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Maintaining strong ties with Bangladesh is crucial for India amid strained relations with key neighbors such as Pakistan, China and Afghanistan.
Since the arrival of Sheikh Hasina in Bangladesh and Narendra Modi in India, there has been a new warmth in the relations between the two countries. And this warmth is expressed by the fact that Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajid and Narendra Modi have met 12 times since 2015.
Apart from the issue of Teesta river water distribution and the alleged killing of Bangladeshi citizens by Indian security forces in the border areas, several cooperation agreements have been reached between the two countries.
This week, seven memorandums of understanding were signed in the bilateral talks led by the Prime Ministers of the two countries. These include issues related to water resources, railways, science and technology and space technology.
An agreement was also reached between the two countries on the sharing of Ksheera river water, which Modi described as important. The agreement will benefit South Assam and Sylhet region of Bangladesh.
The two leaders also inaugurated Unit-1 of the Maitri Super Thermal Power Project. Bangladesh will get 1320 MW of electricity from this project, which is working with the help of India.
Bangladesh is now out of the list of most backward countries in the world. Over the past few years, Bangladesh has made significant gains in manufacturing and agricultural exports, as well as in the areas of health, women's development and education.
Over the past few years, Bangladesh has become one of the fastest growing economies in Asia. However, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has come to India at a time when its foreign exchange reserves are under severe pressure due to rising oil, gas, machinery and raw material prices in the international market.
To get out of the economic crisis, Bangladesh has also requested a loan of 400 billion dollars from the IMF.
It is obvious that Bangladesh needs India's help very much at such a time. But India's need for Bangladesh has also increased. In view of the current strategic situation in Asia and the growing tensions with neighbors like China and Pakistan, India's strategic dependence on Bangladesh has increased considerably.
What does Bangladesh want from India?
Sheikh Hasina's visit will emphasize the strategic relationship between the two countries as well as increase mutual trade. That is what Bangladesh wants right now. The two countries have increased their partnership in artificial intelligence, cyber security, startups and connectivity.
During this visit, the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the two countries will play an important role in bilateral business in the coming days. However, the participation agreement comes at a time when Bangladesh will lose duty-free and quota-free access to its goods in the Indian market after 2026.
Obviously, Bangladesh would like India to provide additional facilities to compensate. India currently has huge concessions on Bangladeshi exports. Therefore, the penetration of Bangladeshi goods in the Indian market is also increasing.
Strengthening Bangladesh's exports is in India's interest as it imports most of its raw materials from India. According to a World Bank working paper, Bangladesh's exports could increase by 182 percent under the free trade agreement.
If India provides some additional trade facilities to Bangladesh and reduces transaction costs, these exports can increase by 300 percent. This will benefit both India's raw materials industry, manufacturing and service sectors. Because the growing needs of Bangladesh will provide market to India.
Bangladesh is India's sixth largest trading partner. Trade between the two was worth $2.4 billion in 2009, but it has increased to $10.8 billion in 2020-21.
Bangladesh's Role in Peacekeeping in Northeast India
Bangladesh is one of India's largest trading partners, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said after meeting Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday. India will now increase cooperation with Bangladesh in IT, space and nuclear sectors.
It should be remembered that India has expertise in all three fields. Therefore, if business cooperation increases further, the market for companies involved in this sector will increase in Bangladesh.
India grants visas to 15 to 2 million Bangladeshis every year, who come there for medical treatment, employment, tourism and leisure. Obviously, India's medical, labor, tourism and entertainment sectors earn from it.
The cooperation of the Sheikh Hasina government has also played an important role in connecting Northeast India with the rest of India and restoring peace there.
BBC Bangla Correspondent Shobha Jyoti Ghosh says that Bangladesh has allowed India to use the Chittagong port. Today a rail link has been built from Agartala to Akhora. Today, if one wants to come from Agartala to Kolkata via Dhaka, he can easily do so. India has opened a power plant in Tripura with the help of the Hasina government. Thus, the connectivity between India and the northeastern states of Bangladesh is continuously increasing. Hasina government's cooperative approach has opened a new dimension of cooperation between the two countries.
