Trade Concession Boosts RMG Export to 123

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Trade concession boosts RMG export to India

Posted on December 2, 2011 | Leave a comment

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Trade concession boosts RMG export to India

Nizam Ahmed

Bangladesh garment manufacturers received export orders worth over $90 million from India innearly two months since the big neighbour granted duty-free and quota-free access for 46Bangladeshi ready-made garment (RMG) products to its market in early September, traders said

on Wednesday.

The export orders received in two months until the end of October last was a quarter of some$360 million worth of RMG products Bangladesh exported to India in the fiscal year (FY) 2011,garment exporters said.

“We are in interaction with the Indian buyers and hope we will continue to get more and moreorders,” Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers andExporters Association (BGMEA) told the FE.

The RMG exports to India may cross the $2.0 billion mark in the next three years as per the

estimation of the traders concerned following their recent tour of India aimed at reassessing business opportunities there.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced duty-free access for 46 garment productsfrom Bangladesh, during his visit to Dhaka on September 6 and 7 last.

“It (garment exports to India) may be bigger, we expect to get a real scenario within the nextthree years,” BGMEA president Mohiuddin said.

If the trend continues, most Bangladeshi traders and officials are hopeful about Bangladesh’strade deficit with India to come down to a tolerable level within next five years.

Currently Bangladesh imports goods worth more than $4.6 billion from India while it exportsgoods valued at about $600 million.

The trade gap is highly tilted towards the neighbouring country ever since the independence of Bangladesh, the officials of the ministry of commerce (MoC) in Dhaka said.

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With the increase in exports of garment and some other items to India, which announced cut itssensitive list to 25 from 480, the trade gap is expected to narrow at a quicker pace, MoC officialssaid.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced the trimming of his country’s sensitive list

for the least developing countries of the region at the recently held Summit of the South AsianAssociation for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in Addu city of the Maldives.

Mohiuddin spoke to the FE as he was a member of a Bangladesh business team that visited NewDelhi on November 24 and 25 under the aegis of the India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerceand Industry (IBCCI).

The 46 garment products which obtained duty free access to India include pants, shirts, blouses,skirts, kids wear, cotton nightwear, jeans, swimwear and tracksuits.

Bangladesh garment manufacturers have become more competitive than their Indian counterparts

over the past years though they lack an internal base of raw materials.

In some specialised items in both woven and knitwear, Bangladesh garment industry enjoys edgeover Chinese apparel industry.

Bangladesh supplies its products regularly to international brands such as JC Penny, Wal-Mart,H&B, Marks and Sperncer, Carrefour, Addidas, Nike and Zara.

“It (getting orders from reputed brands) is possible because of our expertise attained throughhard work over the past decades and if no untoward situation occurs Bangladesh garments willhave more inroads in world export market,” Mohiuddin said.

However frequent enhancement of petroleum price, and gas and electricity tariff is a major concern which the members of the BGMEA are needed to address, some garment manufacturerssaid.

“Despite all this problems including some local and external conspiracies the Bangladeshigarments will continue to maintain its edge,” Mohiuddin added without giving details.

The total annual exports of Bangladeshi garments including woven and knitwear rose by 43.35 per cent to nearly $18 billion in the FY 2011. The export target for garments has been set at$20.29 billion for the FY 2012.



Dhaka has created investment opportunities for India, while New Delhi has agreed to removingentry barriers on Bangladeshi textiles.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Dhaka on September 6-7 has changed the course of Indo-Bangladesh economic relations. To be sure, there were disappointments, such as the delayin arriving at a water sharing accord on the Teesta river due to resistance from the Indian side,and backtracking by Bangladesh on its offer of transit to India through its territory. However, theinitiative taken to promote greater investment and trade between the two countries was very promising.

INVESTMENT PACT

In order to enhance investments, the Prime Ministers of both countries issued a joint statementon completion of the talks, paving the way for a bilateral investment promotion and protectionagreement. Such an agreement would grant investments made by one country in the other anumber of guarantees, which typically include fair and equitable treatment, protection fromexpropriation, free transfer of means and full protection and security.

