Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh arrived here on June 21 for a two-day visit that is being watched keenly as it is the first state visit by a foreign head of government just 10 days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi was sworn in for a third term in office. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar was the first to call on Ms. Hasina soon after she reached Delhi.
“Her state visit to India underlines our close and abiding ties. Appreciate her guidance on the further development of our special partnership,” said Dr. Jaishankar after his meeting Ms. Hasina. Ms. Hasina has maintained cordial relations with the Modi government and the two sides have often worked together on critical issues such as combating the pandemic or security matters, but in this visit, the presence of the Governor of the Bangladesh Central Bank Abdur Rouf Talukdar in the delegation of the Bangladesh side has heightened curiosity about the substance of the visit. Bangladesh is currently combating a financial crisis including high inflation and banking sector liquidity crunch.
Apart from that, the delegation also includes Secretary of Economic Relations Department Mohammad Shahriar Quader Siddiqui. Notably, Kazi Zafrullah, one of the biggest bankers of Bangladesh and a leading light of Awami League, is also part of the visiting delegation.
Bangladesh which is emerging from Id-ul-Azha holidays is faced with high prices of essential food items like vegetables and meat as well as the liquidity crisis in the leading banks that has prompted the central bank of the country to take some contractionary measures. In this background, the impression has gained ground here that the economic component will dominate the current visit of Mr. Hasina. India has entered into agreements with several countries in the recent past to conduct trade in local currencies and there is expectation that the two sides may also enter into an arrangement to conduct trade without dollars. Bangla Tribune, a prominent news outlet of Dhaka has reported that Bangladesh may seek assistance from New Delhi to reschedule some of the international loans that Dhaka has taken. That apart, the guest delegation features Mohammed Habibur Rahman, Senior Secretary of Electricity Department, and Dr. Mohammad Humayun Kabir, Secretary of the Department of Railways. Inclusion of these figures have indicated that connectivity, finance, and electricity-related agreements may be on the anvil.
Ms. Hasina will be welcomed at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on June 22 morning which will be followed by delegation-level talks at Hyderabad House with Mr. Modi and meetings with Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar and President Droupadi Murmu. Apart from finance, power, and railways, Ms. Hasina has brought her Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud who took charge in January when her government returned to power for the fourth consecutive term after the general election in Bangladesh. Both sides are expected to take up the construction of reservoirs along the cross-border river Teesta that would help Bangladesh manage Teesta’s resources better. Bangladesh was earlier in talks with China for a similar project but Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra had expressed India’s interest in building reservoirs during a visit to Dhaka last month.
While bilateral economic, connectivity and energy agreements are expected to be sealed during the visit, the two sides are expected to exchange ideas regarding the unfolding civil conflict next door in Myanmar. Ms. Hasina made a sensational claim last month that an international plan is afoot to carve out a “Christian state” including parts of Bangladesh and Myanmar. In a meeting with the elected members of the ruling Awami League, she had vowed to resist any attempt to disturb regional stability.
