Indian Prime Minister Visits in Bangladesh

Hasina+Manmohan Singh

Dr. Manmohan Singh, the Indian prime minister arrived in Bangladesh today on a visit considered to be historical for both countries.

During the visit, both Indian and Bangladesh are expected to sign key border and trade agreements. The two day trip is the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Bangladesh in 12 years. Singh and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina are working to reach agreement on their disputed 2545 mile (4096 KM) border, explore cooperation in the power sector and enhance trade .

Indian and Bangladesh are expected to sign several treaties conserving long outstanding issues, the most important of them being the long pending extradition treaty, which is expected to enable legal hand over of United Libration Front of Asom (ULFA) general secretary Anup Chetia to the Indian authorities. The new treaty would also would help in the extradition of ULFA’s hardliner commander in chief Paresh Barua if he ventures to enter Bangladesh territory , apart from other criminals and insurgent hiding in Bangladesh.

Mamata Banerjee is reported to have felt that Indian had agreed to supply too much water to Bangladesh. As per reports,  there was difference between the initial draft of the agreement and the final version. The West Bengal govt. had agreed on sharing of up to 25000 cusecs. But the final version talks of sharing 33,000-50,000 cusecs, which the Bengal Govt. believe would be off adverse affect to the state. As such, an agreement on sharing the Teesta river waters appears unlikely during the visit.

It is also expected that India would reach an agreement to use Bangladesh’s road and rail ways to foster communication to the land locked north eastern region. In return, Bangladesh would be given right of passage across India to trade with neighborhood Nepal and Bhutan. Mentionable that India has already announced a huge loan of around 1 billion to Bangladesh to improve the neighbor’s transport infrastructure.

Indian helped Bangladesh secede from Pakistan in a 1971 war. However, relations soured after a 1975 military coup in Bangladesh when independence leader Sheik Mujibur Rahman, Hasina’s father, was assassinated and a new government took over.

The chief ministers of four Indian states bordering Bangladesh are accompanying Singh but Mamata Banerjee, the newly elected chief minister of West Bengal, canceled her trip over reported disputes with the central government over the water sharing plan.