Lalbabu Yadav

President Bidya Devi Bhandari paid a two-day state visit to the Republic of Bangladesh from 22-23 March 2021 at the invitation of her Bangladeshi counterpart Mohammad Abdul Hamid. The visit was itself special as the leaders of the South Asia attended a programme organised to mark the birth centenary of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the Father of the Nation. It was President Bhandari’s reciprocal visit. In 2019 Bangladeshi President Hamid paid an official visit to Nepal. An important point that has to be noted here is that frequency in such visits from Nepal’s side had decreased owing to the political instability that made leadership preoccupied with the management of internal issues. But at the same time they needed to enhance the country’s international image and status in more than one way. Similarly, another pertinent point is that visits to the neighbourhood are more important than any other countries from diplomatic, political and economic point of views as this ensures quality engagement with the neighbours essential for stability and prosperity in the region.

Bilateral interactions
Nepal and Bangladesh have been good friends, with both nations engaged in bilateral interactions at the multiple levels. The visits at the highest level, however, had not taken place at least from Nepal’s part in the last 42 years. Therefore, this visit is also important from many aspects. Yet, the visit can be divided into two categories – first, it has renewed the relationship at the highest level and, second, it will contribute to the development of both nations. Nepal and Bangladesh will be graduating from Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to developing ones by 2026, and if both work together, it will certainly be mutually beneficial for both.
The visit was a huge success in the sense that a number of vital accords and Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) were signed between the two nations. Nepal and Bangladesh have signed four bilateral instruments and on Tourism Cooperation, MoU on sanitary and phytosanitary cooperation, cultural exchange programme, and Letter of Exchange to designate Rohanapur-Singabad railway route as an additional transit point were signed. These instruments will allow both the countries to expand tourism, enhance connectivity, and accelerate educational and cultural exchanges. In addition, both Nepal and Bangladesh are founding members of SAARC and are actively engaged in BIMSTEC and BBIN. The SAARC’s headquarters is in Kathmandu and BIMSTEC in Bangladesh.
Speaking at a high-level interaction on ‘Nepal-Bangladesh’ relations, President Bhandari said that Nepal’s hydropower and Bangladesh’ natural gas could be important means for fulfilling the needs for development. As in energy, the two countries should forge collaboration in trade, transit, tourism, education, connectivity, and cultural sector. She further underlined that removing difficulties in trade, development of infrastructure and easy access to market could bring notable increase in the trade and for that it is important to minimise the trade barriers which certainly can benefit people from both the countries. Her call for additional flights between the two countries certainly is a welcome gesture and it will have to be moved ahead through proper government channels.
The connectivity can be matearlised at least in three areas: air, land, and water. And upgradation in these areas can benefit both the countries. The distance between Nepal and Bangladesh is just 15-km and this certainly can be bridged, provided the two nations work in unison to their mutual benefits. There can also be direct flight between Biratnagar and Saidpur of Bangladesh, and direct bus services without any hindrances can certainly be helpful to boost bilateral trade and other economic activities. What certainly is needed for this is the cooperation between three countries - India, Bangladesh and Nepal - and President Bhandari had underscored that the cooperation and collaboration between Nepal, Bangladesh and India should be consolidated in promoting cooperation in energy, trade and many other areas. Nepal can also diversify its trade routes and have access to the seaport which is closer than Calcutta.
The trade deficit is matter of concern for Nepal and it can only be minimised when we are better connected and enhance our productivity and take products to the international market. In this regard, Bangladesh, in fact, can become an important neighbour for Nepal from the strategic and developmental perspectives. Bangladesh is becoming an economic powerhouse of South Asia. It has been comfortably managing the geopolitical rivalries in the region and mustered economic cooperation from both India and China. It has achieved impressive economic growth and is now second after India in terms of growth.

Strategic cooperation
As both Nepal and Bangladesh are founding members of the SAAR, as mentioned earlier, they can work together to convince other member states so as to move the SAARC process ahead which has been bogged down for many reasons. In addition to this, the BBIN can also be taken forward. In fact, Nepal and Bangladesh can work at the strategic level to create new types of dynamism in the region. President Bhandari’s visit has laid the foundation for taking initiatives to this end. Now the policy makers and concerned ministries should devise the necessary framework and implement the agreements inked during the President’s visit. Nepal should prove its diplomatic dexterity to convince India and Bangladesh for a summit level meeting to translate this vision, thereby enhancing connectivity, trade, economic cooperation and people-to-people contact.

(Yadav is the political advisor to President Bidya Devi Bhandari)