Abstract
India-Bangladesh relationship is presently on a high trajectory, and connectivity is the buzzword in the bilateral relationship. Connectivity is a game changer for both India and Bangladesh as well as sub-regionalism. This paper will analyse the recent positive developments in railway and inland waterways connectivity between the two countries. Further, it focuses on the areas of concerns and states the need to address the issues in connectivity.
Keywords:India, Bangladesh, Connectivity, Act East policy, Railway, Inland Waterways.
Introduction
“Act East” and “Neighbourhood First” have been two continuous and interacting themes in India’s foreign policy during the last decade. Bangladesh, with a unique geopolitical location east of India and in the immediate neighbourhood of India, is vital to the operation of both these policies. Bilateral relations between India and Bangladesh have steadily progressed in the previous decade on many fronts such as political relationship, security cooperation, trade and connectivity, and people to people contacts. There has been a sustained dialogue at all levels, including Summit Meetings, visits of High Dignitaries, foreign secretary level meetings and annual meetings of the Joint Consultative Commission.
Landmark events have occurred in bilateral relations in the recent past. In 2021, Bangladesh celebrated its Golden Jubilee of independence and also marked 50 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations with India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Bangladesh in March 2021 to mark these events and the Birth Centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Followed by this, the President of India too visited in December 2021, to attend the Golden Jubilee of the Victory Day of Bangladesh.
The momentum in bilateral relations has continued even in 2022. The Seventh Meeting of the Joint Consultative Commission, led by the Foreign Ministers of two countries, was held at New Delhi in June 2022. This was followed by the visit of H.E. Sheikh Hasina, PrimeMinister of Bangladesh, to India in September 2022 (MEA. India – Bangladesh Joint Statement. 2022).
In the backdrop of this monumental year that has given impetus to the bilateral ties, this paper aims to analyse the recent developments in connectivity between India and Bangladesh within the broader framework of Act East Policy (AEP). Connectivity has several dimensions, like transport connectivity (road, railway, shipping, civil aviation etc.), power and energy connectivity, and data connectivity, etc. This article focuses on railway and inland water transport connectivity.
Impact of partition
Before the partition of India, transportation to and from northern parts of Bengal and entire Assam and North-East Region (NER) was by a modest road and rail infrastructure via East Bengal, which later became East Pakistan and subsequently Bangladesh. With the creation of East Pakistan in 1947, northern Bengal, including Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri and Assam, had become inaccessible by rail except through East Pakistan. The need for a separate line connecting Assam and NER with the rest of India, bypassing East Pakistan, was evident from strategic, political, administrative, and economic perspectives. The Assam Rail Link Project was undertaken, and this link was established in a brief span of three years by January 1950 by linking existing portions of the Oudh-Tirhut Railway (OTR) with isolated sections of the network in Assam and North Bengal. This task was accomplished by construction of four different sections, i.e. Kishanganj in Bihar to Siliguri in Bengal, Siliguri toBagrakot, Madarihat to Hasimara and Alipurduar to Fakiragram. The existing broad-gauge link between Kolkata and Siliguri which ran through East Pakistan had been disrupted beyond Haldibari and had to be converted to the meter gauge to integrate it with the rest of the network. The rail links between India and East Pakistan ceased to operate after the 1965 Indo-Pak war (Singh, 1951).
This disruption had a profound impact on the economic development of the NER. The only rail and road connection from NER to rest of India and importantly, to ports at Kolkata, Haldia to date is via the Siliguri corridor, a 27 Km wide strip of Indian territory squeezed between Nepal in the north-west and Bangladesh in the south that links West Bengal with Assam and NER. Transit via the Siliguri corridor to Haldia port and Kolkata involves very large additional distance, time and cost in comparison to the erstwhile direct route via Bangladesh, thus rendering import-export to and fro NER uncompetitive and unremunerative. Transit from Agartala to Kolkata via the Siliguri Corridor is 1600 Km while through Bangladesh territory it is only 450 Km. Further, if the borders were open for through freight traffic, Chattogram port is only 200 Kms away from Agartala. Thus, consequences of robust transport links between the two countries, if not full transport integration, will be hugely positive. Trade, tourism and people to people contacts in NER, Sikkim and Darjeeling have all been adversely affected for a long time due to lack of connectivity between India and Bangladesh.
