The question of Bangladesh giving transit facilities to India and entering into a trade and investment agreement with that country is purely an economic issue and not a political one as is being made out by some Bangladesh parties. The transit facility will benefit both countries economically. Bangladesh stands to gain as much as Tk 50,000 million in the first year; in 5 years the amount might go up to Tk 150,000 million. Other gain for Bangladesh is that it would, to a great extent, offset the huge trade imbalance between the two countries. And create more jobs locally. And accrue revenue.
As of now, Bangladesh does not allow transit facilities to Indian vehicular traffic. Movement of goods from the north eastern states of India to the rest of the country takes much longer than it would if transit facilities were allowed by Bangladesh. It takes more money and time for goods, products and machinery to travel from states like West Bengal to the seven north eastern states of India by going round Bangladesh than it would if Indian goods could go through Bangladesh.
The reactions from political quarters regarding transit, as before, quite clearly belied the lack of objectivity with which successive governments of Bangladesh and political establishments have viewed cooperation with India. There appears to be a common perception that transit facility would provide benefits for India and not for Bangladesh for whom this might undermine the country’s independence and sovereignty.
In fact, all Indian proposals are viewed with suspicion in a section of Bangladesh political circles. ‘Nationalism’ propounded during the BNP-Jamaat rule (2001-06) is based entirely on anti-Indianism intended to promote anti-India and pro-Pak mindset among the people. What was overlooked in the process is that Bangladesh has much to gain strategically as well as economically from giving India transit facilities.
Moreover, such a facility in the long run be beneficial for all the countries in the South Asian region. It would also increase the scope for interaction between people of the countries in the region and pave the way towards a more vibrant and integrated South Asia that has much potential to become a formidable trading bloc.
India is the only country in the South Asian region that has borders with four of the original SAARC members. Thus as far as transit goes, trade with third countries could only be facilitated if India is willing to allow transit through its territory. Therefore, the smaller countries like Bangladesh, Nepal or Bhutan have more to gain than does India which is economically much stronger.
There are many objective reasons for greater India-Bangladesh connectivity. Eminent jurist Dr Kamal Hossain estimates that by providing transit facilities to India, Bangladesh would stand to mop up one billion dollars by way of revenue. He avers that connectivity is the basis of regional integration for all South Asian countries. This is the single most important lesson that needs to be drawn from the integration of Europe and the emergence of the European Union as a common market, according to him.
Be First to Comment