barriers (those not directly related to higher tariffs but more on regulatory compliance side leading to delay in shipments) was the first item discussed. Of late, India has been facing multiple levels of dissent on these year-old restrictions imposed on the imports based on the ‘country of origin’ and also sharing land borders with India. Fears are that Bangladesh’s ports may be used by other countries to get past Indian Customs without significant delays. However, India has conveyed that in the event of a conflict the provisions of ‘rules of origin’ of the trade agreement shall prevail  along with a  promise to bring predictability in trade policies, regulations and procedures. However, India too complained to remove restrictions on the Indian companies from participating in Government tenders in Bangladesh, which was denied by the hosts. Mutual trust and cooperation in trade agreements could be a win-win situation for both. Towards bringing a synchronisation in product compliance standards, Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institute (BSTI) and the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) would engage closely to jointly develop testing  and lab facilities. Mutual cooperation on recognising each other’s standards for various products would facilitate faster clearance at ports and promote a common market in the region. Next, it was heartening to see a renewed focus on upgrading land Custom stations and land ports to facilitate trade between the nations. The two nations have had walk-in roads into each other’s territories due to the interlocked nature of the terrain and the next phase of development has to be achieved through increased connectivity.

Bangladesh has articulated for India to provide a railway connection to the ‘roof of the world’, Bhutan ,via  the newly-opened Cilahati  Haldibari route  and additional road coverage with Nepal.  Bangladesh’s keen interest in being engaged with India on joint road development projects should be taken up on priority. Even though there is no denying the fact that Bangladesh forms the central piece of India’s ‘look east policy’, it still  is a part of China’s eco-military Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The BRI aims to provide economic aid primarily in developing infrastructure, thereby establishing dominance in the India Ocean and further into the Indo-Pacific region. The recently-concluded Quad summit, of which India is a critical member, also alluded to the growing military presence of China in the region while gaining economic advantages. It will be to India’s benefit if it can push the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) to achieve critical measurable milestones in the next four years. The BIMSTEC is headquartered in Dhaka and could serve as New Delhi’s enhanced engagement gateway with its South East Asian partners which it has not been able to achieve in nearly a quarter of a century of its existence.   

(The writer is a policy analyst. The views expressed are personal.)

Source: https://www.dailypioneer.com/2021/columnists/look-east-with-bangladesh.html