The Trade Scenario
Bangladesh has surfaced as India’s largest trading partner in South Asia, while India is Bangladesh’s second largest trade partner in Asia (MEA, India-Bangladesh Bilateral Relation). India’s trade with Bangladesh has continuously grown in the last decade, yet there is much potential that the two neighbours can explore.
The Bilateral trade stood at USD 7.52 billion in 2016-17 (Ministry of Commerce and Industry, 2018). In the FY 2021-22 India- Bangladesh, bilateral trade increased to USD 15.93 billion (TalukderFarhad, 2022). Despite a shared border of more than 4000 Kms and deep-rooted historical, cultural and societal ties, both countries still have to work to realise the full potential of their trade matrix. Lack of seamless connectivity has been over the years one of the key impediments in enhancing trade between India and Bangladesh.
Presently, there are 48 land customs stations (LCS) of which 36 are operational, four Integrated Check Posts (ICP) at Petrapole, Sutarkandi, Srimantpur, and Agartala, and five railway interchange points between India and Bangladesh to carry out cross-border trade. Largest proportion of the overland trade, 37% , is through the Petrapole (India)-Benapole (Bangladesh) ICP. Trade through LCS, such as the Ghojadanga-Bhomra, Mahadipur-Sonamasjid, and Changrabandha-Burimari has increased over the years. Government of India has planned for upgradation of eight LCS on India-Bangladesh border into ICPs. Land acquisition for the development of LCS is under progress.
Moreover, opening additional routes has been on the agenda of both countries. During PM Modi’s visit to Bangladesh on 26-27 March, 2021 Bangladesh requested India for additional connectivity, namely land ports of Bhadrapur-BairagiGalgalia, Biratnagar-Jogbani and Birgunj-Raxaul connected with Banglabandha-Fulbari and Birol-Radhikapur by road. (Joint Statement issued on the occasion of the visit of Prime Minister of India to Bangladesh, 2021).
Bangladesh requested India to consider connecting Birol-Radhikapur and Rohanpur-Singhabad rail-interchanges with Biratnagar-Jogbani as this would give considerable logistical benefit for transportation by rail from Bangladesh to Nepal ((Joint Statement issued on the occasion of the visit of Prime Minister of India to Bangladesh, 2021).
A World Bank group report of 2021 estimated the impact of full transport integration on the economies of India and Bangladesh, according to it, “Bangladesh’s exports to India could increase by 182 percent and India’s exports to Bangladesh by 126 percent if the countries signed a free trade agreement. Improving transport connectivity between the two countries could increase exports even further, yielding a 297 percent increase in Bangladesh’s exports to India and a 172 percent increase in India’s exports to Bangladesh. Removing all border frictions to the movement of trucks between Bangladesh and India could deliver significant economic benefits to both countries. Full transport integration between the two countries would allow trucks from each country to transit through the other, delivering exports and picking up imports, using any border post. Under full integration, exports and imports would be cleared at the destination, obviating the need even to stop at the border. Under full integration, income would increase by 16.6 percent in Bangladesh and 7.6 percent in India.”(Dappe&Kunaka, 2021).
The case for more interchange points and better connectivity infrastructure is quite evident. Joint efforts of India and Bangladesh to improve and strengthen connectivity needs to be assessed in this context.
Role of Railways
Railways have emerged as the most admired, low cost, and eco-friendly mode for cross-border transportation of essential commodities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when most of the LCS were closed and overland trade was completely disrupted, the Indian Railways system was used to supply essential commodities to Bangladesh. Railways also have the advantage of avoiding transhipment of cargo at boundary stations and moving closer to the final destination seamlessly. During the lockdown period, more than 800 rakes (total 1.65 million MT) consisting of essential items like onions, red chillies, ginger, paddy seeds etc. were transported via the existing four rail routes between India and Bangladesh (MEA, Annual Report 2020-2021).
