Concerns over China’s growing footprint in Bangladesh notwithstanding, Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League-led coalition government continues to be the best bet to safeguard India’s interests in Dhaka.
Prime Minister Hasina arrived in New Delhi on an official four-day visit to India from September 5 to 8 to hold discussions with the Indian political and business leadership and strengthen bilateral ties.
Hasina, 75, is scheduled to seek a fresh mandate next year and will need India’s support to resolve some pending issues that will allow her to improve Bangladesh’s economy and consolidate her position.
However, on the eve of her India visit, Hasina inaugurated the Bangladesh-China Friendship Bridge, which sections in New Delhi saw as another indication of the growing partnership between Dhaka and Beijing.
The 1,493-metre-long bridge over the Kacha river in southwest Bangladesh was built as a joint venture at a cost of $95 million. China offered a $68.92 million grant to Bangladesh for the project.
During her India visit, Hasina will call on newly elected President Droupadi Murmu and vice president Jagdeep Dhankhar.
Sharing river waters
Hasina will meet her host, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on September 6 to discuss issues related to trade and commerce, security and energy, and connectivity and investment that can enhance mutual cooperation and benefit both nations.
The two prime ministers will also discuss the sharing of the Teesta River waters and the repatriation of Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh to Myanmar.
Hasina has assured the Indian leadership that she will not allow any force detrimental to India’s interests to operate from its soil, but has maintained neutrality in the Sino-Indian rivalry in the region.
Hasina follows a “friendship to all, malice to none” policy that allows her to seek support and assistance from all countries for the development and growth of Bangladesh.
Last month, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi visited Bangladesh and held a series of meetings with Hasina and other Bangladeshi leaders to deepen ties. China has described Bangladesh as its “strategic development partner.”
But the growing partnership with China has not diluted her strong feelings towards India.
Hasina and other Awami League leaders remember India’s contribution to Bangladesh’s independence, its military intervention, and the shelter provided to millions of Bangladeshis who had fled the country in the face of Pakistani military’s onslaught in 1971.
In recognition of India’s role, the Bangladesh Prime Minister will announce the Mujib Scholarships to descendants of 200 Indian Armed Forces personnel who were either killed or seriously wounded during the Bangladesh Liberation War. The scholarships are named after Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first president of Bangladesh and Hasina’s father.
Under the Awami League government, New Delhi-Dhaka relations have been largely warm and friendly. Indo-Bangladesh relations have improved significantly since Modi came to power in 2014.
Widening ties
The two leaders have met each other regularly and often visited each other’s country. Hasina was in India in 2019, and Modi visited Bangladesh last year. In the intervening period, the foreign ministers and other senior officials of the two countries have held regular meetings to widen the scope of bilateral relations.
Indo-Bangladesh relations have been transformed since the Hasina government weeded out anti-Indian elements from the country from 2009 onwards.
Her main political rival, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which has traditionally maintained close links with Pakistan, had turned a blind eye and often encouraged Northeast insurgent groups and other anti-Indian elements to flourish in Bangladesh.
Appreciative of Hasina’s initiative in getting rid of forces working against Indian interests, New Delhi took urgent steps to clear political cobwebs by resolving pending boundary issues with Bangladesh. This was followed by steps to increase investment, trade and connectivity to strengthen and widen bilateral relations.
The gains from their mutual cooperation have now allowed India to showcase its Bangladeshi ties to convince other South Asian neighbours about the benefits of maintaining strong friendly relations with New Delhi.
The Hasina-Modi meeting takes place amid the Ukraine war, which has caused energy and food prices to rise steeply. Bangladesh faces the challenge of keeping prices of essential items in check for its 160 million people due to the war and has also ordered electricity blackouts.
Hasina's visit also comes when China’s aggressive rise in the region and growing presence in Bangladesh and South Asia have caused concern for India. Most countries in the neighbourhood had enthusiastically participated in China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to develop their infrastructure. But many of them now face a debt-trap.
China has invested over $10 billion to develop Bangladesh’s infrastructure. However, Bangladesh has not faced any debt crisis so far and until recently its $416 billion economy had grown at a healthy and steady pace.
Hasina’s visit may not end up resolving all pending issues but it is a reiteration that both sides need each other for a peaceful neighbourhood and to continue their growth and development.
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