Win-win Indo-Bangladesh bilateral relationship
Friday, 31 July 2009
Mohammad Rafiqul Islam
Relationship with India is important for Bangladesh in its greater interest. This is because India is Bangladesh's close-door neighbour and has high 'geo-political' importance in the sub-continent. Unfortunately, we have not been able to reap the benefit of geographical proximity with India because of myopic external policies of both the countries. This situation can somewhat be likened to that of Mexico. Being a frontier country with the USA, Mexico could not gain much from the super power because of the conservative foreign policy of both the countries.
In our country, two mainstream political parties are politicizing the relationship with India, since long. In this situation, a party, just for raising a controversy, must dislike what the other party likes. In doing so, they are getting callous about the interest of the nation. The foreign policy should be pursued, taking the interest of the nation into a dispassionate consideration. Politics should be for only the sake of the country. As a common man, I would like to see a pro-active relationship with India.
India has been doing well in the field of knowledge and technology that are helping its people in promoting their economic progress. It is one of the largest countries in the world, in terms of population and geographical size. It is the largest market in Asia after China. India has already taken its berth in the G-20 platform, which is treated to be a superior platform in wealth and power. India is steadily running towards the future with its nearly double-digit GDP growth. Expatriate Indians are doing well in the world of economy, knowledge and trade. They are overcoming various problems on the path to prosperity with their visionary leadership capacity. Though India is struggling with poverty in many of its states or provinces, the effort they have already applied in eradicating the poverty line is appreciable.
We have a mixed flavour in our relationship with India since our independence. The Indian relations with the erstwhile West and East Pakistan were not very good. They fought two blood-shedding battles, with no result, before our liberation. We gratefully acknowledge the support that we received from India during our War of Liberation. But both the countries should understand that relationship with each other should not be based only on the scenario of the War of Liberation. Time has changed and needs are taking a new shape, assuming a new look in the world. The arm-twisting policy of the colonial age has a lost its relevance and none should apply this for establishing regional supremacy. China has proved it with its peaceful foreign policy, depending upon trade diplomacy. India should follow the way that the People's Republic China practises.
In relationship with Bangladesh, India has not been able to prove its sincerely as a friendly neighbour, largely because of its suspicious and paradoxical attitude. Except for the historical contribution to our War of Liberation, nothing friendly has really developed in the relationship between the two countries. Bangladesh has been suffering from a large trade deficit with India. Under the umbrella of SAPTA, Bangladesh was otherwise offered some duty-free market access for its goods, to India. But most such items are not really exported by Bangladesh to India, as it does not really have production capacity to supply the same. The goods, which are exportable to India, have been experiencing a lot of tariff and non-tariff barriers in their entrance to the Indian market. In the current trade-based global scenario, trade has been the focal element for building relations with and among the nations. Arms and missile-based effort in developing relations have thus lost importance long ago and have now become blunt and obsolete. Europe has been able to bypass the narrow geographical identity of its countries the ASEAN nations have based their relationship on their mutual co-operation in trade and commerce. But it has not been made possible in South Asia through the SAARC.
For the mutual benefit of India and Bangladesh, we need to offer each other the facilities, more in deeds than in words, that are of potential benefits for strengthening bilateral economic relations in a win-win situation. We can offer our facilities at both Chittagong and Mongla ports, for serving the eastern part of India where there are untapped large opportunities for doing trade by the economic operations in both the countries. In exchange for that, India needs to give us the transit facilities to Nepal and Bhutan.
Since our War of Liberation, the two countries signed a number of contracts and agreements. The operational aspects of the same should now be reviewed so that both sides can really enjoy the benefits of the same. On this count, India needs to take a pro-active role in particular. Much of distrust in Bangladesh arises out of the non-compliance of such agreements, particularly on India's part. The cases of the Ganga Water Sharing Treaty, the experiences with the Joint Rivers Commission (JRC), the matters relating to other bilateral trade and economy-related assurances and promises can be cited here. The two most recent issues -- the Tipaimukh Dam and the Asian Highway -- have meanwhile, generated more heat and suspicion in Bangladesh for lack of India's clarity on the same. Particularly, so the decision on route changeover relating to the Asian Highway is considered, on real or perceived grounds, to be not favourable to Bangladesh.
The people of Bangladesh want to see peaceful cooperation and friendly relations with India develop in a win-win situation for both sides. They would like to see expansion of businesses, promotion of exports, exchange of knowledge and experience with India because both India and Bangladesh are standing on the same ground in terms of geo-political history, ethnic heritage and demographic similarity.
All concerned in Bangladesh would furthermore like to see India's present Congress-Led government under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh take initiatives to help eradicate the thorns on the path to the prosperity of both the countries. The Bangladeshi leaders should also be flexible in their attitude towards India. Politics for politicking is an exercise in futility these days. Politics should rather be based on nation-building attitude.
