Inking 22 pacts, committing to cooperation in a range of sectors, and taking the resource allocation for Bangladesh to more than $8 billion, India gave a loud and clear message to all its neighbours on Saturday. It was ready to accommodate them, provided they addressed New Delhi’s core security concerns.
Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar gave full indication of this. Soon after Prime Minister Modi and his visiting Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina held bilateral meetings at Hyderabad House that lasted for about one-and-half hours, Jaishankar bluntly said that there were “lessons” here for other neighbours.
Prime Minister Modi echoed the Foreign Secretary’s sentiments. Later, while joining Sheikh Hasina to felicitate families of seven Indian soldiers martyred during the 1971 Bangladesh liberation war, Modi hit out at Pakistan, without naming it, saying India’s doors were open for cooperation, “but for that country...which breeds, inspires and encourages terrorism, this thought is a roadblock to peace within the region and the world.”
On a more positive note, the PM also emphasised that Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas was not just restricted to India, but also to neighbouring countries and the development of India was incomplete without the progress of the region.
“We have extended the hand of friendship towards every country (of the region) and have invited them to be a part of our growth. Without being selfish, we have wished them well for the entire region’s sake,” he said. Modi added that India’s doors were always open for cooperation, but for this terrorism had to be shunned.
As many as 1,661 Indian soldiers were killed in the Bangladesh Liberation War, and in another move that will increase goodwill, the Sheikh Hasina government has decided to allocate Rs 100 crore to felicitate all of them. The money will be given in instalments.
Earlier, after holding comprehensive talks, both countries signed 22 pacts in key sectors which included defence, civil and nuclear co-operation which was seen as a major diplomatic coup. Modi announced a new concessional line of credit of $4.5 billion for Bangladesh and an additional assistance of $500 million to help its military procurement.
During his 2015 visit to Bangladesh, PM Modi had pledged a $2 billion line of credit. With these new commitments, India’s resource allocation for Bangladesh has gone to more than eight billion dollars over the past six years.
The pacts also include liberalisation of the visa regime. Asked about the issue of Bangladeshi infiltration, Jaishankar said that a liberalised legal visa regime would help to check illegal entry. Providing details, Indian High Commissioner to Dhaka, Harsh Vardhan Shringla said that any Bangladeshi citizen with a three months valid ticket was entitled to get an Indian visa. He added that earlier medical visas had been restricted only for treatment and not for diagnosis. “This anomaly has also been corrected,” he said.
On her side, the Bangladesh PM said her government will take all necessary steps to ensure peace and security along the Indo-Bangla border and asserted that there will be zero-tolerance against terror.
Also amongst the pacts signed, are three Memoranda of Understandings on (MoU) for defence co-operation that also includes framework agreement to bolster military supplies and technology transfer. Analysts here suggest that these defence pacts may also enable Dhaka to reduce its dependence on China which has so far remained a principal supplier of defence equipment to the Bangladesh armed forces, including the supply of two submarines last year.
Significantly, both sides also inked an MoU on nuclear energy cooperation as well. It involves exchange of technical information and cooperation in the regulation of nuclear safety and radiation protection. Apart from this, an agreement was also signed regarding cooperation on nuclear power plant projects in Bangladesh.
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