Can Bangladesh-India work together in light of Indo-Pacific Strategy?
Sufian Siddique
Independent researcher and freelance columnist, Dhaka.
Pakistan has been absent from India’s foreign policy for a long time. As the waters of the Indian Ocean have begun to rise in China’s global dominance over the past decade, the country has been eyeing the eastern shores of the Bay of Bengal from the west. Since Bangladesh has a stable government and a rapidly growing economy, Bangladesh has become an important country in India’s neighborhood policy. Due to the common history and cultural heritage of the two countries, relations between India and Bangladesh have been normal and significant progress has been made in several areas including bilateral trade. At the same time Indian investment in the country has also increased.
Ratnadeep Chakraborty and Ekampreet Kaur: the authors are associated with The Honest Critic, a strategic communications firm; they opined in Asia Times that Bangladesh is foremost in getting line of credit or flexible loan from India. India’s exports to Bangladesh in 2022 were US$ 13.83 billion and imports were US$ 2 billion. Currently, cooperation between the two countries has increased in the fields of energy, communication, science and technology. Bangladesh is importing 1,160 MW of electricity from India. As per the 2017 agreement with the Adani Group, India will supply 1,496 MW of electricity from a coal-fired power plant in Jharkhand for a period of 25 years. Bangladesh has also expressed interest in buying military equipment from India, including Tejas light combat aircraft and Dhruva light helicopters, along with protective gear including bulletproof jackets and helmets.
Historically Bangladesh’s foreign policy is based on joint cooperative policy; The country wants to avoid geopolitical tension. The foreign policy of Bangladesh is ‘friendship with all, enmity with none’. On April 24 this year, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen announced the Indo-Pacific outline of Bangladesh. There, he declared a ‘free, free, peaceful, safe and secure Indo-Pacific’ region in the light of the country’s foreign policy. This is in line with Bangladesh’s ‘Vision 2041’ goal of becoming a knowledge-based developed country by 2041.
India’s vision on this matter is in harmony with the Indo-Pacific outline of Bangladesh. India stands for a free and orderly Indo-Pacific. Although India claims to be neutral; It has western influence. The West has been trying to integrate Bangladesh into the Indo-Pacific strategy and has come a long way in this regard by becoming an important trade and investment partner.
Bangladesh’s strategic location serves as a gateway to both South and Southeast Asia. Friendly relations with members of the Quad alliance make Bangladesh an ideal partner for the West and India to engage in their Indo-Pacific vision. From India’s side, maintaining the country’s security and ensuring easy access to the critical North-East region and direct access to the Bay of Bengal can only be possible by involving Bangladesh. Along with this, Bangladesh is also important for strengthening India’s ‘Act East’ policy and controlling China’s military rise in the region. New Delhi is aware of this and is actively engaging Bangladesh through SAARC and BIMSTEC.
Since the G20 summit will be held in India this year, only Bangladesh has been invited from South Asia in line with the tradition of inviting non-member countries as well. Through this, India is giving considerable importance to Bangladesh in its eastern neighbor and Indo-Pacific vision. Beyond India-Bangladesh normal trade relations, India is keen to work with Bangladesh on climate change. After Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to Delhi last year, there was also a discussion on cooperation in changing energy sources. Apart from this, the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement-SEPA is going to be signed to further accelerate economic cooperation in various sectors including trade, services, investment between the two countries.
As the influence of the US dollar declines, both Bangladesh and India have started trading in the Indian rupee as an alternative to reduce their reliance on the dollar for trade and financial transactions. However, the SEPA deal will also open up opportunities for joint production centers and seamless supply chains. Converting this issue of regional connectivity into a business case will increase growth.
Bangladesh’s interest in maintaining good relations between the Bangladesh-India governments and participating in India’s Indo-Pacific strategy is important. For that, New Delhi will have to go the extra mile to incentivize Indian investment in Bangladesh to realize its own Indo-Pacific.
