PM Modi's Bangladesh visit: 22 agreements signed, LBA centrepiece; tone set for future cooperation

By Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty
Prime Minister Modi has achieved two miracles of sorts. First, the successful passage of the Constitutional Bill through both Houses of Parliament that was necessary to implement the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) with Bangladesh and second to persuade the mercurial West Bengal chief minister to be present in Dhaka during his visit. On the LBA, Modi has shown his political deftness by neutralising opposition from his own party units in Assam and West Bengal and then bringing chief ministers — Tarun Gogoi of Assam and Mamata Bannerji of West Bengal — on board. It was wise to postpone the decision to visit Bangladesh, with two major pending agreements — the LBA and the Teesta Water Sharing Agreement — hanging in balance.

The Teesta Agreement still remains unfinished business. Nothing exemplifies this more than Mamata’s decision to travel independently to Dhaka for the Modi visit and not join him in the special aircraft and to stay in a different hotel in Dhaka. By avoiding proximity with Modi, Mamata has indulged in political posturing and has publicly signalled that the shadow of domestic politics still looms over the Teesta Agreement. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, fully conscious of the fact that Mamata’s cooperation is crucial for the Teesta Agreement, has gone out of her way to woo Mamata. She was received in Dhaka with protocol facilities almost befitting a head of government. Hasina spoke to her over telephone immediately after she landed in Dhaka.

Hasina is in her 7th year in power and has been a visionary leader in guiding her country’s policy towards India. She has adopted a zero-tolerance policy towards anti-Indian insurgent groups that were operating from safe havens in Bangladesh, captured some of their leaders and handed them over to India, crackdown on Pakistani supported anti-Indian activities and also curbed with a heavy hand Islamic radical elements and terrorist groups. It was, therefore, imperative that India deliver on the two important agreements that Bangladesh had accorded high priority. Modi, in his statement in Dhaka, has made it clear that a fair and just settlement of the Teesta waters, with the support of the state government, is not too far down the road.

Around 22 agreements have been signed during the visit. The centre piece was clearly the LBA for which the Instruments of Ratification were exchanged. Both countries have pledged a zerotolerance policy on terrorism and signed MoUs on cooperation in human trafficking, fake currency and narcotics smuggling. New bus routes connecting Agartala-Dhaka-Kolkata and Guwahati- Shillong-Dhaka have been inaugurated. Prime Ministers Vaypayee and Sheikh Hasina had inaugurated the first direct bus service between Dhaka and Kolkata in July 1999 during the former’s visit to Bangladesh. The Dhaka-Kolkata “Maitri” passenger train service was started in 2008. Several other agreements were signed on the use of Chittagong and Mongla ports by Indian ships, starting Coastal Shipping services, cooperation between Bangladesh and Indian Universities, cooperation between the two Coast Guards, in addition to IT and Cultural Exchange agreements.

The agreement on establishing a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) on 600 acres of land near the Bangladesh-India border has broken new ground. This will help Indian companies who wish to “Make in Bangladesh” for domestic markets in both countries and for export. Gradual economic integration through such initiatives and connectivity projects will also help India’s north-eastern states by reducing transportation costs and even attract investments in manufacturing based on readily available local raw materials. The future of connectivity lies in upgrading Bangladesh railways and converting many existing railway tracks to dual gauge to take broad gauge coaches and wagons. The $2 billion new Line of Credit announced by Modi during the visit will help in such capital intensive projects. The Inland Waterway Trade and Transit Treaty (IWTT) has been renewed as has the omnibus Trade Agreement.

Inland waterways have long provided connectivity between West Bengal ports and inland ports in Bangladesh and Assam. India will have to address the persistent trade imbalance in bilateral trade with Bangladesh. More border “Haats” have been opened to provide trading opportunities for local people along the common border but to address the trade imbalance improving border infrastructure and reducing Non Tariff Barriers (NTBs) are essential. Modi has promised to do both.

Bangladesh is India’s most important neighbour, occupying a strategic location in the eastern part of the sub-continent. It is a country that has met many challenges and has now set on the path of economic development that has seen its GDP growth averaging around 6% annually. Prime Ministers Hasina and Modi have 4 years of their tenure ahead to further consolidate bilateral ties. The Modi visit has set the tone for future cooperation to intensify and bring the two friendly countries even closer.

The author is a former Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs and aformer High Commissioner to Bangladesh. He is currently a Distinguished Fellow at the Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation