With Pranab visit, India signals changed approach to Bangladesh - India - The Times of India
NEW DELHI: India will signal its seriousness in engaging Bangladesh with a special gesture: finance minister Pranab Mukherjee will personally go to Dhaka on Saturday to sign a $1 billion credit agreement, the largest package that India has ever given to any country.
Mukherjee's personal appearance is deemed crucial because PM Manmohan Singh wants to send an important message to its eastern neighbour, that Bangladesh is very high on the priority list.
This signal is important because there has been speculation lately that Bangladesh was unhappy about the slow progress in bilateral matters after the visit of Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina.
Mukherjee is expected to meet the foreign and finance ministers in Dhaka as well as have a one-on-one meeting with the PM herself, before returning on Saturday night. He will announce a gift of 3 lakh tonnes of rice, but much more important, will tell the Dhaka government that India is ready to schedule a meeting of the joint boundary working group after the Eid festival.
The boundary negotiations involve a "package" agreement including demarcation of the 6.1 km disputed border, enclaves and adverse possession in an all-in-one deal. "That means progress is necessarily slow," said an official.
On the other hand, the joint river commission has even exchanged ideas on Teesta water sharing with Bangladesh giving a draft memorandum of understanding and India a set of principles. Within both documents lie the contours of an agreement, said sources.
In a related sector, Bangladesh and India have now agreed to conduct dredging on the Ichchamati river as well as build embankments which was a no-no earlier.
But Indian officials are most bullish about the prospect of cooperation in the power sector. After Bangladesh succeeded in getting an electric cable under the Tin Bigha corridor to power up the Dahagram and Angarpota enclaves, NTPC is working on a joint venture with Bangladesh for thermal power projects in Chittagong and Khulna. Bangladesh has been hesitating on Chittagong, and Mukherjee will attempt to convince the leadership that the project would be on the lines of the one executed in Sri Lanka recently.
At 1,320 mw, Indian officials said the Bangladesh JV is much bigger than Sri Lanka's project. An agreement has also been signed with Power Grid Corporation which will ultimately see Bangladesh connecting to the Indian power grid. India has committed to providing 250 mw of power, but after the interlocking of the grid, the amount could be higher.
On the Meghalaya border, the governments have finally selected two border "haats" which will be inaugurated soon.
The difficulty with all of these is that since they involve big infrastructure works, results will only show up a couple of years later. In the interim, there is need to pick some low hanging fruit -- India had allowed 8 million pieces of garments duty free, a quota that Bangladesh has used up. So this offer will be repeated.
For Bangladesh, the new engagement with India is desirable but it wants to see quick results. For its part, India has only now made the mental changeover to a relationship that is not based on reciprocity, a governing principle for India's neighbourhood diplomacy for all these years.
"We have to hold Bangladesh's hand, and do it publicly," said a senior official. With Mukherjee's visit, India is hoping Bangladesh will understand that India wants to do just that.
NEW DELHI: India will signal its seriousness in engaging Bangladesh with a special gesture: finance minister Pranab Mukherjee will personally go to Dhaka on Saturday to sign a $1 billion credit agreement, the largest package that India has ever given to any country.
Mukherjee's personal appearance is deemed crucial because PM Manmohan Singh wants to send an important message to its eastern neighbour, that Bangladesh is very high on the priority list.
This signal is important because there has been speculation lately that Bangladesh was unhappy about the slow progress in bilateral matters after the visit of Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina.
Mukherjee is expected to meet the foreign and finance ministers in Dhaka as well as have a one-on-one meeting with the PM herself, before returning on Saturday night. He will announce a gift of 3 lakh tonnes of rice, but much more important, will tell the Dhaka government that India is ready to schedule a meeting of the joint boundary working group after the Eid festival.
The boundary negotiations involve a "package" agreement including demarcation of the 6.1 km disputed border, enclaves and adverse possession in an all-in-one deal. "That means progress is necessarily slow," said an official.
On the other hand, the joint river commission has even exchanged ideas on Teesta water sharing with Bangladesh giving a draft memorandum of understanding and India a set of principles. Within both documents lie the contours of an agreement, said sources.
In a related sector, Bangladesh and India have now agreed to conduct dredging on the Ichchamati river as well as build embankments which was a no-no earlier.
But Indian officials are most bullish about the prospect of cooperation in the power sector. After Bangladesh succeeded in getting an electric cable under the Tin Bigha corridor to power up the Dahagram and Angarpota enclaves, NTPC is working on a joint venture with Bangladesh for thermal power projects in Chittagong and Khulna. Bangladesh has been hesitating on Chittagong, and Mukherjee will attempt to convince the leadership that the project would be on the lines of the one executed in Sri Lanka recently.
At 1,320 mw, Indian officials said the Bangladesh JV is much bigger than Sri Lanka's project. An agreement has also been signed with Power Grid Corporation which will ultimately see Bangladesh connecting to the Indian power grid. India has committed to providing 250 mw of power, but after the interlocking of the grid, the amount could be higher.
On the Meghalaya border, the governments have finally selected two border "haats" which will be inaugurated soon.
The difficulty with all of these is that since they involve big infrastructure works, results will only show up a couple of years later. In the interim, there is need to pick some low hanging fruit -- India had allowed 8 million pieces of garments duty free, a quota that Bangladesh has used up. So this offer will be repeated.
For Bangladesh, the new engagement with India is desirable but it wants to see quick results. For its part, India has only now made the mental changeover to a relationship that is not based on reciprocity, a governing principle for India's neighbourhood diplomacy for all these years.
"We have to hold Bangladesh's hand, and do it publicly," said a senior official. With Mukherjee's visit, India is hoping Bangladesh will understand that India wants to do just that.