In annual terms, in FY 2019-20, freight of 1.67 million tonnes was transported through 665 freight trains. This increased to 3.70 million tonnes through 1664 trains in FY 2021-22. Indian Railways have introduced Container services and Parcel services in addition to freight trains to cater to all segments of traffic between the two countries (MEA, Annual Report 2021-2022). During the second wave of COVID-19, India operated 20 “Oxygen Express” trains for transportation of Liquid Medical Oxygen in containers (High Commission of India, Dhaka Bangladesh, Brief on Bilateral Relations-India-Bangladesh Relations).
Two notable developments in railway connectivity occurred at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the virtual summit on December 17, 2020, the two Prime Ministers jointly inaugurated the newly restored railway link between Haldibari (India) and Chilahati (Bangladesh) which had been defunct since 1965. The link has been operationalized since August 1, 2021. The first freight train carrying quarried stone chips from Dam Dim in West Bengal to Bangladesh crossed the border via this link (Starting of freight trains via restored Haldibari (India)-Chilahati (Bangladesh) rail link-Around 20 freight trains per month are expected to be interchanged, 2021.
In the period August 2021 to March 2022, India handed over 43 export cargo laden trains to Bangladesh. In the present financial year till November 2022, total 26 export trains have been handed over to Bangladesh. Restoration of the link has fetched immediate economic gains for both countries. In the summit meeting in March, 2021, Bangladesh sought rail connectivity with Bhutan through the Chilahati-Haldibari route to facilitate direct rail connectivity with Bhutan(MEA, India-Bangladesh Joint Statement during the state visit of Prime Minister of Bangladesh to India, 2022).
The same link is used to run Mitali Express between New Jalpaiguri (Siliguri) and Dhaka. This train was inaugurated during PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Bangladesh on March 26-27, 2021, but its commercial services were on hold due to COVID-19 pandemic. The services commenced on June 1, 2022.This is the third direct passenger train between India and Bangladesh after Maitri Express (Kolkata-Dhaka) and Bandhan Express (Kolkata-Khulna). This service is expected to boost tourism in Dooars, Darjeeling and Sikkim as well as increase medical tourism and people to people contacts. As of now, the train is running twice a week in both directions. A new Passenger Terminal Building was inaugurated at ICP Petrapole in September 2021. Petrapole is also the most important land port between the two countries. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, it catered to approx. 23 lakh passengers per year. India has proposed construction of an additional freight gate at Petrapole to ease the traffic congestion.
In addition to rail, there are five bus services approved between India and Bangladesh. The routes are Kolkata-Khulna, Dhaka-Kolkata, Dhaka-Agartala and Dhaka-Shillong-Guwahati and Agartala-Kolkata via Dhaka. These services remained suspended for two years due to COVID-19. However, except for the Dhaka-Guwahati route, they resumed in June 2022.
Restoring and EnhancingRailway Connectivity
In the context of connectivity, the summit between PM Modi and PM Sheikh Hasina in September 2022 turned out to be a landmark meeting. Important developments in railway connectivity have taken place in the recent past.
At the time of partition in 1947, there were seven connections from the rail network in Assam and West Bengal to East Pakistan. They continued to operate with occasional disruption till the Indo-Pak war of 1965, when they were finally closed for traffic. Of these, five connections have been made operational so far, namely, Petrapole (West Bengal)-Benapole (Bangladesh), Gede (West Bengal)-Darshana (Bangladesh), Radhikapur (West Bengal)-Birol (Bangladesh), Singhbad (West Bengal)-Rohanpur (Bangladesh) and Haldibari (West Bengal) and Chilahati (Bangladesh). Work is in progress on two additional links, namely, Shahbazpur (Bangladesh)-Maishashan (Assam) link and the new Akhaura (Bangladesh)- Agartala (Tripura) link. The Agartala-Akhaura link is 12.3 km long with 5.5.km on the Indian side and 6.8 Km in Bangladesh. The cost of construction of tracks in Bangladesh is borne by the Indian government.TheMahishasan-Shahbazpur link has a 3 km section in India.