It is expected that with the signing of this agreement, there will be a substantial increase ininvestment flows, which so far have been insignificant. Cumulative Indian investments inBangladesh until 2009 were only US$ 248 million, with only 26 per cent of it having taken placeup till 2007. Along with the investment agreement, the announcement regarding establishment of

a special economic zone for Indian investments is a complementary measure, which is expectedto facilitate Indian investments further.

On the trade front, the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, announced the the Government of India's decision to remove 61 items, including 46 from textiles, from India's negative list for LDCs. This implies that Bangladesh products will now be allowed to enter Indian territorythrough any port, without paying duty.

TRADE CONCESSIONS

These tariff lines are a part of the list of 164 apparel items in which India allowed duty-free

access to Bangladesh up to a limit of eight million pieces in April 2008, and recently raised thelimit to 10 million pieces in April 2011.

Bangladesh is India's largest trading partner in South Asia, accounting for 28 per cent of India'stotal trade with the region. In 2009-10, India's exports were $ 2,434 million; imports were $255million and its trade surplus with Bangladesh was $2,179 million. For several years,Bangladesh's concern has been its burgeoning trade deficit with India.



Therefore, increased market access has been a core concern for Bangladesh in all its tradenegotiations with India, both bilaterally and regionally under the South Asian Free Trade Area.Perhaps, what is of significance is the approach that India has followed in offering theseconcessions. Instead of negotiating with Bangladesh on the reduction of items in the sensitivelist, India requested Bangladesh to send a list of items on which the latter wanted zero duties.

Bangladesh requested India to allow duty-free access in the case of 61 items.

Clearly, this novel approach left no room for dissatisfaction on the Bangladeshi side. This uniquemethod has been adopted by India for Bangladesh alone. Such an approach has not beenfollowed by India in any other bilateral FTA.

IMPACT ON TEXTILES

It is not difficult to understand why Bangladesh had problems with India's market access policies. Apparel is a major item of export accounting for about 70 per cent of Bangladesh's totalexports.

These items were on India's sensitive list, restricting market access in a category that was of crucial importance to Bangladesh's economy. Now with the agreement in place, Bangladeshilocal manufactures, particularly those from the medium and small sectors, expect considerablegains through increased market access to the Indian market. While Indian textile manufacturersmay express disappointment because of the fear of influx of Bangladeshi garments, the positiveimpact of these measures will unfold in the next few years as they will help both countriesintegrate their textile sectors with global supply chains.

Recent evidence indicates that Indian investments are moving into Bangladesh. This trend islikely to intensify, following the investment measures that have been announced. Since the

domestic market in Bangladesh is small, Indian investors in Bangladesh will be targeting exportmarkets. Indian investors will benefit on two counts. First, they will be able to avail the GSP benefits accruing to Bangladesh from the European Union countries.

Second, Indian investors can enter into collaborative ventures to manufacture higher value-addeditems, in which Bangladeshi firms have developed capabilities in recent years.

Clearly, the trade and investment measures, among several others, will lead to tangible outcomesfor both countries. The measures related to duty-free access for Bangladeshi items, increasedinvestment in Bangladesh and setting up of export processing zones seem like a win-win for bothcountries.

(The authors are with the Indian Council for Research in International Economic Relations. Theviews are personal.)

Interview with Dr. Gowher Rizvi, Adviser tothe Prime Minister of Bangladesh.



Political scientist Dr. Gowher Rizvi , who isthe International Affairs Adviser to the Prime

Minister of Bangladesh, has been widelyengaged in managing conflicts and

strengthening democratic institutions and processes in Asia. A former director of

the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation and former director of

contemporary affairs at the Asia Society in New York, he has taught for nearly two decades at

several British universities, including Oxford, and served as the Asia-Pacific head for the

Oxford Analytical Daily Brief, a think-tank. His publications span the disciplines of history, politics, international relations and development economics. Dr. Rizvi shared his thoughts on

India-Bangladesh relations with Haroon Habib in an interview in the context of Prime Minister

Manmohan Singh's visit to Bangladesh starting on September 6. Excerpts:

How do you see the visit of Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to Bangladesh?

