Bangladesh-India Relations
- Bangladesh and West Bengal share a common culture and ethnic background, which forges strong ties between the two countries.
- Bridge: The language serves as a link between Bangladesh, North East India, and East India. It is a significantly modified variant of Bengali.
Bangladesh-India trade:
- Sixth-largest trading partner: With bilateral trade increasing from $2.4 billion (two point four) in 2009 to $10.8 billion in 2020–21, Bangladesh is India’s sixth-largest trading partner.
- Industrial raw materials: India is the source of essential industrial raw materials that Bangladesh imports in order to support its exports.
- According to a World Bank working paper, a free trade agreement might increase Bangladesh’s exports by 182%.
Initiatives to improve communication between Bangladesh and eastern India:
- Economic expansion: The region’s economy will expand as a result of India’s connectivity initiatives with Bangladesh and ASEAN.
- Bangladesh’s interest in participating in the India-Myanmar-Thailand highway project is known as the IMT project.
- Use of Bangladeshi ports: India can now use the Mongla and Chittagong ports, which would increase bilateral waterway trade between India and Bangladesh.
- Utilisation of Indian ports: India is pressuring Bangladesh to send its exports via Indian ports rather than those in Malaysia or Singapore.
- Connectivity by train and bus: There are three express trains and three international bus services that run between Bangladesh and India.
Bangladesh’s ascent:
- With 1% GDP growth in 2022, Bangladesh has emerged as an emerging economic powerhouse in South Asia.
- a population of more than 165 million people and an economy worth more than $400 billion.
- Bangladesh is positioned strategically in the middle of a geopolitical power struggle.
Bangladesh and India:
- Bangladesh is strategically important to India.
- The annual value of bilateral trade is around $15 billion.
Agreements on a variety of topics, including:
- Investing
- combating terrorism
- vitality,
- Sharing river water highlights the closeness of the two countries.
- India relies heavily on Bangladesh as a counterweight to China’s increasing influence in the region’s economy and diplomacy, particularly with regard to the financing of infrastructure projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Bangladesh and China:
- Bangladesh’s top trading partner is China, with yearly bilateral commerce of around $25 billion.
- China has invested over $10 billion in ports, bridges, highways, and other vital infrastructure as part of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Bangladesh and Russia:
- Russia is funding the biggest infrastructure projects, including the $12 billion Rooppur nuclear power station in Bangladesh, which has a capacity of 2,400 megawatts.
Important contracts executed:
- An agreement to remove the water from the Kushiyara River
- Information about floodwater
Consensus regarding staff training:
- Maitree Power Plant Unit 1 (1320 MW)
- Rail bridge in Rupsha
- Mujib scholarships: available to 200 relatives of Indian military soldiers.
The Way Ahead:
- Bangladesh’s growing economic and strategic influence has turned the 2024 election results into a global conflict.
- Bangladesh derives a substantial portion of its foreign exchange earnings from the ready-made garment industry.
- Since the United States and the European Union import a sizable portion of Bangladesh’s ready-made clothing, any restrictions they apply could be quite problematic.
- As the administration struggled to deal with rising energy import prices, depleting dollar reserves, and a weakening local currency, the rising cost of living led to protests.
In its post-COVID-19 pandemic recovery, the International Monetary Fund identified several shocks to Bangladesh’s economy, which were made worse by supply chain interruptions and inflationary pressures brought on by the conflict in Ukraine.
