Hyderabad: Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's four-day visit to India to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries comes at a time when there's an escalating row over NRC in Assam.
Sheikh Hasina will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday and will call on President Ram Nath Kovind on the same day.
Bangladesh plays a significant role in South Asia due to its geographical advantage. Beijing has also approached Dhaka with its older tactic of huge investment in projects, which the country can never afford to return. India shares a long 4096.7 km. border with Bangladesh and the NRC's implementation has worried the neighbour.
NRC-Dhaka
Hasina sees NRC as a serious concern for Dhaka while Indian leaders have been chanting to implement it across the country including West Bengal which shares a 2,217 km border with Bangladesh.
However, media reports suggest that during their meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York recently, Modi assured Hasina that NRC is India's internal matter and allayed fears that there would be any deportation to any country.
Teesta water sharing
Dhaka is expected to raise the issue of the sharing of Teesta river waters. Bangladesh wants a higher share than it gets now. Currently, its share is lower than that of India’s. Teesta is a 414km long river flowing through the Indian states of West Bengal, Sikkim before going to the Bay of Bengal through Bangladesh. It is the fourth largest transboundary river shared between India and Bangladesh after Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna river systems.
Trade
Dhaka is New Delhi's biggest trade partner in South Asia. Bilateral trade between the two countries has grown steadily over the last decade. India’s exports to Bangladesh for the financial year 2018-19 stood at the US $9.21 bn and imports from Bangladesh for the same period stood at US $1.22 billion.
Security, border management
Major boundary disputes between the two countries were addressed during PM Hasina's regime. India and Bangladesh share 4096.7 km. of the border, which is the longest land boundary that India shares with any of its neighbours. The India-Bangladesh Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) came into force following the exchange of instruments of ratification in June 2015. On July 31, 2015, the enclaves of India and Bangladesh in each other’s countries were exchanged and strip maps were signed. Residents of these erstwhile enclaves, who opted to retain their Indian citizenship made a final movement to India by November 30, 2015.
Transport and energy
In an attempt to upgrade its railways, roads and shipping infrastructure Bangladesh is likely to seek India's cooperation. Dhaka could also make a request for the export of more electricity. Bangladesh is currently importing 1160 MW of power from India. The 1320 MW coal-fired Maitree thermal power plant, a 50:50 joint venture between National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) of India and Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), is being constructed at Rampal.
Bangladeshi media also reported that Dhaka will raise the issue of Rohingya refugees repatriation to Myanmar and arms purchase from India.
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