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India hands over 10 broad gauge locomotives to Bangladesh

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | By
Jul 28, 2020 12:47 PM IST

The move was part of a sharpened focus on India’s “neighbourhood first” policy, with New Delhi unveiling several moves in recent days to boost economic activity and help countries in the region cope with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

India provided 10 railway locomotives to Bangladesh on Monday as grant assistance, with the leadership of the two sides committing themselves to more connectivity and infrastructure initiatives to boost trade and create new supply chains.

The broad gauge locomotives, modified to suit height restrictions in Bangladesh, were flagged off by external affairs minister S Jaishankar and railways minister Piyush Goyal during a virtual ceremony that also featured their Bangladeshi counterparts AK Abdul Momen and Mohammed Nurul Islam Sujan.

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The move was part of a sharpened focus on India’s “neighbourhood first” policy, with New Delhi unveiling several moves in recent days to boost economic activity and help countries in the region cope with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

It also followed close on the heels of the launch of parcel and container train services by India and Bangladesh and the trans-shipment of goods from Kolata to Agartala via Chattogram port.

Despite hiccups in bilateral ties caused by the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, Jaishankar and Momen spoke of the two sides scripting a ‘shonali adhyay’ (golden chapter) in relations and the role connectivity could play in growing trade and creating supply chains that aren’t vulnerable to disruptions such as the pandemic. Goyal and Jaishankar noted that the supply of essential goods to Bangladesh, especially during Ramzan, continued without disruptions due to freight trains.

Our partnership today stands out as a role model in the region for good neighbourly relations,” Jaishankar said, adding the implementation of the “neighbourhood first” policy was most evident in Bangladesh.

Noting that India’s concessional lines of credit of nearly $10 billion for Bangladesh are the largest provided to any country, and Dhaka’s exports increased by 43% to cross the $1-billion mark in 2019, Jaishankar invited Bangladesh’s business community to enhance their engagement with India.

Goyal said the leadership of both countries is committed to reviving railway links that existed before 1965, when the war with Pakistan led to their closure. Of the seven rail links that existed at the time, four are functional, two more – Chilahati-Haldibari and Shahbazpur-Mahisasan – are being revived and a new link between Agartala and Akhaura is being built with grant assistance from India.

Momen thanked India for the locomotives, saying the “India-Bangladesh relationship is rock solid and is based on shared values”. He said the two old links currently being revived will establish rail connectivity with Bhutan and provide the shortest route to connect with Nepal.

However, he added connectivity is more than seamless mobility of people, goods and capital, and the two countries will have to work on harmonisation of standards, customs and immigration procedures and environmental concerns.

The handing over of the 10 locomotives fulfilled a commitment made by India during Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to New Delhi last October.

Officials said bilateral rail cooperation played a key role in mitigating the impact of the pandemic after trade via land border posts was disrupted. Both countries saw the highest ever exchange of freight trains during June, when 103 trains transported essential goods and raw materials.

The railways of the two countries began cooperating in 1996 with the export of 10 locomotives from India. Since then, 40 more locomotives and 120 coaches were exported till 2016-17. The 10 locomotives provided by India have a residual life of almost three decades.

Experts believe it is crucial for India to boost trade and strategic ties with Bangladesh. Former ambassador Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty, who served as India’s envoy in Dhaka, wrote in a recent commentary: “Bangladesh is India’s largest trading partner in South Asia and connectivity via Bangladesh is important for the development of India’s northeastern states. Bangladesh is also a crucial partner for India’s Act East policy and sub-regional cooperation under the rubric of BBIN [Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal].”

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