The visit, by all accounts, is truly historic. It will build on, and take forward, the vision and thetransformative agenda charted by the two Prime Ministers during their New Delhi summit inJanuary 2010. The joint communiqué spelled out as many as 46 areas of cooperation that areaimed to wipe out the hostilities and misgivings that previously characterised relations betweenthe two countries. The visit will not only enable the two Prime Ministers to address some of thekey outstanding issues — water, power, border disputes, trade and investment — but also spellout the direction and focus of the relations in the years ahead. The two Prime Ministers will seek

to expand bilateral cooperation to incorporate sub-regional collaborations that would involveIndia's northeastern States, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal in the future, and especially to addressthe problems of water, power and connectivity.

What are the two countries going to achieve out of the summit meeting between Sheikh

Hasina and Manmohan Singh, who have jointly initiated a new phase of bilateral relations

following the Bangladesh Premier's landmark visit to New Delhi in 2010?

The two Prime Ministers have a large agenda to cover. The entire gamut of the relationship between the countries will be discussed. The Prime Ministers will take stock of the progress of implementation of the agreements outlined in the Delhi summit of January 2010, including the

questions of boundary disputes, Teesta river water-sharing, power purchase agreement, tradeliberalisation and the modalities for making connectivity more effective, environmental andcultural issues…. They will also look ahead and explore new areas of cooperation to address themany challenges facing the two countries, including poverty, terrorism, and the adverse effectsof global warming.

What are the main issues that need to be addressed for a durable relationship?



There are some longstanding issues that date as far back as 1947 and have not been resolved tilltoday. The most important issue concerns the land boundary between the two countries. Thisincludes about 6.5 km of border that has never been demarcated; a large number of enclaves that belong to India and are located in Bangladesh and vice versa; the vexed issue of adverse possession of land where Indians and Bangladeshis are occupying land in each other's country;

and the pressing demand for Bangladesh to have access, through Tin Bigha, to its enclaves inAngarapota and Dhahagram.

Second, it is expected that the two Prime Ministers will sign a framework agreement for development cooperation and an interim agreement to share Teesta river water; finalise theoperational modalities for the use of transit facilities through Bangladesh; revisit the question of allowing Bangladesh manufacturers access to the Indian market tariff-free; the connection of theIndian power grid to that of Bangladesh; the power purchase agreement between the twocountries; joint exploration of energy resources in the Bay of Bengal; joint conservation of theSunderbans and the tiger reserve; coordinated and cooperative management of the rivers that areshared by the two countries; and a number of other issues. All in all, the meeting between the

Prime Ministers is expected to raise the level of cooperation between the two countries to newheights.

Can the present phase of Dhaka-New Delhi relations influence a greater South Asian

understanding on ways to achieve peace, stability and development in the tension-torn

region?

I think it would not be a great exaggeration to claim that the forging of relations between Indiaand Bangladesh is an exemplar for the region. The experience of the last half a century hasshown that the challenges and problems facing the South Asian countries are transnational andtranscend the boundaries of the state — poverty, environmental degradation, terrorism, food

security, water scarcity, trafficking in women and children, public health epidemics and so forth — and are incapable of being resolved within the jurisdiction of a single state.

Confrontation and force will not resolve these crises. These issues can only be addressed throughcooperation and collaboration.

Here, Bangladesh and India have charted a new course and their cooperative approach offers amodel for other countries to resolve their problems with their neighbours. India is rapidlyemerging as an economic super power and its neighbours can confidently look forward to partaking in its prosperity, trade and technological innovations.

Will the transit facility to India harm Bangladesh's interests in any way, or is it going toopen up a new horizon in the region? How do you assess the development in the backdrop

of a strong political opposition to providing transit facilities, including the use of

Bangladesh's seaports by India, Nepal and Bhutan?

