Sushma Swaraj\\\'s visit to Dhaka

Syed Jamaluddin | Published: July 02, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00

The June 25-27 visit of the Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to Bangladesh has set the tone of bilateral relations between the two countries under the new political dispensation in New Delhi. Â
Â It has been agreed that the two countries will engage in high-level discourses to give momentum to their relations and take these to a greater height. India termed the discussions constructive, productive, fruitful and successful.
There was reiteration of assurances from the Indian side for settling two major pending issues with Bangladesh -Teesta water sharing and Land Boundary Agreement.
Bangladesh Foreign Minister A.H Mahmood Ali told a press conference that the two sides discussed issues related to political and security cooperation, energy cooperation, trade, regional and sub-regional cooperation, water resources management, people to people contact and cultural exchanges.
Joint secretary for external publicity of the Indian government told the press that the meeting between Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj set the tone and tenor of the relations. India considered Bangladesh a very important neighbour and so Sushma Swaraj came here first. She told the Bangladesh leadership that the new government in Delhi was keen to maintain and step up new momentum in the relations.
India wanted to promote exchange of all types of goods, services and ideas. It wanted to further enhance connectivity increasing the frequency of Maitree Express and extending the Kolkata-Dhaka bus services to Guwahati via Shillong. India had offered to extend the tenure of multiple visas for people below 13 and above 65. India was working on transfer of 100mw from the Palatana power plant in Tripura. India has offered seats to Bangladeshi students at the Nalanda University and Dhaka has accepted the proposal.
Indian External Affairs Minister did not bring new hope for Bangladesh but talked about further consolidation of the existing cordial relations. Though there was no clear- cut assurance from the Indian side for an early resolution of pending issues, there was aÂ Â positive approach to actively consider the issues. Indian side assured of continued efforts to bring down border killing to zero level. There was no discussion on the issue of illegal migration. There was no discussion on domestic politics.
Bangladesh Foreign Minister said that permission was given to transport 10 thousand metric tons of rice to Tripura through Bangladesh territory. No fees would be charged for this. But there was no discussion on transit.
Delhi wants to bolster relations and mutual understanding with Dhaka but prefers not to get involved in internal politics of Bangladesh. India has termed the visit as an excellent beginning and wanted to build a comprehensive and equitable partnership with Bangladesh.
Meeting the Indian foreign minister, the chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Khaleda Zia said that there was no democracy in Bangladesh right now and parliament did not represent people's will. During the half-an-hour meeting BNP chairperson congratulated the new government of India and said Bangladesh wanted deeper relations with the country. The two leaders held one-to-one meeting for 10 minutes. BNP chairperson presented a Jamdani sari to the Indian minister. On pending issues, the Indian minister said that her government had already made some progress on such issues.
It may be mentioned that the government reportedly opposed Indian minister's meeting with BNP chairperson. That the meeting did take place was a positive move by the Indian side.
The Indian minister met the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament Rawshan Ershad at her parliament office and invited her to visit India. They discussed matters of mutual interest.
Although it was a goodwill visit yet the Indian side made a number of proposals. They proposed to extend the existing bus service between Kolkata and Dhaka to Guwahati via Shillong. The government of Bangladesh is likely to accept this proposal. This will have little advantage for Bangladesh but it will facilitate Kolkata-Guwahati bus communication link.
Indian proposal to supply 100mw power from Palatana power plant will take several years because the plant is at the installation stage. Bangldesh may generate enough power by that time.
Multiple entry visa for people below 13 yearsÂ and above 65 is of little value and offer of seats at Nalanda university is not a priority for Bangladesh.
However, it is not understood why the Bangladesh side did not present a single case for negotiation as against Indian proposals.
The writer is an economist and columnist.
Â jamaluddinsyed23@yahoo.com.au