Editorial
Dhaka-Delhi deal on border trade
The move could lead to wider economic cooperation
The initialling of two agreements by Bangladesh and India on border trading is clearly a move in the right direction. And it is because it hints at the many possibilities which in time could be opened up in trade and by extension through greater cooperation in other areas between the two countries. It is in such a perspective that we observe the decision to open the two border haats or markets in Sunamganj and Kurigram. An important point about the opening of these haats is that the agreements do away with the difficulties which have traditionally been part of border trade. Now, with trucks from both countries entering each other's territory with goods and going all the way up to the warehouses on each side of the frontier, the problem of frequent and irksome loading and unloading at the border has been removed. The two haats are thus to be considered a necessary first step in a further liberalising of trade, through an inauguration of similar haats, along the long border that Bangladesh and India happen to share.
The move, coming in light of the deal reached between Delhi and Dhaka during the Bangladesh prime minister's visit to India last January, is a clear recognition of the economic imperatives which are beginning to define relations between and among states in South Asia. Obviously, there are the several political issues that have over a stretch of time clouded the prospects of cooperation in the region, but with such deals as the one on India-Bangladesh open border trade, it is quite conceivable that economic exigencies will in future lead to a serious search for solutions to political issues. The opening of the two haats in question allows for trade in thirteen items that include locally grown agricultural goods and locally manufactured finished products. That is a good beginning, and it gives us hope that a wider dimension will in time define the nature and quantity of the goods that will be traded between the two sides. A most encouraging aspect of the deal is that trading in the thirteen items will be conducted through the currencies of the two countries and will be duty free. And for us in Bangladesh, the good news is that India has agreed to export cotton to us for the first time since April. With the price of cotton going up in the international market, this move on Delhi's part will obviously be a matter of relief for business circles in Dhaka.
There is little question that Bangladesh needs to diversify its exports to the outside world if it is to build a safe and secure economic base for itself. Where trade with India is concerned, we still happen to import more Indian goods than export Bangladeshi goods to Delhi. It is an issue that will exercise minds in this country. And yet it will be fair to suggest that the deal reached in Delhi on the haats in Sunamganj and Kurigram is a positive opening. Let this move be the beginning of a new, more cooperative and mutually beneficial era in economic relations between India and Bangladesh.
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