Upcoming visit of new Indian external affairs minister to Dhaka arouses enormous interest

The upcoming visit of India's new external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj to Bangladesh will be of a 'goodwill' gesture in nature. But substantial discussions will take place between the two sides on a variety of issues ranging from bilateral matters to regional and international ones of common concern on the occasion. She will arrive in Dhaka on June 25 on a three-day visit.
The visit of Sushma Swaraj to Bangladesh assumes significance for the simple reason that the new government in New Delhi under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has chosen Dhaka as the first official trip of its external affairs minister. Mr Modi was on an official visit to neighbouring Bhutan, making it his first foreign trip.
And now, the visit of Mr Sushma Swaraj to Bangladesh underlines, again, the importance that India is attaching to its immediate neighbours. All these developments are largely in tune with the spirit of the presence of the south Asian leaders in Mr Modi's oath-taking ceremony on May 26 in New Delhi, reflecting the unique gesture of the new government in India towards its regional countries. Indeed, south Asian leaders' attendance in the ceremony was an unprecedented and commendable instance.
Incidentally, the Bangladesh Prime Minister missed Modi's swearing-in event in New Delhi because of her pre-scheduled visit to Japan. Other south Asian leaders along with that of Mauritius -- with whom New Delhi has very warm and excellent ties and which also enjoys an observer status in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) -- had the opportunity of establishing political and personal rapport with the new Indian leadership. Jatiya Sangsad Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury represented Bangladesh and had a meeting with Prime Minister Modi.However, India might have felt the necessity of establishing political contacts with Bangladesh leadership and this may be seen as one of the factors that has weighed high in choosing Dhaka as the first foreign visit of its external affairs minister.

Besides, other issues that might have influenced the decision include the presence of some lingering contentious issues apropos the bilateral relations between the two neighbours that need to be discussed with a view to settling them sooner rather than later. Two particular outstanding issues -- the sharing of the waters of the Teesta river between the two countries and the implementation of the Indo-Bangladesh land boundary agreement of 1974 -- have so far remained unresolved. It is understood that the Indian external affairs minister would discuss such thorny matters during her stay in Dhaka.
The bilateral subjects also include matters relating to trade and commerce, conditions along the porous common borders, and any other issue that the two sides deem it necessary for discussions. The parleys that Sushma Swaraj would have with her Bangladesh counterpart AH Mahmood Ali are expected to cover regional and international matters of common interests. The latest situation in Iraq and eastern Ukraine along with the international flashpoints -- the Syrian tangle and the Middle East imbroglio -- are also expected to figure in, prominently. Besides, two foreign ministers are likely to explore the possibilities for strengthening further the SAARC and thus making this regional forum more action-oriented.
However, the discussions on Indo-Bangladesh bilateral matters and their outcome will rivet the attention of all concerned. These will certainly make the visit of the Indian external affairs minister to Bangladesh as matters of enormous curiosity and interest. How the new Indian government looks at Bangladesh and what could be the pattern of the ties with the present authority in Dhaka are definitely at the centre of attraction. It is all the more interesting since the present Bangladesh government enjoyed very cordial ties with the previous Congress-led government. Sushma Swaraj is expected to call on the president and the prime minister of Bangladesh and also meet the opposition leaders.
"Relations between two countries are based on national interests and the ties are not changed with the change of government in either country," said Dr Gawhar Rizvi, adviser on foreign affairs to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, at a roundtable discussions in Dhaka on Saturday on Indo-Bangladesh ties. He expressed his optimism that Dhaka's ties would receive a new impetus during the tenure of the new Indian government.
Speaking on the occasion, Indian Deputy High Commissioner Sandip Chakravarty said India's ties with Bangladesh are multi-dimensional against the background of a glorious history. As such, the existing bilateral cordial ties, he noted, can not suffer any setback. He also brushed aside suggestions from some quarters that New Delhi's relations with Dhaka are often "regime-centric". He said such ties are governed by national and people's interests.  
Other speakers gave varying views on the shape of the Indo-Bangladesh ties while they expressing the hope that the visit of Sushma Swaraj to Bangladesh would be a worthwhile one.
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