For the first time since the ouster of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on 5 August, India said Friday that the “development projects” there have been impacted due to the law and order situation in the country.
Also Friday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, in remarks on the Bangladesh developments, underlined “we also have to recognise that there are political changes, and they can be disruptive”, reports The Indian Express.
Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, said “bilateral projects have been impacted” due to the turmoil in Bangladesh.
Responding to questions, Jaiswal said, “regarding bilateral projects…yes, because of the turmoil in Bangladesh, our projects have been impacted. Let me tell you that our development cooperation activities with Bangladesh are aimed at the welfare of the people of Bangladesh… The Prime Minister, in his Independence Day speech as well, had stated that India will always be a well-wisher of Bangladesh in its development journey.
“Work on some of the projects has stalled, and has been affected because of the law and order situation there. Once the situation stabilises, normalcy is restored, then we will talk to (Dhaka), we will engage in consultations with the interim government about our development initiatives and then see how best to take those forward and what sort of understanding we can reach on them,” he said.
The development projects in Bangladesh, he said, have been temporarily halted due to the current situation there “as many people working on various development projects there had to return”.
Visa services, he said, have been impacted as well. “Presently, limited Indian visa services are available in Bangladesh. These are being granted for emergency or medical purposes. You would appreciate that full visa services can only resume once law and order is restored and normalcy is established,” he said.
Bangladesh is the largest development partner of India. Over the last decade and half, India has extended three Lines of Credits (LOC) to Bangladesh amounting to around USD 8 billion for development of infrastructure in various sectors including roads, railways, shipping and ports.
In addition to LOCs, the Government of India has also been providing grant assistance to Bangladesh for various infrastructure projects including construction of the Akhaura-Agartala rail link, dredging of inland waterways in Bangladesh and construction of the India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline.
High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDPs) constitute an active pillar of India’s development assistance. Government of India has funded 77 HICDPs including construction of student hostels, academic buildings, skill development and training institutions, cultural centres, and orphanages etc. in Bangladesh and another 16 HICDPs are being implemented, with all the 93 projects amounting to over USD 50 million.
Speaking at the release of former Indian diplomat Rajiv Sikri’s book ‘Strategic Conundrums: Reshaping India’s Foreign Policy’, Jaishankar said India has to find a ground of mutual interest with Bangladesh and India would deal with “the government of the day”.
“Since Bangladesh’s independence, our relationship has gone up and down, and it is natural that we will deal with the government of the day. But we also have to recognise that there are political changes, and they can be disruptive. And clearly, here we have to look for mutuality of interest,” he said.
The MEA also rejected reports about an India link to the floods in Bangladesh. “We have seen the CNN report on the flood situation in Bangladesh. Its narrative is misleading and suggests that India is somehow responsible for the floods. This is factually not correct and ignores the facts mentioned in the press releases issued by the Government of India clarifying the situation. They have also ignored that we have regular and timely exchange of data and critical information between the two countries through existing joint mechanisms for water resources management,” Jaiswal said.
On Sheikh Hasina’s status and future amid growing calls for extradition, the MEA spokesperson said, “Former Prime Minister of Bangladesh came to India at a very short notice for reasons of safety. We have nothing further to add on the matter.”
