Editorial
Expectations from Indo-Bangla summit
Taking the relationship on to a new plane
WITH the visit of Bangladesh Prime Minister to India we are hoping to see a change in bilateral relations between our two countries that were marked by suspicion and acrimony. We hope a new beginning will dawn that will reflect a shared attitude in which each country see to the welfare and good of the other and contribute to their mutual wellbeing. Let the layers of mutual suspicion and distrust created over time give way to positive atmospherics for a dramatic healing of sore points, resolution of longstanding irritants.
What is to be particularly noted is that Bangladesh has already been hugely forthcoming in allaying India's security concerns centring around its Northeast region. The natural expectation in Dhaka will be that India would reciprocate, and the signs are that Delhi is being sensitive to our concerns.
India's short-, medium-and long-term interests are in a way tied with economic progress of Bangladesh. In fact, invigorated two-way street of a bilateral relationship paradigm freed of tension and underpinned by connectivity to Nepal and Bhutan can be the cornerstone of robust regional cooperation within the SAARC umbrella. That is where we see the underlying stakes in the forthcoming Manmohan Singh-Sheikh Hasina summit.
The accords and MoUs that are on the cards make an impressive reading. Judged by past standards, they signify a rapid expansion in the volume and quality of bilateral cooperation. On the specific issues like Teesta water sharing, Tipaimukh dam and border killings signals that India has given sound being right, only that Bangladesh awaits concrete results on her commitments.
There is a surge in the new-found longing in Indian leadership to stabilise relations with Bangladesh and this is when Bangladesh should be able to make the most of the unfolding opportunity for reordering the bilateral relations on the firm foundation of sovereign equality and mutual benefit.
Although it is a bilateral summit we are talking about, yet given the challenging global context in which the regions are looking inward to fend for themselves it is the broader picture that both India and Bangladesh should be looking at shunning any myopia or shortsightedness.
As we look forward to a new era of mutually beneficial bilateral relationship, we must be aware that it would be unrealistic to expect that one visit or summit will be able to address our numerous concerns that now exist. We would therefore caution against burdening this summit with over-expectation.
However, we do expect the summit to make headway in mitigating some of our concerns, and lay a definitive pathway to their resolution and set an irreversible trend of a win-win pattern in solving all our major outstanding issues with due sensitivity and urgency.
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