Title : INDIA BANGLADESH RELATIONS

Date : Nov 26, 2021

Description :

Based on a News Article published in the ‘The Hindu’ on 26^th November 2021 on Page Number 10

 

Useful for UPSC CSE Prelims and Mains (GS Paper II)

Background:

 

• This year marks the 50th anniversary of the beginning of India-Bangladesh relations.
• A 122-member detachment of the Bangladesh Armed Forces took part in the 72nd Republic Day parade this year, commemorating 50 years since the 1971 India-Pakistan war that resulted in Bangladesh's freedom.
• This is the third year in a row that a foreign military contingent has marched in India's Republic Day parade.
• French troops paraded in 2016, and UAE forces marched in 2017.

 

Bangladesh War of Independence:

 

• Every year on December 16th, Vijay Diwas is commemorated to commemorate India's triumph over Pakistan in the 1971 war.
• On December 3, 1971, the Indian government launched war on Pakistan in order to defend Bengali Muslims and Hindus.
• This 13-day battle was fought between India and Pakistan.
• On the 16th of December 1971, the Pakistani forces' commander surrendered unconditionally in Dhaka to the joint forces of the Indian Army and Mukti Bahini.
• During the Bangladesh Liberation War, armed organisations known as Mukti Bahini fought against the Pakistan Army. It was a form of guerrilla resistance.
• On this day, Bangladesh was founded. Bangladesh commemorates its independence day (Bijoy Dibos) every year on December 16th.

 

Bangladesh-India Relations:

 

• Following Bangladesh's independence in December 1971, India was one of the first countries to recognise the country and establish diplomatic relations with it.

 

 

 

 

• Defence Cooperation:

 

• Army (Exercise Sampriti) and Navy (Exercise Milan) joint exercises are held between the two countries.

 

 

• Border Management:

 

• India and Bangladesh share a 4096.7-kilometer border, making it the country's longest land border with any of its neighbours.
• Following the exchange of ratification instruments in June 2015, the India-Bangladesh Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) entered into force.

 

 

 

 

• River Cooperation:

 

• India and Bangladesh have 54 rivers in common. Since June 1972, a bilateral Joint Rivers Commission (JRC) has worked to maintain communication between the two countries in order to maximise the benefits of shared river systems.

 

 

• Economic Relations:

 

• Bangladesh is India's largest South Asian trading partner. For the financial year 2018-19 (April-March), India's exports to Bangladesh totalled US $9.21 billion USD, while imports from Bangladesh totalled US $1.22 billion USD.
• Bangladesh has praised the duty-free and quota-free access granted to Bangladeshi exports to India under the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) since 2011.

 

 

• Cooperation in Connectivity:

 

• The freshly rebuilt railway link between Haldibari (India) and Chilahati (China) was jointly launched by both countries (Bangladesh).
• The signing of the Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade's second supplement was warmly welcomed (PIWTT).
• Agreed to speed up the implementation of the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) initiative Motor Vehicles Agreement by signing the Enabling Memorandum of Understanding allowing Bangladesh, India, and Nepal to begin moving goods and passengers, with Bhutan joining at a later date.
• Cooperation in the power sector has become a defining feature of India-Bangladesh ties. Bangladesh imports 1160 MW of power from India at the moment.

 

 

 

 

• Partnership in Multilateral Forums:

 

• India expressed gratitude to Bangladesh for its assistance in India's election to the UN Security Council.
• Both countries committed to continue cooperating in order to achieve early UN Security Council reforms, combat climate change, achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and defend migrant rights.
• Regional organisations like the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) play a significant role, according to the report.
• Bangladesh expressed gratitude to India for hosting the SAARC Leaders Video Conference in March 2020 and for establishing the SAARC Emergency Response Fund to combat the worldwide pandemic's consequences in the South Asian area.
• Bangladesh will take over as head of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) in 2021 and has requested India's help in promoting marine safety and security.

 

• Recent Developments:

 

• India and Bangladesh have inked seven agreements and launched three projects to strengthen their relationship.
• The usage of Bangladesh's Chattogram and Mongla ports to transport products to and from India, notably Northeast India.
• Tripura gets its drinking water from Bangladesh's Feni river.

 

• Collaboration in other areas:

 

• Priority areas for the two countries to work on include investments, security connection development, cross-border energy cooperation, blue economy, cultural economy, environment, and disaster management, among others.
• During Covid 19, India reiterated that Bangladesh is a top priority for India under its Neighbourhood First policy, and that vaccines for Covid-19 will be made accessible to Bangladesh as soon as they were produced in India.
• India also provided medicinal collaboration and vaccine production partnerships.

 

• Emerging Disputes:

 

• Efforts should be made to resolve pending concerns such as water sharing, continental shelf issues in the Bay of Bengal, reducing border incidents to zero, and media management.
• Bangladesh has expressed worry about the implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam, a process aimed at identifying real Indian citizens and weeding out unlawful Bangladeshis.
• Bangladesh is currently a participant in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which Delhi has not joined.
• Bangladesh is a major beneficiary of Chinese military equipment, particularly submarines, in the security sector.

Tags : india, bangladesh, china