What the article is about:
- Article talks about Bangladesh’s sheikh Hasina’s visit to India.
Relevance:
- GS2: India and its neighbourhood
Analysis:
Dhaka’s expectations from India:
- Four specific issues seem to trouble the Bangladeshi side:
- The continued presence of 1.1 million Rohingyas who fled from Myanmar in 2017.
- The absence of agreement on sharing of the Teesta’s waters, pending since 2011.
- India’s sensitivity to growing cooperation between Dhaka and Beijing.
- Despite Bangladeshi Government’s secular policy, “incidents” against the Hindu minority have occurred.
Specific outcomes of Ms. Hasina’s discussion with PM Modi:
- There was agreement “to continue close security cooperation” over counter-terrorism, border crimes, and border management.
- The two sides recommitted themselves to enhancing their development partnership which is already quite extensive and multi-faceted.
- They agreed “to build resilient supply chains” between the two countries and “across the region”.
- A significant decision was to launch Comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) in 2022.
- Finally, the leaders favoured expanding connectivity through more rail, road, inland waterways, and coastal shipping linkages.
Sobering Ground Realities:
- In India, there are continuing worries about the cumulative and adverse impact of COVID-19 and the Ukraine war on Bangladesh’s economy.
- Deepening financial crisis due to protests on streets as a result of sharp rise in fuel prices and erosion of foreign currency reserves.
- Rising influence of fundamentalist forces, extremism, and radicalisation poses a serious danger to political stability.
Conclusion:
- Building a strong relationship with their largest neighbour is widely appreciated in India, and the leaders of both the nations have jointly crafted and nurtured “a role model for bilateral and regional cooperations”.
