Taking forward PM Narendra Modi’s neighbourhood outreach policy, Sushma Swaraj, as the new External Affairs Minister, will make her first stand-alone visit abroad to Bangladesh on Wednesday. While Swaraj’s two-day tour has been termed as a “goodwill visit” by the officials, it can be clearly seen as an initiative by Modi to resolve several pending thorny issues between the two countries, particularly ratification of the land Boundary Agreement (lBA), disputes over water sharing of Teesta and Mahananda rivers and illegal migrants.
Though Swaraj will try to make a fresh beginning with Dhaka, officials said it is too early to expect major announcements. Official sources said Swaraj and her Bangladeshi counterpart Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali are expected to review the existing bilateral ties and work out ways to remove irritants between the two nations.
“Illegal migrants are a major concern, and India intends to take it up during the border management talks. Aspects of legitimate travel to India is also being worked out,” said an official. While the MEA says there is no proposal to provide visa-free travel to the Bangladeshis, the government may be amiable to relaxing visa regime to accommodate some of the requests from its neighbour. Bangladeshis as of now get multiple-entry visa for one year which might get extended for five years.
It will be interesting to see how the NDA Government moves on the lBA of 1974 between the two nations which remains pending after BJP as an Opposition party blocked it in the Parliament last year. The lBA envisages exchange of these 162 enclaves adversely held by India and Bangladesh in each other’s territories, by altering boundaries at a few places. There are 111 Indian enclaves in Bangladesh and 51 Bangladesh enclaves in India where about 50,000 people are estimated to be living. The agreement was signed in September 2011 during former PM Manmohan Singh’s visit to Dhaka. The BJP was till last year opposed to alteration of the country’s boundary.
Besides, security issues also are likely to come up for discussion. Indian security officials claim about 45 militant camps from Northeast still exist in Bangladesh. India shares a 4,100 km long border with Bangladesh of which 30% is riverine. In Dhaka, Swaraj will also meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, leader of Opposition Begum Khaleda Zia of Bangladesh Nationalist Party along with other political leaders and cultural heads.