There appears to be a deliberate attempt to spread disinformation to confuse the issues and createan environment of fear and suspicion by those who are opposed to good relations between thecountries. Connectivity is considered as one of the yardsticks or indicators for measuring the



development of a society. To the extent that Bangladesh is seeking to improve its connectivitywith its neighbours — India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar — it will be wholly beneficial. It shouldalso be pointed out that connectivity is nothing new. In the pre-1947 period, the entire region of Bengal, Assam and the northeast were connected by integrated rail and river services. Much of the transport network survived Partition (of 1947) and was only interrupted during the 1965

India-Pakistan war.

Thereafter, the Pakistan government deliberately uprooted the railroad connections, closed manyof the border-crossings and imposed restrictions on transport and movement between India and[the] then East Pakistan. However, connectivity was immediately restored after our War of Liberation, and in 1972 Bangladesh and India signed the Inland Water Transport Agreement that provided for multi-modal transportation — rail, river and road — between the two countries. Afurther effort was made to strengthen connectivity in the 1974 Indira-Mujib accord under theclause for strengthening the bilateral trade.

Sadly, the 1974 Accord was never implemented fully as Bangabandhu [Sheikh Mujibur Rahman]

was assassinated in 1975, and the agreement was stalled but not repealed or rescinded. Our efforttoday is to make this agreement operational through improved and expanded rail, river and roadinfrastructure.

The ability of India now to transport goods and passengers to its northeast through the muchshorter route, via Bangladesh, is clearly a great boon — it will cut down distances, time and costsand speed up the development of the region. For Bangladesh also, this is a complete win-winsituation. The country will not only earn a significant fee for the use of its transit facilities andinfrastructure, but also improve its domestic transportation, stimulate domestic trade by between3 to 5 per cent annually, and make Bangladesh an attractive destination for Indian and foreigninvestment. It will create a large number of job opportunities as new industries are set up to take

advantage of the large Indian market. I believe connectivity and transit will have atransformative impact for all the countries of the sub-region — Bangladesh, India, Nepal andBhutan.

The political opponents of the Sheikh Hasina government, including those who preach

extremism and support militancy, are strongly opposing the deals with India signed in

recent times or are likely to be signed soon. Do you subscribe to their views?

It would be fair to say that the Bangladesh National Party (BNP), and its Jamaat allies, haveconsiderably toned down their anti-Indian rhetoric and have voiced support for improvingrelations with India. In large part, there is a growing realisation throughout the country that the path of confrontation is barren and counter-productive. There is also a realisation that India is our closest and biggest neighbour, and the earlier policy of hostility is futile in a rapidly globalisingsociety. But more importantly, all parties understand that the people of Bangladeshoverwhelmingly support an improvement in the relationship with India. Interestingly, the anti-Indian bogey failed to garner votes for the BNP.

However, the opposition will not spare any opportunity to embarrass the government and willlook for areas of vulnerability. It is, therefore, important to manage the relationship and move



away from a ‘zero-sum game' mentality, to recognise that peace and cooperation create a positive-sum, win-win situation for all.

What are your perceptions of advancing democracy, development and cooperation in

South Asia, the challenges of extremism and militancy, and the removal of distrust and

colonial shadows?

Democracy lies at the core of peace and prosperity in the region. For the first time in the historyof the region, all the eight South Asian states have democratic governance, albeit in varyinglevels. And so long as governments are accountable to the people, they will be obliged to moveaway from wasteful confrontation and focus their resources on development.

All South Asian states, in varying degrees, have been the victims of political and religiousextremism and terrorism. Bangladesh has been subjected to terrorism since 1975, when theFather of the Nation, Bangabandhu, was assassinated by a bunch of terrorists. Since then,different extremists have resorted to political terrorism to undermine our democratic, secular and

plural society. Most recently, in August 2004, the present Prime Minister was the target of anassassination attempt by her political opponents, who have not reconciled themselves to anindependent and secular Bangladesh. We also have a history of cross-border terrorism of whichevery country has been a victim. It is, therefore, in the interest of Bangladesh and India tocooperate in the fight against terrorism. As a result of this cooperation, both countries have beensaved from the scourge of terrorism.