The remaining links between Mogalghat (Bangladesh) and New Gitaldaha (West Bengal) and between Burimari (Bangladesh) and Changrabandha (West Bengal) are still defunct. During PM Sheikh Hasina’s recent state visit, both sides have agreed to restore the Kaunia-Lalmonirhat-Mogalghat-New Gitaldaha link and Burimari-Changrabandha link. Once they are restored, a total of nine rail connections will be available, which would strengthen cross-border connectivity. A decision has been taken to establish a new link between Hili (West Bengal) and Birampur. It has also been decided to upgrade track and signalling systems and railway stations along the Benapole-Jessore line in Bangladesh(MEA, India – Bangladesh Joint Statement during the State Visit of Prime Minister of Bangladesh to India, 2022).
To strengthen the rail connectivity infrastructure, both countries have taken additional initiatives. With financial assistance from India, Bangladesh is converting to dual-gauge the Tongi-Akhaura line to enable connectivity with Agartala. Indian Railways have agreed to supply railway rolling stock, capacity building for the personnel of Bangladesh Railway, sharing of IT solutions for improved services of Bangladesh Railway. On July 27, 2020, India provided 10 broad-gauge diesel locomotives to Bangladesh(Indian Railways Annual Report and Accounts 2020-2021). India has further offered 20 more diesel broad gauge locomotives as a grant in the recent summit meeting (MEA, India – Bangladesh Joint Statement during the State Visit of Prime Minister of Bangladesh to India, 2022).
In the same summit meeting, both the leaders jointly inaugurated the 5.13 km long Rupsha railway bridge in Bangladesh, which was completed in June, 2022. The bridge is a key part of the 64.7 km Khulna-Mongla Port rail project, connecting for the first time Mongla Port with Khulna by rail, and thereafter to Central and North Bangladesh and to India at Petrapole and Gede. The project is being executed under India’s concessional line of credit to Bangladesh. With the completion of this line, the Gede-Darshana railway link will be directly connected to Mongla port, boosting the existing connectivity and is expected to give impetus to economic activities in this area.
In the Summit meeting, two other important decisions regarding railway connectivity were taken. Both countries announced the signing of PMC contracts for the Khulna-Darshana railway line and Parbatipur-Kaunia railway line. Khulna Darshana railway line project involves doubling of existing line connecting the current cross border rail link at Gede-Darshana to Khulna which will augment the rail connections between the two countries, especially to Dhaka, and in future to Mongla Port. Parbatipur -Kaunia railway line involves conversion of the existing Metre Gauge line to the Dual Gauge line. The project will connect to the existing cross border rail at Birol (Bangladesh)-Radhikapur (West Bengal) and will enhance bilateral rail connectivity.
Role of Inland Waterways
With two of the largest rivers of the world, Ganga and Brahmaputra flowing along their borders and supplemented by a massive river system originating in the foothills of Eastern Himalayas consisting of Teesta, Torsa, Raidak, Sankosh and many other rivers, it is but natural that inland waterways provide another dimension to connectivity between India and Bangladesh. Important developments have also taken place in this area in the recent past.
Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade (PIWTT) signed by both the countries in 1972 allows the plying of inland vessels of one country through the specified routes of the other country. PIWTT is one of the most important bilateral mechanisms between the two countries. Under the original PIWTT, there are four two-way specific river routes and five ports of call in each country. These are –
1&2-Kolkata-Haldia-Raimongal-Chalna-Khulna-Mongla-Kaukhali-Barisal-Hizla-Chandpur-Narayanganj-Aricha-Sirajganj-Bahadurabad-Chilmari-Dhubri-Pandu-Silghat; and vice versa (one-way length: 1720 Km)
3&4-Kolkata-Haldia-Raimongal-Mongla-Kaukhali-Barisal-Hizla-Chandpur-Narayanganj-BhairabBazar-Ajmiriganj-Markuli-Sherpur-Fenchuganj-Zakiganj-Karimganj; and vice versa (one-way length: 1318 Km)
5&6-Rajshahi-Godagari-Dhulian; and vice versa (one-way length: 78 Km)
7&8-Karimganj-Zakiganj-Fenchuganj-Sherpur-Markuli-Ajmiriganj-Bhairab Bazar-Narayanganj-Chandpur-Aricha-Siraganj-Bahadurabad-Chilmari-Dhubri-Pandu-Silgha; vice versa (one-way length: 1416 Km)
Designated Ports of Call in India are Kolkata, Haldia, Karimganj, Pandu and Silghat while in Bangladesh are Narayanganj, Khulna, Mongla and Ashuganj.
