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TRADE, TRANSIT AND CONNECTIVITY
between North East and Bangladesh:
EMERGING TRENDS
The four North Eastern states—Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram, share international borders with Bangladesh and have been maintaining trade and commercial, historical and cultural ties with the neighbouring country for several years. In an attempt to further strengthen the existing friendly relations between the two nations, India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj visited Dhaka on June 25-27 along with Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh.
Swaraj held extensive talks with Bangladesh counterpart A H Mahmood Ali on key bilateral issues including Land Boundary Agreement (LBA), Teesta water sharing, energy cooperation, trade and connectivity and border management. She reiterated that the Modi government intends to build “a comprehensive and equitable partnership with Bangladesh”.
Swaraj’s visit generated huge interest in Bangladesh as it was the first substantive engagement between the NDA government and the Awami League regime. Her visit demonstrated the importance New Delhi attaches to its ties with Dhaka. The Modi government has decided to maintain the momentum of Indo-Bangladesh friendship which scaled new heights during 2009-13. This has been a positive development underscoring the time-tested Indian approach to foreign policy—continuity, especially while dealing with a strategically crucial and economically important neighbour like Bangladesh.
Both the sides are trying to explore ways to enhance connectivity between North East and Bangladesh. The possibilities of opening Agartala- Kolkata bus service through Bangladesh, Agartala- Dhaka rail link and Guwahati-Shillong-Dhaka bus service were discussed during the bilateral talks. It has also been suggested by a section of the Indian media that New Delhi should push Dhaka to open the 4 km Tetulia corridor, the northern-most point of Bangladesh that could minimise the distance between North East and rest of India by more than 85 km. Moreover, efforts are on to promote special packages for tourism development and cultural exchanges.
Dr Rupak Bhattacharjee
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