Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina are expected to hold a virtual summit on December 17, during which the two sides will sign at least four memorandums of understanding to boost bilateral cooperation. The summit will cap a string of engagements since foreign secretary Harsh Shringla visited Dhaka in August to put the relationship back on an even keel after it was hit by irritants such as the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). With China stepping up efforts to enhance development aid for Bangladesh, New Delhi has worked to remove irritants in ties with Dhaka and sped up work on several connectivity and transit projects. Shringla’s visit to Dhaka was his first trip abroad after Covid-19-related travel restrictions kicked in, and he had handed over a personal message from Modi to Hasina. In July, India provided 10 railway locomotives to Bangladesh, days after the first container train made its way to the Bangladeshi side and the first shipment of goods was sent from Kolkata to Tripura via Chattogram port. The two sides are setting up a new mechanism to review progress on bilateral projects, with five such ventures, including an oil pipeline and three cross-border rail links, set to be completed in 2021.
I believe the summit is likely to put India Bangladesh relations back on track after they were recently hit by concerns raised in the neighbouring country over the National Register of Citizens and the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, a process that was seen to start following Shringla’s visit to Dhaka. With positive relations, both sides can add more success stories like peaceful settlement of land and maritime boundary issues with each other through reciprocity by giving emphasis on enhancing trade and commerce through utilising river and road communication, exploring opportunities in blue economy and other areas.