According to the Annual Report of Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), there is a continuous increase in the traffic carried on the India-Bangladesh Protocol (IBP) route, approx. 3.56 million tonnes of traffic moved on the IBP route in FY 2020-21, which was approx. 2.89% over FY 2019-20. Around 700 inland vessels (including approx. 650 Bangladesh-flag vessels) completed approximately 4,000 loaded voyages annually. Fly Ash constitutes 97% of cargo on the IBP routes with food grains, Project Cargo, ODCs and Stone chips making up the rest (Annual Report on Traffic National Waterways: FY 2020-21). Fly Ash evacuation is vital to keep the thermal power stations running smoothly and, in that respect, the IBP routes are very important. Stone chip exports from Bhutan to Bangladesh via the IBP route between Dhubri and Chilmari have increased slowly.
Recent Developments in Inland Waterways Connectivity
To make the Protocol more effective, standing committee on PWITT and Shipping Secretary level talks were held in October 2018 and December 2019. Decisions taken during these talks were implemented with the signing of 2nd addendum under PIWTT on 20th May, 2020 at Dhaka. The 2nd Addendum increased the number of river routes to a total of five and connected Tripura to the Indian National Waterways. The trial run on the 93 Km long new route Sonamura-Daudkandi on the Gomati River was successfully completed in September 2020. This was the first ever export from Bangladesh to Tripura through inland waterways. The Addendum extended the IBP route Dhulian-Rajshahi to Aricha. IBP route numbers 3 & 4 and 7 & 8 were extended from Karimganj to Badarpur. Rupnarayan river was included in IBP routes 1&2 and 3 & 4. The Addendum also increased the number of Ports of Call to 11 in each country and provided two extended Ports of Call in each country (Annual Report on Traffic National Waterways: FY 2020-21). According to an assessment by IWAI, approx. 2.5 million tonnes of traffic is expected to be diverted to IWT mode with the extension of Rajshahi-Dhuliyan route up to Aricha in Bangladesh. The benefits of adding the Port of Call are evident as the first commercial consignment of 40,000 cartons of fruit drink (512 MT) from Bangladesh commenced from Ghorashal extended Port of Call of Narayanganj, Bangladesh on March 16, 2021 and reached the GR Jetty Kolkata (IWAI Annual Report 2020- 2021).
During the virtual summit in December 2020, both countries welcomed the signing of the second addendum to PIWTT and the operationalization of the Sonamura-Daudkandi Protocol route under the PIWTT (Annual Report on Traffic National Waterways: FY 2020-21). During the September 2022 summit, both countries agreed to implement the decision to start riverine services under PIWTT routes 5 & 6 (Dhulian to Rajshahi -extension to Aricha) and 9 & 10 (Daudkandi to Sonamura). IWAI has now established a floating jetty at Sonamura and the development of a permanent terminal is under consideration.
Initiatives in Maritime Shipping
Apart from IBP routes, India is keen to utilize Chattogram and Mongla ports for use by Indian cargo, both impex and domestic. In recent years, measures have been taken to improve connectivity to the Chattogram port and to facilitate Indian trade there. MoU between India and Bangladesh, relating to “Use of Chattogram and Mongla Ports for Movement of Goods to and from India ” was signed on June 06, 2015.
Agartala, Dawki (Meghalaya) and Sutarkandi have been listed as Indian points of origin/destination. The agreement in this regard was signed by both the countries on October 25, 2018 (GOI, Signed copy of SoP on use of Chattogram and Mongla Ports).Srimantpur (Tripura) was added to the list of Origin/Destination points in the agreement. The agreement provides that any transportation within Bangladesh will be done by Bangladeshi vehicles /vessels and the trader shall furnish a bond equivalent to customs duty as a security that the goods will exit Bangladesh territory. The first Trial run for moving goods to and from India through Bangladesh under the Agreement was conducted in July 2020.Discussions regarding the finalization of transit fees are ongoing.
