Bangladesh corridor vital to India’s ‘Act East’ policy
The IndiaBangladesh economic relationship has the power to transform the fortunes of the Northeast
Let’s begin with connectivity. After 1947, Northeast India has had to access the rest of India largely via the “chicken’s neck” near Siliguri, greatly increasing travel times. To reach a port, traders need to travel 1,600 km from Agartala in Tripura to Kolkata in West Bengal, via Siliguri, instead of travelling less than 600 kms to reach the same destination via Bangladesh, or even better, travel only 200 km to access the nearby port of Chittagong in Bangladesh.
This is set to change as close cooperation between Bangladesh and India can dramatically reduce the cost of transport between Northeast India and the rest of India. The resultant decline in prices of goods and services can have a strong impact on consumer welfare and poverty reduction in the region. Such cooperation also opens up several additional possibilities of linking India with ASEAN via Myanmar.
Digital connectivity is increasingly important. Broadband connectivity of 10 gbps for Northeast India is now being provided from Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar to Tripura and beyond, to help improve the speed and reliability of internet access in Northeast India.
Trade relations have been gathering strength, going up from $1 billion in 2002, to over $6 billion now. For Northeast India, Bangladesh is potentially its most important economic partner, given the latter’s size and location. However, the potential of the relationship between Northeast India (NEI) and Bangladesh has barely begun to be tapped. For example, agricultural products, where NEI has a strong advantage can feed into Bangladesh’s vibrant food processing industry, while NEI can provide a market for its processed foods.
Energy cooperation is delivering results. India already exports 600 MW of power (including 100 MW from Tripura) to Bangladesh, and much more is in the offing. In the future, this energy trade could well link up with potential hydropower exports from Bhutan and Nepal to form a BBIN (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal) power market.
Leveraging the potential of the India-Bangladesh economic relationship has the power to change the economy of Northeast India, and also advance India’s Act East vision. A critical step to move this agenda forward will involve expanding direct connectivity between Northeast India and the rest of India via Bangladesh, while giving Bangladesh similar access to Nepal and Bhutan via India.
Finally, the growing momentum in the India-Bangladesh relationship also offers a tantalising glimpse of the possibilities of a more integrated South Asia. One thing that we need to ask ourselves every day is: Do we really work to our full capacity? This will be a constant reminder. Time will pass anyway, and we may live to regret later that nothing purposeful is done and that all the good things are left undone.
We have the potential to exploit a situation to our and others’ gain, instead of letting go of things. As Frederick Faust said so brilliantly, “There is a giant asleep within