Comments:

The water issues should be dealt with more seriousness. As Teesta river deal is thrown out of thediscussion table which remind us Farakka . Another important thing is to create a consensus on

both side among the opponent political parties like BNP in Bangladesh and BJP in India so thatregime change could not affect this cementing. Discussion at the public level should beencouraged . We www.fairbd.net a student led website in Bangladesh is trying to do so.

from: fairbdPosted on: Sep 6, 2011 at 13:02 IST

The present visit will hopefully accelerate the relations between the two counties and there aremany areas which are expected to come in the line during the discussion and the agreementswould be concluded on these areas. Both the countries should not miss the opportunity andshould made this visit a historic one which would really be written by the golden words and

would remain as an example for th other south asian countries.

from: Shahnawaz MantooPosted on: Sep 6, 2011 at 20:52 IST

Dear Sir,You have done a very good job by bringing out the answers of this great man hailing fromBangladesh now settled in US but visiting frequently both india&bangla. We pray Almighty and



our Hon PM and also the MPs,-110 to 140 are criminals& corrupt as per Anna Hazare)to pass thelong pending Bill to abolish capital punishment in our country. This will be a great tribute to our late PM, Rajeev Gandhi and give an oppurtunity to the present prisoners awaiting deathsentences to atone & improve?

from: C.G.Venkatesan .Posted on: Sep 8, 2011 at 02:46 IST

'Trust'.. that is the key word, the keystone of any international cooperation. India and Bangladeshhave established the right tenor for mutual cooperation. One wishes such a denouement in India'srelations with all neighbors including or rather particularly, Pakistan..South east Asia can showthe way to the world.. But then there are so many 'Ifs' and 'buts' to be crossed.

The enigma of Bangladesh-India

relations

Rashid Askari

Bangladesh's relations with India may well be weighed up by their geographical locations -- aweak little mouse in a mighty cat's paw. Three-fourths of Bangladesh is surrounded by India, andone-fourth by the Bay of Bengal. If India is a big banyan tree, Bangladesh is a twining tendrilaround it.

Bangladesh took on this shape as the result of a rash and inequitable political Caesarian done in1947 in the name of the so-called "Two-Nation theory." Its arms and legs were amputated, and itwas severed from an indistinguishable land, and a millennium-old culture. We are greatlyendangered for the loss of our organs. The neighbouring demi-super power tries to use our lostorgans against us. This is where lies the crux of Bangladesh-India relations.

Another thing that matters in this relation is India's role in the Liberation War of Bangladesh.Bangladesh owes a debt of gratitude to India. For this deep sense of gratitude on one hand, andthe vulnerability of geographical location and other concomitant weaknesses on the other,Bangladesh cannot always negotiate strongly with India over different bilateral issues. India's big-brotherly attitude and hegemonic control over the neighbouring countries sometimes work asa hindrance to the smooth functioning of relation building agenda. Besides, the change of governments in both the countries largely affects the relations.

The Mujib-Indira Pact could have been the best possible catalyst for the best possible relations between the two countries, if it had been fully realised. But, after Mujib's assassination in 1975,

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Bangladesh-India relations have been more or less a source of continued disappointment,especially for the people of Bangladesh. The building of many upstream dams, the Ganges water share deprivation, indiscriminate killing of Bangladeshi nationals along the border, sufferings of the land-locked people of Bangladeshi enclaves in India have hugely frustrated the people of thedownstream delta -- Bangladesh.

The people of Bangladesh have now come to realise the importance of the improvement of relations with India. India is one of the four countries (BRIC) in the world that could lead theworld in the foreseeable future. So, it would be very prudent of Bangladesh to develop anamicable relation with India, and benefit from it through trade, commerce, investment, technicaland scientific cooperation, and education. We should not be obsessed with the geopoliticalstereotype of a regional Cold War between the Sino-Pak and Indo-Soviet alignments, and beworried about our own vulnerability.

It is no wonder that India is developing its relationship with China and America, moving awayfrom Saarc and opening new windows on regional and sub-regional cooperation. The Manmohan

Singh government unequivocally reaffirmed India's commitment to Saarc and regionalcooperation during the last Saarc Summit. Ever since then, there have been a number of developments in the whole process of regional cooperation. So it is time for Bangladesh to settlethe differences, and develop fresh relations on the basis of friendship and mutual trust.

