Manmohan's Dhaka visit a test for Delhi's neighbourhood diplomacy
Say Indian analysts
As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh flies to Dhaka on Tuesday on a visit that will put to test New Delhi's neighbourhood diplomacy, there is total unanimity among Indian area analysts that India should travel the extra mile to help Bangladesh in trade, river water sharing, and power sectors and that the upswing in ties should be sustained irrespective of which party is in power in that country.
The analysts agree that the Indian PM's visit provides an opportunity to take India-Bangladesh relations to a higher trajectory and the positive momentum in bilateral relations generated during Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to Delhi in January 2010 must be continued by accelerating implementation of the joint communiqué signed during her visit.
Bangladesh has taken steps to address India's security concerns and it is time India shows sensitivity to Bangladeshi concerns and come out with a comprehensive assistance and cooperation package for Bangladesh, they opine.
“If the new strategic partnership between Bangladesh and India takes the expected step forward when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visits Dhaka next week, it could herald a new beginning for the eastern sub-region of South Asia”, opined Dr Sanjaya Baru, former media adviser of Manmohan Singh and well known foreign policy analyst.
Bangladesh, he said, is keen on sub-regional cooperation in hydropower sector involving also Nepal and Bhutan and seeks a “more equitable share of Teesta river water and this should be possible in theory and could become the game-changer for the region”.
Singh's visit to Bangladesh “could help begin a new era in closer and better connectivity between India and Bangladesh opening up the possibility of new land-based infrastructure projects that will enable road and rail links between South Asia and South East Asia", Baru says.
The important thing about the India-Bangladesh relationship at this point in time is that there is strong political commitment to a movement forward at the highest levels in both the countries, he adds.
Baru argues the significance of strong India-Bangladesh ties goes beyond the bilateral context and good relations between India and Bangladesh will have positive influence on the region and countries like Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, and Thailand will benefit from trade and transit connectivity between India and Bangladesh.
C Raja Mohan, senior fellow at the Centre for Policy Research, said the Indian PM's visit to Dhaka “promises to be a game-changer not just for Indo-Bangla relations but for the entire sub-continent” including Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, and China.
“Much of the credit for creating the new strategic opportunity goes to Dhaka and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina…. Hasina has lent concrete meaning to the idea of regionalism in the eastern subcontinent”, said Rajamohan.
According to him, Hasina has recognised that Bangladesh could transform itself into an economic bridge between South Asia and ASEAN and understood that the key to her country's emergence as an economic powerhouse lies in moving the relationship with India to a higher level by resolving all outstanding bilateral problems.
“Singh and Hasina have an opportunity next week to look beyond their success on bilateral front and outline a shared agenda for the future of the eastern subcontinent”, Rajamohan opined.
G Parthasarathy, India's former high commissioner to Pakistan, points out that Bangladesh has cracked down on Indian separatist groups, which had become used to operating from its soil and India, and in turn, has reciprocated by becoming more forthcoming on resolving complex problems of river waters and border management, which have bedevilled relations between the two neighbours.
He, however, says India “unfortunately has a reputation of being slow and tardy in implementing developmental projects in its neighbouring countries and one hopes that arrangements for supplying 250 MW power promised to Bangladesh are put in place expeditiously”.
He said an area where Bangladesh has a legitimate grievance will hopefully be addressed during Singh's visit -- the growing trade deficit.
Parthasarathy said India-Bangladesh relationship “has to be strong enough to withstand changes in government on both sides. It was only appropriate for (India's External Affairs Minister) Mr SM Krishna to have called on the Leader of the Opposition, Begum Khaleda Zia, when he visited Dhaka (in July this year), despite her known anti-India propensities”.
“We need to build on this through more multi-party parliamentary exchanges. It is unfortunate that sustained efforts are not being made to cultivate parliamentarians from Bangladesh, irrespective of their political affiliations”, commented the retired diplomat.
According to Biswajit Dhar, director general of leading Delhi-based thin-tank Research and Information System for Developing Countries, “there is no doubt that the onus of taking India-Bangladesh relations to a higher plane lies on India”.
He said there is a case for at least further increase in India's import quota of garments from Bangladesh from 10 million pieces at present.
Pointing out the narrow base of Bangladesh's exports, Dhar said this clearly shows the supply side constraints in a range of sectors that constrict its ability to export and India can play a role by supporting establishment of trade-creating investments in Bangladesh.
The focus of such efforts should be on small and medium enterprises that can easily be set up in sectors like marine products, processed foods, and light engineering where India has considerable expertise, Dhar said.
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