New Delhi is readying for a new chapter in ties with Dhaka as Bangladesh’s first woman foreign minister Dipu Moni arrives on Monday for talks with external affairs minister SM Krishna.
Moni’s trip will lay the groundwork for prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit later this year. India hopes to set right its ties with Bangladesh, marred during Khaleda Zia’s rule, when fundamentalists thrived side by side with anti-India forces.
Sheikh Hasina’s return to power has been a godsend for India. But she has been beset by domestic turmoil since her landslide victory. The mutiny by Bangladesh Rifles last year traumatised the country. Former envoy to Dhaka, Veena Sikri, has some advice for the government. “When dealing with Bangladesh, India must stop thinking of what’s in it for us, but look for what’s good for Dhaka. The goodwill that will flow from this will help India.’’
Former foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee set the tone when he visited Dhaka in February. India announced some initiatives like providing duty-free access to eight million pieces of ready garments, lifting a ban on FDI in Bangladesh and duty-free access to several items from Bangladesh.
India also signed a bilateral trade treaty and another one on the protection of investments. But Dhaka is looking for much more. During Moni’s trip, Bangladesh will ask India for trade facilitation measures to reduce the ballooning trade gap with New Delhi. It also wants lifting of trade barriers for all Bangladeshi goods to India. But Bangladeshi officials are not too hopeful. “India announces concessions on the one hand, only to take it away with the other by adding counter-veiling levies to protect its domestic market,” said a diplomat who did not wish to be named.
Moni will also request Krishna to resolve the issue of equitable sharing of water from common rivers, and work on a pact on sharing Teesta waters. For India, terrorism remains a major issue. New Delhi wants to make certain that anti-India elements don’t get a chance to use Bangladeshi soil for launching attacks on India. Apart from this, Dhaka has always given refuge to north-eastern insurgent groups. This will be on top of India’s agenda.
