Editorial
High level Indo-Bangla interactions
The historic opportunity shouldn't be lost
We see a flurry of high level visits from India lately. Its External Affairs Minister SM Krishna is already in Dhaka. His visit will be followed by those of Home Minister P Chidambaram, and President, Indian National Congress and chairperson of ruling national alliance Sonia Gandhi culminating in the much-awaited trip of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Bangladesh. Even though Sonia Gandhi will be on a private visit to attend an autism-related programme, this can have an important bearing on Indo-Bangla ties.
It is, therefore, heartening for Bangladesh to note that India is according a high place of importance to her relations with us. We find ourselves on the priority list of Indian external and regional affairs radar screen. Bilaterally, this is a matter of enormous satisfaction for us.
India has been rather pre-occupied with her regional power status and taken up by its relations with China and Pakistan that Bangladesh felt being on the sidelines of India's consciousness. The change of emphasis is welcome.
In Bangladesh the feeling has been not only one of trust deficit but also that of a shortfall in mutuality. India being a much larger neighbour and a bigger economy, we have to say that the expectations from her have been that much greater.
One-and-a-half years have gone by since Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina met her Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh in New Delhi. They took momentous decisions in specific areas as embodied through a joint communiqué. But little or no tangible forward movement in terms of implementing the decisions has taken place thus far. And this is where a qualitative change is expected to occur with the visits of high Indian dignitaries to Dhaka providing a definitive impetus to the momentum of mutual cooperation.
We believe India would be fully respectful of Bangladesh's sensibilities and address her concerns on a sustained basis so that rhetoric may not overtake the quest for real and tangible progress like in the past.
Finally, let the historic opportunity presented through a clear expression of political will at the highest level between the two countries to forge ahead in bilateral relations and people to people contact be not lost.
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