Hyderabad: Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's 'selfie moment' with US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the G 20 Summit in New Delhi, which has become a topic of discussion in the diplomatic spectrum, appears far more symbolic than it meets the eye given the bilateral tightrope walking between the US and Bangladesh.
This is primarily because Bangladesh-US relations have been topsy-turvy in recent months, with the American envoy in Dhaka, Peter Haas, repeatedly calling for the holding of a 'free and transparent general election' and meeting the chief election commissioner to discuss the matter.
Notably, US President Joe Biden and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday shared a candid moment as they took a selfie at Bharat Mandapam at the G-20 Summit in New Delhi. Both leaders had arrived in India to attend the G20 Summit in New Delhi. The photographs of US President Joe Biden in a selfie with Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on the X, formerly Twitter, wall of Hasina's daughter Saima Wazed at the G20 summit has been wagging many tongues.
Incidentally, it was Biden, who lectured Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on the occasion of Bangladesh's Independence Day in January. "As Bangladesh approaches its next election, I am reminded of the deep value both of our nations' people place on democracy, equality, respect for human rights, and free and fair elections," he said.
On Saturday, Bangladesh's Foreign Minister, Abdul Momen termed the 'heartwarming gesture' as a joyful moment, with everyone feeling happy, and President Biden appeared quite excited while taking the selfie.
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Bangladesh's Foreign Minister said, "Yes, President Biden was so excited, he took the phone from a friend of mine..because he was finding it difficult to take the picture, so took it...it was fun, it was really good. I feel the equation is very good...you can see the faces, everybody was very happy, the wonderful time I would say." As usual, the sight of US President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her daughter Saima Wazed Putul saw the opposition BNP red. The timing has come bad for the BNP, which expected sanction from the White House on Bangladesh.
Bangladesh-US strained ties
There has been a simmering tension over 'strained ties between US-Bangladesh ties. People in the know of the matter said a harried Hasina 'looked Chinawards' to counterweight the USA, which has been a major investor in Bangladeh's development projects. At the same time, Hasina can't ignore the USA and its key allies such as France and Germany, which have pumped in billions to resurrect Bangladesh's economy.
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The USAID program in Bangladesh is the largest in Asia, with some of the world's most important food security and health programs, along with strategically important democracy and governance, basic education, and environmental activities. The United States is the largest source of foreign direct investment in the Indo-Pacific region, nearing $1 trillion as of 2021, and the largest source in Bangladesh, with over $4.3 billion invested and counting.
At this critical juncture when Hasina faces one of the toughest elections in January next year, a 'frosty relationship' with the US can be fraught with danger. "The Bangladesh government was irked after the US administration unveiled a new policy in May on denying visas to Bangladeshis who undermine the democratic election process. Elections, which are due next year, can be the toughest for PM Hasina, who is under pressure to ensure free and fair polls in the country from the US and its friendly countries. Hasina has to make a fine balance amid the tight walk," Shahab Enam Khan, Professor, Department of International Relations of Jahangirnagar University in Dhaka, told ETV Bharat.
Amid Bangladesh's strained ties with the US, it is learnt that Dhaka has reached out to India to help the country 'defrost' its ties with the USA. The coming together of Hasina and Biden at the G-20 also provided the Bangladesh PM with an opportunity to melt the ice.
Bangladesh turns to India to tide over rough patch
The Bangladesh side took up the issue with Indian leadership in recent weeks in the hope that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will help Bangladesh achieve a breakthrough in defrosting the ties.
Parliamentary elections in Bangladesh are due by January 2024 and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League party has been in power for 15 years but is facing increasing pressure because of an economic crisis and mobilisation by the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
Publicly, Bangladeshi leaders have, however, dismissed the US calls for free and fair elections, with deputy foreign minister Shahriar Alam saying recently that the new US visa policy “does not bother” his government. The matter is understood to have figured when Bangladesh foreign minister AK Abdul Momen met external affairs minister S Jaishankar on the margins of a G20 development ministers’ meeting in Varanasi on June 12.
The Sheikh Hasina government is perhaps India’s closest and only reliable partner in a neighbourhood fraught with anti-Indian feelings and shifting loyalties. Although India has traditionally been the acknowledged 'big power' in South Asia, in recent years that position has been seriously challenged by China, whose interest and footprint in the region are increasing with each passing day.
Meanwhile, the Joe Biden administration in the US has announced a series of punitive measures to check Bangladesh’s 'democratic backsliding' and ensure the parliamentary election is free and fair. In addition to the threat of imposing visa sanctions against anyone who engages in election rigging, the US State Department has imposed sanctions on a number of serving and retired officials of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), a paramilitary force that has been accused of helping Sheikh Hasina’s party, the Awami League, win past elections. Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister since 2009, has been accused of manipulating elections and intimidating political opponents to pave the way for her unchallenged authority and successive victories that have made her the longest-serving leader in the country.
She has maintained that elections in Bangladesh have always been free and fair. But the US and European nations have put pressure on her to rein in supporters, officials, and government agencies and allow all political parties to participate in elections without fear.
Biden has omitted Bangladesh from the summit of democracies organised by him in past years, although he invited Pakistan and India along with other countries. His administration also ignored Hasina when she visited Washington for a World Bank meeting in May.
