India-Bangladesh Foreign Office Consultations Chance To Keep Communication Channels Open

India-Bangladesh foreign office consultations in December offer New Delhi and Dhaka a platform to engage following the regime change in Bangladesh, fostering bilateral discussions.

New Delhi: The India-Bangladesh foreign office consultations scheduled to be held in December will be the first high-level bilateral interaction between the two South Asian neighbours after an interim government assumed power in Dhaka in the wake of a mass uprising that saw the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Bangladesh Foreign Ministry spokesperson Toufique Hasan, during a media briefing on Thursday, confirmed that the annual foreign office consultations between the two countries will be held in Dhaka sometime in early December. While the Indian delegation will be led by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, the Bangladeshi side will be led by Misri’s counterpart Jashim Uddin.

The foreign office consultations come at a time when bilateral ties between India and Bangladesh are poised delicately following the regime change in Dhaka earlier this year. On August 5, Hasina considered a close friend of India, was ousted from power following a mass uprising in protest against what people called her authoritarian style of governance. Three days later, Bangladesh President Mohammad Shahabuddin installed an interim government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus as Chief Adviser.

With Hasina taking refuge in India, relations between the two South Asian neighbours have since been tense with no high-level visit taking place from either side till now. Meanwhile, the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) of Bangladesh has ordered the extradition of Hasina and many of her associates who fled the country after the upheaval in August.

According to spokesperson Hasan, the issue of Hasina’s extradition from India might come up for discussion. “There is scope for discussion on the matter,” media reports quoted him as saying. K Yhome, a Fellow at the Shillong-based think tank Asian Confluence, said that such a statement from the current regime in Bangladesh is not unexpected.

“Since the new government took over, some of the positions it has taken towards India have not been cordial to say the least,” Yhome told ETV Bharat.

He explained that the fact that Hasina is a close friend of India and has been given shelter by the government in New Delhi has not gone down well with the government and the people of Bangladesh.

“The relationship between the interim government in Bangladesh and New Delhi started on that note,” Yhome said. “The current government in Bangladesh, given all its political compulsions within the country, will have to bring up the issue of Hasina’s extradition when it comes to dealing with New Delhi.”

During his media briefing on Thursday, Hasan also said that the process of reviewing agreements and memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with India is underway, “but it is a time-consuming matter”. It is worth mentioning here that since the ouster of Hasina, work on all India-financed projects in Bangladesh has been stalled.

Bangladesh is the largest development aid partner of India. India has extended three lines of credit (LoCs) to Bangladesh in the last eight years amounting to around $8 billion for the development of infrastructure in various sectors including roads, railways, shipping and ports. In addition to the LoCs, the Government of India has also been providing grant assistance to Bangladesh for various infrastructure projects, including the construction of the Akhaura-Agartala rail link, the dredging of inland waterways in Bangladesh and the construction of the India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline.

High-impact community development projects (HICDPs) constitute an active pillar of India’s development assistance. The Government of India has funded 77 HICDPs including the construction of student hostels, academic buildings, skill development and training institutions, cultural centres, and orphanages among others in Bangladesh and 16 more HICDPs are being implemented, with all 93 projects amounting to over $50 million.

Prior to her ouster, when then Hasina came to India on a bilateral visit in June this year, a number of agreements were signed, including maritime cooperation and blue economy, railway connectivity, digital partnership and a satellite project. However, with the ouster of Hasina, all these projects are now faced with a state of uncertainty.

This has become a matter of concern for New Delhi as a lot of money has been pumped into these projects which have to be completed within a timeframe. The question is whether the new regime will continue to focus on the ongoing projects. According to Yhome, India’s concern is also strategic in terms of connectivity and cross-border infrastructure projects. The new regime might look at other external players due to internal compulsions.

A case in point here is the Teesta water management project inside Bangladesh. The Bangladesh Water Development Board and China’s power corporation signed an MoU to collaborate on water sector projects in Bangladesh. A feasibility study on the Teesta River was conducted, following which the Chinese power corporation submitted the Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration Project (TRCMRP) report. This report was subsequently approved on May 30, 2019.

However, for New Delhi, it was a matter of concern as it was seen as China expanding its influence in India’s immediate neighbourhood. Eventually, Hasina, taking into consideration New Delhi’s concerns and the fact that India is Bangladesh’s immediate neighbour, decided to hand over the project to India. In fact, India was preparing to send a technical team to conduct a study on the project when the political upheaval in Bangladesh took place.

Indian missions in Bangladesh also have limited the issuance of visas to emergency cases only. This has become major problem for the people of Bangladesh. According to Hasan, during the upcoming foreign office consultations, Dhaka is also expected to request New Delhi to resume issuing visas in a regular manner.

Last month, there was a positive development in terms of bilateral ties when Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated a new passenger terminal building and a Maitri Dwar in Petrapole along Bangladesh’s border with West Bengal, built at a cost of Rs 487 crore by the Land Port Authority of India (LPAI).

The passenger terminal building, built at a cost of approximately Rs 500 crore and covering an area of nearly 60,000 square metres, can handle 25,000 passengers daily. Shah said that this will greatly boost medical and educational tourism. He expressed the view that this initiative by the LPAI will secure India’s borders and create a conducive environment for development. The Maitri Dwar has been constructed for Rs 6 crore which will allow smooth passage of transport with a handling capacity of over 600-700 trucks per day.

Yhome said that any government in India’s neighbourhood will realise at one point or the other that it will have to engage with New Delhi taking into account the geographic location and economic relations. “Bangladesh shares a long border with India,” he said. “The Bangladesh government knows the importance of border management and border trade.”

For that, according to Yhome, Bangladesh will have to engage with New Delhi through the already existing bilateral mechanisms like the foreign office consultations.

At the same time, Yhome said that key decisions on projects and other bilateral issues cannot be taken during the foreign office consultations. Such decisions can only be taken at the political leadership level. “Both sides will raise key issues and concerns during the upcoming talks,” he said. “The foreign office consultations will offer both sides the chance to keep communication channels open.”