Although the Indian premier's last visit to Bangladesh has been a mixed blessing, it may mark anew dawn in the history of Indo-Bangladesh relations and break fresh ground in bilateral ties infuture. Though the Teesta water sharing issue has cast some aspersions on it, and upset the people of Bangladesh, still there is hope against hope. Both the premiers expressed anunambiguous willingness to reach a mutually acceptable solution to the water sharing of Teestaand Feni rivers.

The two countries have inked framework agreements on land boundary demarcation, andexchange of adversely held enclaves, which may help settle the decades-old border disputes.Prime Minister Singh announced the access of the Bangladeshi nationals to Dahagram andAngorpota enclaves through the "Tin Bigha corridor" round the clock, which made the peoplevery happy. They have signed some other agreements which are also important.

Although the dramatic cancellation of the Teesta and Feni river water sharing deal has cast acloud over the bilateral relations, every cloud has a silver lining. There are chances of a better deal on it. Despite the opposition of Vallabhbhai Patel, Nehru concluded the historic Delhi Pactwith Pakistan. The way the present two premiers, Sheikh Hasina and Monmohan Singh, havereassured us about the signing of the water treaty in the near future, we can easily hope againsthope.

For whatever reason, it is most unfortunate that both the countries have failed to improve their relationship. The state principles of both the countries are almost identical. There should not beany room for doubt and distrust between them. But how can they achieve this? All the disputes between the two countries should be settled by diplomatic means.



The agreements signed during the visit of Mommohan Singh should be properly and quicklyimplemented so that there remain no fears of a hidden agenda. There should be a clear timeframe for the implementation of boundary demarcation and enclave exchange agreements. It hasto be ensured that the Bangladeshi products that have duty-free access to Indian market are notfaced with any unpredictable non-tariff barriers.

On the other hand, Bangladesh should, for obvious geographical exigencies, provide connectivityfor the countries of the region, especially for Nepal, Bhutan, and India. The India card players inBangladesh should no longer hoodwink the people into believing in the story of "Indianhobgoblins" who are lying in wait to eat up Bangladesh. Through successful accomplishment of the agreements so far concluded, India can win back the confidence of the Bangladeshi people.

The people of Bangladesh should also reciprocate, and secure a win-win situation. India shouldget rid of its hegemonic role, and Bangladesh should come out of the shell of any kind of unfounded xenophobia. Only through the exercise of liberal and unprejudiced views and benevolent attitudes can the two countries earn each other's trust. Failing this, Bangladesh-India

relations would continue to remain in the doldrums.

The writer teaches English literature at Kushtia Islamic University. E-mail:

[email protected]

Dhaka should pursue joint basin management of Teesta

RiverFont size:

Akbar Ali Khan

Former interim government adviser Akbar Ali Khan tells New Age

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by Shahidul Islam Chowdhury

BANGLADESH should push for complete implementation of the 1974 land boundary agreementand the protocol to the agreement signed during the September 6-7 visit of the Indian primeminister, Manmohan Singh, says Akbar Ali Khan, a former adviser to the interim government.

‘Bangladesh should demand complete implementation of the agreement and the protocol,’ hesaid in an exclusive interview with New Age on Monday.

Akbar Ali believes the government should press for the formation of a Teesta River Commissiona la the Mekong River Commission (in Southeast Asia) for total basis management in light of theframework agreement signed during the Indian prime minister’s visit.

‘Agreement on water sharing is a small part of the solution to a huge problem. The larger issue issolution to river basin management,’ he said. ‘It would help us sharing power in addition tosharing water.’

Akbar Ali, also a former cabinet secretary, said he was ‘disappointed’ with Manmohan Singh’sstatement on the Tipaimukh project.

In the paragraph 22 of the joint statement, India has made it clear that it has ‘assumed theresponsibilities to decide what is good or bad for Bangladesh, especially in the case of Tipaimukh,’ he said.

‘This means that India would decide whether Tipaimukh would be good or bad for Bangladesh,’he added.

