Harsh Vardhan Shringla, High Commissioner of India :
The theme for today’s lecture is contemporary India, Its Foreign Policy and Strategy: Implications for Bangladesh. I do not wish to deliver a long lecture on the ingredients of Indian Foreign Policy. Instead, I would like to approach the theme by highlighting the synergies that exist between India and Bangladesh in various areas and how these synergies are shaping the relationship between the two neighbours today, so much so that India-Bangladesh relations has become a model relationship.
The goal of foreign policy of any country is to serve its national interest. The broad goals of Indian foreign policy are also to create an enabling environment to ensure India’s growth and development. This means ensuring peace and stability in the region so that our energies are focused on development; it means pursuing relations with other countries in a manner that it serves the needs of our people. In contemporary times, there is the added dimension of working in a globalized world. This is both a challenge and an opportunity-and the objective of foreign policy is to overcome the challenges and utilize the opportunities.
Globalization affects all aspects of our lives and poses common challenges across the world. This includes the globalization of security threats; the networks of terror-financial or physical which transcend boundaries and call for states to pool their resources and co-operate with each other to overcome these challenges.
In order to do so, states need to have a mutual understanding of what constitutes a threat and the willingness to work together to tackle it. India continues to build consensus on the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism at the UN. India has also called for strengthened efforts to prevent supply of arms to terrorists, disrupt terrorist movements, curb terror financing; secure our cyber space and minimize use of internet and social media for terrorism and radicalization. Bangladesh has also faced some serious challenges from terrorism and is an invaluable partner in our fight against terrorism.
Indeed, it is in this aspect that India and Bangladesh are today on the same page and this is manifested in the excellent co-operation that our security forces enjoy-whether it is in the form of sharing of information or apprehending criminals. Our border guarding forces often work under challenging circumstances guarding this 4000 kilometres plus border. They meet each other at various levels and resolve any outstanding issues amicably.
I began my lecture by focusing on security challenges and cooperation with Bangladesh only to enter into a broader subject. The goal of foreign policy is never only security but security is the pre-requisite on the basis of which foundations of a wider and deeper relationship is built. In fact, the concept of security itself has been widened beyond conventional terms to include concepts such as energy security, cyber security which call for a broad-based approach to foreign policy.
India and Bangladesh share a special relationship- a shared history, language, culture, ties of family and kinship. Both nations have fought the Liberation war together, as an integrated force, a rare example in the recent history. With our soldiers having shed blood together, the bonds we share are eternal and will always stand the test of time. India’s longest border (4096) kilometres is with Bangladesh. We both have young populations with high aspirations. Like Bangladesh, India is a young country with 800 million people below 35 years of age. We are a diverse society with more than 23 official languages and 2200 dialects. Even Bangladesh is a secular society with diverse groups of people living in the country.
Our destinies are inter-linked and we are partners in progress and development. You aspire to become a middle income country by 2031 and we too want sustained levels of high growth to eliminate poverty and ensure development of our people.
India’s current foreign and defence policy framework has been defined by the Government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which came to power in May 2014. Our policy framework is more ‘proactive’, with a sense of renewed energy, vigour, and planning in India’s engagement with the rest of the world. India is playing a prominent role in shaping global debates on issues ranging from global governance reform, climate change, multilateral trade negotiations, internet governance & cyber-security, and trans-national terrorism.
India has, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, adopted the ‘Neighbourhood First’ Policy. The goals of Indian foreign policy are linked with that of the neighbouring countries and we realise that India needs to work with its neighbours for the collective development of the people of our countries.
The visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s to Bangladesh in June 2015 has laid the foundation of many of the new initiatives in our bilateral relationship. During the visit, as many as 22 bilateral agreements were signed in areas as diverse as energy, connectivity, infrastructure and transportation, people-to-people contacts and 77 key decisions were taken in the Joint Declaration that was adopted between both the countries.
We have amicably resolved both our maritime and land boundaries in the recent past. Last year, India and Bangladesh amicably settled the Land Boundary issue which had been pending more than six decades. The Indian Parliament was unanimous in passing the Land Boundary Act (LBA) in 2015. For the first time, people who were living in enclaves on either side of the border got rights of citizenship. The fact that the LBA was passed unanimously in the Indian Parliament is of tremendous significance. It reflects the consensus amongst the representatives of people in India about the need to amicably resolve all outstanding issues and move ahead in our bilateral relationship.
We had also settled our maritime boundary through Arbitration in 2014. This has opened up new avenues in bilateral cooperation. Co-operation in blue economy is an emerging model where we can explore avenues of cooperation in areas such as marine biotechnology, green tourism, hospitality, deep-sea fishing, response to disasters, etc. It also allows our forces to undertake joint search and rescue operations in the Bay of Bengal region when our fishermen go missing. Recently, both Coasts Guards and Bangladesh Navy undertook a joint Search and rescue operation from 13-27 Aug 2016, wherein a large number of fishermen were rescued from each other’s waters.
Connectivity is at the heart of our Neighbourhood First policy. In the context of Bangladesh, it means greater economic integration within the economic sub-region. The networks of roads, rail lines, rivers which connect our countries are like arteries which provide lifeline to our people. These bring our people closer and are the basic infrastructure on which trade and commerce is carried out.