Anti-India activities should be stopped from the territory of Bangladesh
Shobha Jyoti Ghosh further says that the Hasina government has also played an important role in crushing the support of the separatist movement in North East India from the camps in Bangladesh. Hasina government there Major leaders of the dead separatist movement were handed over to India. Among them are ULFA leader Arvind Rajkhwa and many other separatist leaders. Now they are holding peace talks with India.
Hasina's government has crushed almost all separatist networks operating from Bangladeshi soil. In the past, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma had said that the people of his state can sleep peacefully today because of Bangladesh.
In fact, Bangladesh has played an important role for India in bringing peace and prosperity to the Northeast. Not only this, Bangladesh also plays a major role in improving connectivity with the rest of India in the Northeast.
Infrastructure like Tripura Corridor could have been built only with the help of Bangladesh. Now, goods from Bangladesh can be taken directly to Tripura through the bridge over Feni river.
India has a border of about 4000 kilometers with Bangladesh. Therefore, in view of the challenges of countries like China and Pakistan, India needs a country that is its friend in this region.
This is why India needs Bangladesh's help. Communication measures are being taken in a new way. SAARC is not active today but India is trying to further strengthen its cooperation with Bangladesh through the BBIN (Bangladesh Bhutan, India and Nepal) link.
India Bangladesh Agreement
Agreement on the sharing of water of the Kashiara river on the India-Bangladesh border
Bangladesh Railway officers will undergo training in Indian Railway training institutes
India will help Bangladesh Railways in IT. India will assist Bangladesh in developing freight management systems and IT-based capabilities
Agreement between the Supreme Court of Bangladesh and the National Judicial Academy of India for the training of Bangladeshi law officers in India.
There will be collaboration between India and Bangladesh Council of Science and Industrial Research
Cooperation in space between India and Bangladesh
Agreement between India's Prasar Bharti and Bangladesh TV in the field of TV broadcasting
The case of China
Prof Praveer D of the Indian think tank Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) mentioned another aspect of India-Bangladesh cooperation.
Professor Praveer D says that if India does not take two steps forward to help Bangladesh, China will take four steps forward for it.
"Bangladesh may have built the recently built bridge over the Padma river with its own money, but it took the help of Chinese companies to build it. Now the situation is that the settlements of Chinese workers have come up around Dhaka. Many Chinese have settled there after marriage. Thus the presence of China can become a big threat to India. In this context, it is also important to strengthen India's cooperation with Bangladesh.
Bangladesh is pushing India hard to increase trade. India has heavily exempted almost all exports except 25 items. This is the reason why Bangladesh's exports to India are increasing.
"Many small Indian companies are active in the Northeast and Bengal," says Professor Dey. Apart from this, many other Bangladeshi companies are doing business in India. Bangladesh's exports to India are increasing day by day. At present, a delegation of 160 Bangladeshi businessmen is accompanying Sheikh Hasina. It is considered very important for them to come to India with such a large contingent.
According to the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), Bangladesh's exports to India will increase to two billion dollars by the end of the financial year 2022-23. The exports of India and Bangladesh have increased by 94% in the last one year.
North East connectivity with the rest of India through Siliguri is very important. Therefore, the importance of Bangladesh, which is adjacent to the northeast, increases a lot for us.
Contact and India's dependence on Bangladesh
Based in Guwahati, Dr. Mirza Zulfikar Rahman is an expert on border issues in Northeast India and India-Bangladesh-China relations there.
"Our strategic dependence on Bangladesh has increased significantly due to North-East connectivity through Siliguri," says Dr Rehman. Due to Chinese activities in Doklam, our dependence on Bangladesh has also increased considerably. This area is close to Bhutan. Being close to Bhutan makes Bangladesh's role even more important for us.
"We have no alternative route of communication here except Siliguri," says Dr Rahman. Hence, efforts are on for alternative connectivity through BBIN corridor and BIMSTEC. Apart from connectivity, the role of Bangladesh also becomes very important in terms of India's Indo-Pacific strategy.
As for suppressing separatist insurgency in the northeast, it would not have been possible without Bangladesh's external help, says Dr Rahman.
Hence the importance of smaller neighbors like Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka becomes very important to India's security strategy.
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