Excerpts:

What is, in your view, the outcome of the state visit of the Indian prime minister, Manmohan

Singh?

The relations between Bangladesh and India are very complex. It is not very easy to unfreeze thesituation.

It is unfortunate that no meaningful dialogue took place in the last decade at the highest level of the two countries.

I think there should be more consultations between the two governments.

Another problem is that too much expectation were raised by the government and the media thatall the problems between the two countries would be solved at one go during Manmohan Singh’svisit to Dhaka.

It was an unrealistic dream.



I think we should not be disappointed about the outcome of the visit. We must understand thatthe road is very long. So, in the larger interests of the two countries, we should try to find waysto continue the journey together.

Some ministers have given the impression that the government bracketed the exchange of letters expressing intent to provide India transit with the signing of an agreement on the

sharing of Teesta water? Is it a correct approach to deal with bilateral issues?

This is a myth.

I saw a television interview of Gowher Rizvi who categorically stated that there is no relation between transit and Teesta.

If we read the joint communiqué carefully than we find that Mr Rizvi is right.

In the joint communiqué it is mentioned that Bangladesh has already given transit for transporting oversized containers (over-dimensional cargos) for power station in the Indian stateof Tripura through Ashuganj inland port (in Bangladesh) and the road linking Ashugranj andAgartala (in India).

There was a commitment in the paragraph 36 of the joint communiqué that says ‘the port could be used for movement of bulk cargo immediately as far as practicable’. It was clearly a case of transit which was given before (signing of) any agreement and it will continue.

Bangladesh has made a very unequivocal commitment to transit and legally it is not essential thatthere has to be an agreement. It is clear from what has happened in Ashuganj.

Some experts say that the government has in fact provided a ‘corridor’ to India by allowing

transfer of goods between two points of the country through Bangladesh territory. What do

you think?

Transit and corridor carry separate connotations. Corridor is a dangerous expression.

Those who were talking about corridor unknowingly do it. It is a dangerous concept. So far theIndians have never claimed a corridor through Bangladesh. We have not given it either. We shallnot talk about it.

Transit is a matter of discretion of the Bangladesh government. There is no right involved (for the country which is given transit). Any sovereign country can give transit facility to any countryany time. Transit is not a matter of right for India. Transit is a favour given by the Bangladeshgovernment.



What is your view about the discussion on allowing use of Chittagong and Mongla seaports

for transfer of goods to and from India for third country trade?

In fact, the government has given transit facility through Ashuganj. Any other form of transit

would require time—five to ten years. It would obviously take time to build infrastructure andIndia need not hurry.

The two countries signed a protocol to the 1974 land boundary agreement for transferring

enclaves, exchanging of adversely possessed lands and demarcating 6.5 kilometres of border

although India is yet to ratify the agreement. Do you believe the agreement and the protocol

would be implemented?

The 1974 land boundary agreement was accepted by all the governments in Bangladesh.Bangladesh has implemented all the commitments that could be implemented from her side

alone.

It is the Indians who have thus far not implemented the 1974 land boundary agreement on the plea of agitations and court cases.

However, I have seen in television that some politicians here are raising question about the land boundary agreement. I think there is no use of raising question about the agreement. It is not amatter of some small five or ten acres of land. It is a settled fact done on the basis of some principles agreed in 1974. If you raise questions at that level, the problem will never be solved.

I think Bangladesh should demand complete implementation of the agreement and the protocol.

However, we are not yet sure whether India would implement it at all. We are afraid that theymay not be interested to implement the land boundary agreement.

Bangladesh has signed a framework agreement covering almost all aspects of bilateral and

multilateral relations without specifying a timeframe.

There is no binding for implementation of the provisions of the framework agreement.

One important thing is some of the provisions reflected India’s shift from its previous stands on

certain issues.

Article 2 of the agreement says, ‘to enhance cooperation in sharing of the waters of commonrivers, both parties (countries) will explore the possibilities of common basin management of common rivers for mutual benefit.’

This is for the first time India has formally agreed for ‘common basin management of commonrivers’.



