3 weeks ago
Bangladesh's India Reset Runs Deeper Than Diplomacy Alone
Two neighbouring countries, India and Bangladesh, are trying to be friends again.
The leader of Bangladesh, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, met with India's top diplomat in Dhaka, and India's spy chief also visited for secret talks.
These meetings happened around the same time, which shows both sides want to talk.
India and Bangladesh share a border and a big river called the Ganges.
There is a very old agreement about sharing the river's water, and it ends in December.
Bangladesh needs a new agreement so it can be sure of getting enough water.
Bangladesh has also been making friends with China and Pakistan, which worries India.
India wants Bangladesh to be safe and calm, and Bangladesh wants to be friends with everyone while looking after itself.
The two countries are trying to find a way to help each other and solve their problems together.
Bangladesh PM Tarique Rahman met Indian High Commissioner Dinesh Trivedi in Dhaka for the first such high-level engagement.
A day earlier, RAW chief Parag Jain led an intelligence delegation to Bangladesh for talks with Bangladeshi counterparts.
The twin meetings signal a shift from the adversarial dynamic in ties since the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government.
Bangladesh needs the Ganges water-sharing treaty renewed before it expires in December this year.
Rahman's June visit to Beijing and defence discussions with Pakistan have deepened concern in New Delhi over Dhaka's strategic direction.
- Who
- Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, Indian High Commissioner Dinesh Trivedi, and RAW chief Parag Jain
- What
- High-level diplomatic and intelligence meetings in Dhaka signalling a possible reset in India-Bangladesh relations
- Where
- Dhaka, Bangladesh
- When
- Monday, following intelligence talks the previous day; a BRICS Summit is expected in September
- Why
- Both nations seek to stabilise ties around security, geography and economic interdependence, including renewal of the Ganges water-sharing treaty due to expire in December
Bangladesh's View
India's View
Strategic ties with China and Pakistan
Bangladesh's View
Dhaka sees ties with Beijing and Islamabad as leverage in negotiations and legitimate diversification of its foreign policy.
India's View
New Delhi views simultaneous deepening with China and Pakistan as overreach that India would not be willing to tolerate.
Sheikh Hasina's repatriation
Bangladesh's View
Bangladeshi press officers said the two meetings were designed to seek Sheikh Hasina's repatriation from India.
India's View
Insiders say the demand was made almost in passing without much seriousness and was never the core issue discussed.
Ganges water-sharing treaty
Bangladesh's View
Bangladesh needs a renewed treaty to secure a predictable water supply as the lower riparian state.
India's View
India can, whenever it chooses, reduce or increase the flow of water into Bangladesh, making renewal a matter of its discretion.
Key facts
- Countries involved
- India and Bangladesh
- Key meeting
- PM Tarique Rahman met Indian High Commissioner Dinesh Trivedi in Dhaka
- Intelligence talks
- RAW chief Parag Jain visited Bangladesh with a delegation of senior officials
- Ganges water-sharing treaty
- Original treaty signed in 1996, later extended; expires in December this year
- BRICS Summit
- Rahman invited as BIMSTEC chair; summit expected in September
- Beijing visit
- Rahman visited China in June; major construction projects near India's borders agreed
- US involvement
- US Ambassador to Central and South Asia Sergio Gor visited Dhaka and met both Rahman and Trivedi
- Recent leadership changes
- Sheikh Hasina's government fell; Muhammad Yunus led the interim administration that preceded the current one
Sources
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