Bangladesh’s PM Visits India

Recently, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visited India.

Key Points:

Outcomes of Visit:

India and Bangladesh will soon commence negotiations on a Bilateral Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

Focus Areas of CEPA:

- Trade in goods, services, and investment and reduction of the trade gap between the two countries.

What is the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA)?

A partnership agreement or cooperation agreement is more comprehensive than a Free Trade Agreement.
CEPA also looks into the regulatory aspect of trade and encompasses an agreement covering the regulatory issues.
CEPA covers negotiation on the trade in services and investment and other areas of economic partnership.
It may even consider negotiation in areas such as trade facilitation and customs cooperation, competition, and IPR.
India has signed CEPAs with South Korea and Japan.

India and Bangladesh signed seven Memorandum of Understandings (MoU) namely:

water sharing of the Kushiyara river.

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), India and Bangladesh Council of Scientific Industrial Research (BCSIR).

National Judicial Academy, Bhopal and the Bangladesh Supreme Court.

India will train personnel of Bangladesh Railways in the Indian Railways’ training institutes.

IT solutions to Bangladesh Railways.

Bangladesh Television and Prasar Bharati.

cooperation in space technology and scientific and research collaboration.

Inauguration of Rupsha rail bridge ( 5.13-km) which is a key part Khulna-Mongla Port single-track broad gauge rail project.

Development of Maitree Power plant with Indian Development Assistance under the Concessional Financing Scheme.

Boosting Bilateral Rail Connectivity: India would supply road construction equipment and machinery cross-border rail at Birol (Bangladesh)-Radhikapur (West Bengal).

A Khulna-Darshana railway line link project

Brief Overview:

India- Bangladesh Cooperation

Under South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA), Bangladesh extends preferential tariffs to Indian exports of products outside the ‘sensitive list’ of 993 items.
India is Bangladesh’s second biggest trade partner and its largest export market in Asia.

A Protocol on Inland Waterways Trade and Transit (PIWTT) has been in place since 1972 to facilitate trade and transit through inland waterways.
Currently, four Border Haats — two each in Meghalaya (Kalaichar and Balat) and Tripura (Srinagar and Kamalasagar) — are functional between India-Bangladesh.

Conclusion:

The spirit of comradeship of 1971 remains the foundation stone of the two countries’ ties.

From having shared historical, social, and cultural affinities to working towards fulfilling common interests, India-Bangladesh ties have always been marked by the salient values of openness, mutual trust, cooperation, and mutual respect.

Bangladesh is central to India’s “Neighbourhood First Policy”, particularly given the outreach made by China through its Belt and Road initiative (BRI).

Only India’s proactiveness in South Asia would keep both China and Pakistan in check.