Now we need to work to develop separate basin management plan for each of the commonrivers.

Basin management requires involvement of all co-riparian countries. How can a bilateral

agreement be applicable for management of rivers flowing through more than two countries, for example Brahmaputra is originated in China. Some other rivers flowing through

Bangladesh and India originated in Nepal and Bhutan.

The agreement would cover most of the common rivers flowing in Bangladesh from India. It isnot for all rivers.

There should be wider management for some rivers like Brahmaputra.

However, this is a progressive achievement.

There is no time limit for the framework agreement.

There is a provision (in Article 12 of the agreement) to establish a Joint consultative commission,which will meet annually, for effective and smooth implementation of the agreement.

So no time limit is required when there is a commitment for annual meeting.

If any side does not join the annual meeting then implementation of the agreement would beautomatically disrupted.

Ministers here say that the two countries would sign an agreement on sharing waters of

Teesta within three months. Is it realistic when the sides have been in discussion on the issue

for several decades?

I do not consider it realistic.

Another important thing is I do not believe that signing an agreement for only sharing water would bring much benefit for Bangladesh.

In fact, in summer we see no water in Teesta. There are also serious problem of flood in the

region.

India is planning production of 15,000 megawatts electricity by establishing several storages onTeesta.

How this would be administered and what would be share have not been spelt out so far.



Moreover, because of construction of a number of large embankments, there is possibility of more earthquakes in the region.

So for Teesta, according to the framework agreement, we should push for formation of a Teestariver commission like the Mekong River Commission (in Southeast Asia) for total basin

management.

It would help us to share power in addition to sharing water.

So agreement for sharing of water is a small part of solution to a huge problem. The larger issueis solution to river basin management.

What is your view about Manmohan Singh’s assurance about the Tipaimukh project?

I am very disappointed with paragraph 21 of the joint statement that said Dr Manmohan Singh

assured that ‘India would not take steps on the Tipaimukh project that would adversely impactBangladesh’.

This paragraph made it clear that India has assumed the responsibilities to decide what is good or bad for Bangladesh, especially in the case of Tipaimukh.

This means that India would decide whether Tipaimukh would be good or bad for Bangladesh.

I think there should be a discussion between the two countries. It should not be a one-sideddecision.

What do you think about India’s decision to allow duty free access of 46 textile products

from Bangladesh?

The most important thing in this case is whether necessary conditions are there in favour of Bangladesh. These provisions do not ensure that Bangladesh would be able to export these products.

The Indian companies need to buy our products for implementation of duty free access to Indianmarket. If they do not buy showing different reasons what would we do?

In the past we have seen there were a lot of problems in the form of anti-dumping duties on products, for example battery, exported from Bangladesh. There are other non-tariff barriers.

So I am not very confident that there would be any significant increase in bilateral trade. But weshould continue to try to find out solutions to all the problems.

That is why I have said that there are complex problems in trade between the two countries.



How about the memorandum of understanding on exchanges of programmes between the

BTV and Doordarshan?

The number of viewers of the BTV is decreasing. If the government thought that the BTV

programmes would be shown on Indian national television, I do not know to what extent theBTV would be successful.

If the BTV produces programmes only for Bangladesh audience, it would fail to attract audiencein India.

And connectivity?

Paragraph 42 of the joint statement says ‘the establishment of physical infrastructure would promote exchange of goods and traffic, and lead to the connectivity of services, information,

ideas, culture and people’.

Here we need to observe that they have kept ‘people’ after ‘services, information and ideas’.

I think connectivity among people is much more important for connectivity of services,information and ideas. There will be no benefit of connectivity unless the people are notconnected.

But in real life we see a lot of obstacles to connectivity among the people. Barbed wire waserected along the border. We are firing on innocent people on the border. We have a complexvisa system. We have unresolved problems at enclaves for couple of decades that hindered

movement of people across the region.

These are the barriers on ways of building trust which is essential for connectivity among people.

What I must say is that we should move fast to restore confidence.

I believe when there will be a climate of goodwill in both sides, only than people will buildconnectivity for them across the region

Trade Concession Boosts RMG Export to 123

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