New Delhi: Amid China's growing influence over Bangladesh in recent times, Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla went on a sudden two-day visit to the eastern neighbour on Tuesday in what is ostensibly New Delhi's bid to woo back Dhaka.
In what was initially expected to be a brief one-day visit, later became a two-day official trip, the first such visit abroad by Shringla since the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions were imposed in March this year.
In a single-line statement, the External Affairs Ministry said that Shringla is visiting Dhaka August 18-19 "to discuss and take forward cooperation on matters of mutual interest."
However, Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen refused to describe his Indian counterpart's visit as a sudden one during an interaction with reporters in the Foreign Ministry office.
He said that in his meeting with Shringla scheduled for Wednesday, he will seek Bangladesh's access to the vaccine developed by Oxford University for the Covid-19 virus that is under trial in India.
According to Bdnews24.com, Dhaka is set to discuss the trial of Oxford University vaccine, millions of doses of which will be produced by India's Serum Institute if successful in tests, in Bangladesh.
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One source in Dhaka told ETV Bharat that, according to Momen, Bangladesh is seeking access to all available vaccines, whether it be Chinese, Russian or American.
Momen, according to the source, said that Bangladesh will discuss the issue with India as part of this process.
Bangladesh's state medical research agency had earlier approved a third-phase trial of a potential COVID-19 vaccine developed by China's Sinovac Biotech Ltd. But the approval has now been put on hold
Shringla, who had earlier served as India's High Commissioner in Bangladesh, is also scheduled to meet Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen during the course of the visit.
According to observers, Shringla's visit is also aimed at countering Beijing's growing influence in Bangladesh in recent times even as India and China are involved in a border tussle in Ladakh.
The latest headache for New Delhi is Beijing's decision to extend a loan of nearly $1 billion to Dhaka for management of Teesta river waters. This is the first time that China has become involved in river water management in that South Asian nation.
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Though Bangladesh is one of the closest neighbours of India, sharing of the Teesta river waters has remained a most contentious issue between the two sides for decades.
India and Bangladesh nearly signed a Teesta water sharing agreement during then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Dhaka in 2011 but was shelved in the last moment due to opposition from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
The Teesta river originates in the eastern Himalayas and flows through the Indian states of Sikkim and West Bengal before entering Bangladesh. Though the river is a source of floods in the plains of Bangladesh, it remains dry for around two months during the winter.
Bangladesh has sought an "equitable" distribution of Teesta waters from India, on the lines of the Ganga Water Treaty of 1996 - an agreement to share surface waters at the Farakka Barrage near their mutual border - but to no avail.
With individual Indian states having significant influence over transboundary agreement, West Bengal has refrained from endorsing the Teesta deal, thereby impeding foreign policy making.
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Now, Bangladesh has come up with the Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration project in the greater Rangpur region and sought an $853-million loan from China to which Beijing has agreed. The project, worth $983 million, envisages the creation of a huge reservoir to store the waters of the Teesta.
China is fast-tracking defence projects in India's eastern neighbour, including developing the BNS Sheikh Hasina submarine base in Pekua, Cox's Bazar, and delivering two submarines to the Bangladesh Navy.
What is another issue of concern for New Delhi is that Prime Minister Hasina has also accepted Chinese President Xi Jinping's pet Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). India has refused to be a part of the BRI as one of its key projects, the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Though India enjoys the closest relationship with Bangladesh among South Asian countries, Dhaka has agreed to help China in its maritime management plans in the Bay of Bengal.
These come even as New Delhi and Dhaka signed and finalised seven agreements and three projects during Hasina's visit to India in October last year.
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The agreements include the use of Bangladesh's Chattogram and Mongla ports for movements to and from India, particularly from northeast India, operation of a water trade route between Sonamura in Tripura, India, and Daudkanti, Bangladesh, and implementation of the lines of credit worth $8 billion committed by New Delhi to Dhaka. Both the countries are also working to restore rail and other connectivity links to enhance people-to-people and trade ties. Last month, India handed over 10 broad gauge locomotives for use by Bangladesh Railway.
The three projects include import of bulk liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from Bangladesh, a Vivekananda Bhaban (students' hostel) at Ramakrishna Mission, Dhaka and a Bangladesh-India Professional Skill Development Institute (BIPSDI) at the Institution of Diploma Engineers Bangladesh (IDEB) in Khulna, Bangladesh.
Also, earlier this month, India named Vikram Doraiswami, Additional Secretary (International Organisations and Summits) in the Ministry of External Affairs, as its new High Commissioner to Bangladesh. The appointment is being seen as New Delhi’s strategic measure against Beijing’s efforts to entice Dhaka. Fluent in Mandarin and French, Doraiswami had served as Joint Secretary (Americas) at the MEA headquarters in New Delhi and also as the head of the Indo-Pacific.
India, along with the US, Japan and Australia, is part of a quad that is working for peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific in the face of China’s growing influence in the region that spreads from the east coast of Japan to the east coast of Africa.
It is in the backdrop of all these that Shringla's sudden visit to Dhaka has aroused interest among observers.