The writer works with Bank Asia Ltd, Agrabad Branch, Chittagong and can be reached at e-mail: rafiqul.islam@bankasia.com.bd
Relationship with India is important for Bangladesh in its greater interest. This is because India is Bangladesh's close-door neighbour and has high 'geo-political' importance in the sub-continent. Unfortunately, we have not been able to reap the benefit of geographical proximity with India because of myopic external policies of both the countries. This situation can somewhat be likened to that of Mexico. Being a frontier country with the USA, Mexico could not gain much from the super power because of the conservative foreign policy of both the countries.
In our country, two mainstream political parties are politicizing the relationship with India, since long. In this situation, a party, just for raising a controversy, must dislike what the other party likes. In doing so, they are getting callous about the interest of the nation. The foreign policy should be pursued, taking the interest of the nation into a dispassionate consideration. Politics should be for only the sake of the country. As a common man, I would like to see a pro-active relationship with India.
India has been doing well in the field of knowledge and technology that are helping its people in promoting their economic progress. It is one of the largest countries in the world, in terms of population and geographical size. It is the largest market in Asia after China. India has already taken its berth in the G-20 platform, which is treated to be a superior platform in wealth and power. India is steadily running towards the future with its nearly double-digit GDP growth. Expatriate Indians are doing well in the world of economy, knowledge and trade. They are overcoming various problems on the path to prosperity with their visionary leadership capacity. Though India is struggling with poverty in many of its states or provinces, the effort they have already applied in eradicating the poverty line is appreciable.
We have a mixed flavour in our relationship with India since our independence. The Indian relations with the erstwhile West and East Pakistan were not very good. They fought two blood-shedding battles, with no result, before our liberation. We gratefully acknowledge the support that we received from India during our War of Liberation. But both the countries should understand that relationship with each other should not be based only on the scenario of the War of Liberation. Time has changed and needs are taking a new shape, assuming a new look in the world. The arm-twisting policy of the colonial age has a lost its relevance and none should apply this for establishing regional supremacy. China has proved it with its peaceful foreign policy, depending upon trade diplomacy. India should follow the way that the People's Republic China practises.
In relationship with Bangladesh, India has not been able to prove its sincerely as a friendly neighbour, largely because of its suspicious and paradoxical attitude. Except for the historical contribution to our War of Liberation, nothing friendly has really developed in the relationship between the two countries. Bangladesh has been suffering from a large trade deficit with India. Under the umbrella of SAPTA, Bangladesh was otherwise offered some duty-free market access for its goods, to India. But most such items are not really exported by Bangladesh to India, as it does not really have production capacity to supply the same. The goods, which are exportable to India, have been experiencing a lot of tariff and non-tariff barriers in their entrance to the Indian market. In the current trade-based global scenario, trade has been the focal element for building relations with and among the nations. Arms and missile-based effort in developing relations have thus lost importance long ago and have now become blunt and obsolete. Europe has been able to bypass the narrow geographical identity of its countries the ASEAN nations have based their relationship on their mutual co-operation in trade and commerce. But it has not been made possible in South Asia through the SAARC.
For the mutual benefit of India and Bangladesh, we need to offer each other the facilities, more in deeds than in words, that are of potential benefits for strengthening bilateral economic relations in a win-win situation. We can offer our facilities at both Chittagong and Mongla ports, for serving the eastern part of India where there are untapped large opportunities for doing trade by the economic operations in both the countries. In exchange for that, India needs to give us the transit facilities to Nepal and Bhutan.
Since our War of Liberation, the two countries signed a number of contracts and agreements. The operational aspects of the same should now be reviewed so that both sides can really enjoy the benefits of the same. On this count, India needs to take a pro-active role in particular. Much of distrust in Bangladesh arises out of the non-compliance of such agreements, particularly on India's part. The cases of the Ganga Water Sharing Treaty, the experiences with the Joint Rivers Commission (JRC), the matters relating to other bilateral trade and economy-related assurances and promises can be cited here. The two most recent issues -- the Tipaimukh Dam and the Asian Highway -- have meanwhile, generated more heat and suspicion in Bangladesh for lack of India's clarity on the same. Particularly, so the decision on route changeover relating to the Asian Highway is considered, on real or perceived grounds, to be not favourable to Bangladesh.
The people of Bangladesh want to see peaceful cooperation and friendly relations with India develop in a win-win situation for both sides. They would like to see expansion of businesses, promotion of exports, exchange of knowledge and experience with India because both India and Bangladesh are standing on the same ground in terms of geo-political history, ethnic heritage and demographic similarity.
All concerned in Bangladesh would furthermore like to see India's present Congress-Led government under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh take initiatives to help eradicate the thorns on the path to the prosperity of both the countries. The Bangladeshi leaders should also be flexible in their attitude towards India. Politics for politicking is an exercise in futility these days. Politics should rather be based on nation-building attitude.
The writer works with Bank Asia Ltd, Agrabad Branch, Chittagong and can be reached at e-mail: rafiqul.islam@bankasia.com.bd