Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina jointly inaugurated three connectivity and power projects on Wdnesday which have been developed with financial assistance from India.
“These new projects mark a historic milestone in our relationship and will contribute towards making our ties sustainable and mutually beneficial in the long-run,” Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, a former advisor to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, told Sputnik India.
Chowdhury described relations between India and Bangladesh as “unparalleled” and “deeply rooted in history”.
“These new projects are a result of unprecedented political and economic cooperation which has been fostered between our two nations under Prime Minister Modi and our Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina,” the former PM advisor stated.
Chowdhury reckoned that the new cross-border rail link between the two nations would help in bolstering people-to-people ties and facilitate interactions between the people of the two countries.
“All these projects serve a step towards greater economic integration between our nations,” he said.
Akhaura-Agartala Rail Link
The 12.78 kilometre-long Akhaura-Agartala cross-border rail link is the first of its kind between India’s landlocked northeastern part and Bangladesh, according to Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
The seven Indian states in the northeast are not only landlocked, but also connected to the rest of the country only through a 22-kilometer-wide strip of land known as the ‘Chicken-neck corridor”.
Overall, it is the sixth cross-border rail link connecting the two nations.
The total cost of developing the cross-border rail link is around $150 million. The Bangladesh section of the rail link has been financed through a $50 million grant from the Indian government.
Around 6.78 kilometer of the railway link is dual gauge.
New Delhi views the rail link as a “significant step” towards connecting Bangladesh’s largest port of Chattogram to the northeastern states of India.
Addressing the inaugurating event in virtual mode, Prime Minister Hasina expressed confidence that the rail link would enhance connectivity, trade and boost people-to-people contacts between India and Bangladesh.
PM Modi described the inauguration of the rail link as a “historic moment”.
“This is the first rail link to Bangladesh from the northeastern states of India,” the Indian Prime Minister noted in his remarks.
Khulna-Mongla Port Rail Line
The 64.7-kilometre-long rail line connects Bangladesh’s second largest port of Mongla to the country’s rail network and further to India through the Petropele-Gede cross-border rail line.
In September 2022, the two Prime Ministers had jointly unveiled the rail bridge over the Pushpa river, which is also a significant part of the project.
The entire rail port link has been developed under an Indian Line of Credit to the tune of $388 million.
The port rail link is expected to boost “subregional connectivity” as other countries such as Nepal and Bhutan also use the Mongla port for conducting foreign trade.
Prime Minister Hasina has expressed hope that the new port rail line would facilitate the transportation of bulk cargo of imported goods to the northern and eastern parts of the country with the help of containers.
“Besides, our port in Chittagong and Mongla, as well as our airport in Mongla could also be used by India have now been opened,” she stated.
PM Modi noted that the new rail link has connected Mongla to the regional trading hubs of Kolkata (on India’s eastern seaboard) and Dhaka.
Maitree Super Thermal Power Plant
The Maitree Thermal Power Plant is a two-unit power project of 1,3320 megawatt (2*660MW) which has been developed under Indian “concessional financing” of $1.6 billion.
The first unit of the project was unveiled by the two PMs in September 2022.
“The Maitree super thermal power project would contribute to the energy security of Bangladesh by providing reliable power at a competitive price and achieve independence from other costly means of power generation,” Hasina said on Wednesday.
She underlined that the power project would help Bangladesh in “achieving uninterrupted, affordable power supply”.
Modi described the Maitree project as a “new link in our power and energy cooperation”.
The Indian leader said that continued electricity cooperation and ongoing efforts to bolster sub-regional electricity grid connectivity (also involving Nepal) as means to boost Bangladesh’s energy security.
‘No Parallel’ to India for Bangladesh: Ex-PM Advisor
Amid the growing intensity of developmental cooperation between the two nations, Chowdhury remarked that no other country could take the place of India as far as Bangladesh was concerned.
Significantly, China has emerged as Bangladesh’s biggest trading partner in recent years. In 2016, Bangladesh joined the Beijing-backed Belt and Road Initiative, which has bolstered economic engagements between the two nations.
Some Indian analysts have viewed Beijing’s growing economic interactions with Bangladesh with concern.
However, Chowdhury dismisses these concerns as “unfounded”.
“India and Bangladesh share a historic relationship. The Indian troops shed their blood like our soldiers during the War of Liberation in 1971,” the former PM aide stressed.
“Our relationship with other countries is mostly economic, but with India it is historic, political and economic,” he stated.