Connectivity projects are also being worked out within regional frameworks such as BBIN, BIMSTEC and SAARC. The thrust of our Act East policy is also connectivity with South East Asia. Bangladesh, by virtue of its geographical location, can be a pivot in India’s Act East policy. Not only will this bring advantages to your country, but also enable economic integration with South-East Asia. Bangladesh shares a border with five Indian states and can become an international gateway of connectivity between India and South East Asia.
Road and rail infrastructure is an important element of enhancing connectivity. Before 1965, our railway networks were connected. Many of the links were snapped as a consequence of war. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has endorsed the revival these linkages. Majority of the US $ 1 billion Line of Credit that India offered to Bangladesh earlier consisted of railway projects. With the completion of the Agartala-Akhaura rail link in due course, there will be direct rail connectivity with Tripura. Agartala in turn has been connected by rail link to Delhi and a new superfast express was inaugurated last month.
The Bangladesh Bhutan India Nepal (BBIN) framework provides a new paradigm for connectivity. The Motor Vehicle Agreement has been signed between Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) for easier movement of vehicles and trial runs have been completed.
It will start with cargo movement but this is just the beginning-the potential for connectivity is tremendous and has the power to transform this economic sub-region. New bus services were launched last year: Dhaka-Shillong-Guwahati Bus Services, Kolkata-Dhaka-Agartala Bus Services. Kolkata-Khulna bus service is in pipeline. Private airline companies have shown interest in direct flights between Dhaka and Guwahati.
Under the BBIN Motor Vehicles Agreement (MVA), a trial run of cargo vehicle carrying garment products for the sector Dhaka-Delhi via Benapole-Petrapole-Kolkata was initiated on 28 August 2016 from Dhaka and will reach New Delhi tomorrow, i.e. 1 September. The trial run for the Kolkata-Khulna bus service (also under BBIN MBVA) was flagged off at Kolkata on 30 August and reached Khulna, the same day. These trial runs will enable operators and transporters to understand the practical difficulties and the information/data collected will be useful for starting of regular cargo/passenger movement being proposed under BBIN MVA. The BBIN MVA was signed in June 2015.
The Phulbari-Banglabandha Immigration post was inaugurated in February 2016. This has opened up new opportunities in Bangladesh’s connectivity with North-east of India. Our Prime Ministers jointly dedicated the Benapole-Petrapole Immigration Check Post through videoconferencing in July. This will help in cargo movement and trade across the land border.
23. Inland Waterways has great potential as a mode of transportation for cargo. It is relatively under-utilized in India. In Bangladesh there is an elaborate network of inland waterways. The transshipment of Indian goods at Ashuganj Port to the North-eastern states of India began in June this year. Coastal Shipping has also been operationalised and the first ship sailed from Chittagong to Vishakhapatnam in March this year.
New paradigms of cooperation are emerging in the energy and power sector. Energy security is a key foreign policy goal for any country. If India and Bangladesh cooperate to the fullest extent in this area, we can transform this region. There is tremendous potential and a bright future ahead if we work together. Renewable and civil nuclear energy also has the potential to become key elements of our energy cooperation.
Early this year, Tripura began to export 100 MW of power to Comilla district while Bangladesh has commenced export of internet bandwidth to Tripura. Earlier this month, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between both countries which allows for a temporary period carrying of petroleum goods from Assam to Tripura through Bangladesh.
In fact, the energy sector is the most dynamic area of cooperation which has become a hallmark of cooperation in South Asia. It is also an area in which the Indian private sector has shown interest, which is an extremely positive sign of growing confidence of economic prospects in Bangladesh.
Discussions on a cross-border diesel pipeline are underway; an Agreement has been signed to set up an LPG Terminal in Chittagong. India’s north-east has great potential for hydro-electric power which can meet the energy requirements of Bangladesh. Earlier this year in March, a goodwill train carried 2200 MTs of diesel oil from India to Bangladesh. The possibilities of cooperation are endless.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also announced a USD 2 billion Line of Credit (LOC) for Bangladesh where Bangladesh is free to choose the projects as per its developmental needs and priorities.
This was in addition to the earlier USD 1 billion LOC.
People-to-people contacts are what make the relationship between India and Bangladesh special. A few days ago, our President inaugurated the Akashwani Maitree radio channel-the first channel in Bangla which gets content from India and Bangladesh. Indian educational institutions receive thousands of Bangladesh students every year and our students come to your country as well. India’s premier engineering institutes-IITs are keen to receive students from Bangladesh.
Last year, with more than a million tourists, Bangladesh sent the second largest number of tourists to India. This year it may well become the highest source of tourists to India. We issue the largest number of visas as compared to any other Indian Mission in the world. In 2015, this figure was 7.53 lakhs and the numbers this year are even higher. In June, we organized an Eid Visa Camp and in a short span of 12 days, close to 60,000 persons visited the Camp with visa applications.
All these are examples of the strides we have taken in our bilateral relationship in the recent past. Our relations with Bangladesh today have become a paradigm of success we wish to replicate with our other neighbours as well. It is an example of how two neighbours can cooperate if they sit down to discuss all issues and if the leadership is committed to the development of the people. This is just the beginning; we have a long distance to cover and if we continue to work together we can transform this region to make it a model of growth and development.
(Mr. Harsh Vardhan Shringla, High Commissioner of India delivered this lecture at the Defendence Services Communal and Staff College, Bangladesh, Dhaka on August 31)