The two countries had signed an agreement on Coastal Shipping on June 6, 2015. During the summit of September 2022, Bangladesh was requested for expansion of the scope of bilateral Coastal Shipping Agreement of 2015 to include third-country impex cargo. It was further decided to explore direct shipping links between the two countries. Negotiations in this regard are still not concluded.
To complement faster movement through the Chattogram port, road connectivity from the port to NER is vital. This has been partially achieved recently. The “MaitriSetu” across river Feni in Tripura was completed and inaugurated by both the Prime Ministers in March 2021, thus providing enhanced road connectivity between India’s North-Eastern Region and Bangladesh(MEA, India-Bangladesh Joint Statement during the state visit of Prime Minister of Bangladesh to India, 2022).
The 1.9 Km long bridge connects Sabroom (Tripura) with Ramgarh (Bangladesh) from where the Chattogram port is merely 80 Km away. The bridge was constructed as a fully funded project by India. Movement of cargo across the bridge is yet to commence for want of enabling infrastructure. During the summit meeting in September 2022, Bangladesh was requested to complete the remaining infrastructure, immigration, and customs facilities for the expeditious operationalisation of Maitri Bridge. Bangladesh has proposed that Bangladeshi trucks avail of the Feni Bridge for transportation from Chattogram port to NER but this matter is not yet resolved.
Areas of Concern
Despite all these recent initiatives and positive developments, several problem areas remain to be addressed in improving connectivity.
Chinese investments in Bangladesh under bilateral partnership, including in Belt Road Initiative (BRI) have grown since the 2016 visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Dhaka. China is now the biggest trade partner of Bangladesh. The estimated Chinese investment in Bangladesh is USD 40 Billion (The Diplomat, 2021).
China is mainly targeting the energy, power and financial infrastructure sectors. In the area of connectivity, a massive project like the Padma River rail and road link has been completed by China. Four other crucial rail links are being upgraded with Chinese assistance. This deepening Chinese footprint in Bangladesh is a cause of concern for India. While BRI has strategic aims in Bangladesh, the Indian approach is driven more by the desire to promote economic well-being of both the countries and further the deep-rooted cultural connections. Bangladesh is likely to follow a cautious approach to future Chinese investments, particularly after the recent economic problems arising out of the BRI faced by Sri Lanka and Pakistan. How Bangladesh balances these competing investment approaches and India’s concerns remain to be seen.
Another area that needs attention is the inadequate infrastructure at LCSs and ICPs, leading to congestion, delays in clearance and movement. The Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI) has taken up upgrading of this infrastructure at few locations, but it requires it to be expedited. Similarly, work on already delayed links like Agartala-Akhaura, enabling infrastructure at MaitriSetu, development of fairways on some stretches near Sirajganj etc. needs to be completed speedily.
From the sub-regional perspective, delay in operationalization of the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal Motor Vehicle Agreement (BBIN MVA) is cause for concern. This agreement is an offshoot of the failure of SAARC to agree upon a sub-regional motor vehicle agreement in 2014 in the Kathmandu Summit. TheBBIN Motor Vehicle Agreement for the Regulation of Passenger, Personal and Cargo Vehicular Traffic between the four South Asian countries was signed during a transport ministers’ meeting in Thimpu on June 15, 2015 with an aim of economic integration. Citing environmental concerns, Bhutan has not endorsed the agreement.
The remaining three countries have finalised the enabling MoU for operationalizing the agreement in March 2022(The Hindustan Times, 2022). The final cargo and passenger movement protocols must be finalised expeditiously for increasing trade and overall economic development of the region.
India is of the view that without setting aside the port restrictions, cargo movement across the border will not be viable. Bangladesh is yet to accede to Indian demand for at least one land port with no port restrictions or negative list of restrictions, on the border with NER, for easier market access, starting with ICP Agartala-Akhaura(MEA, India-Bangladesh Joint Statement during the state visit of Prime Minister of Bangladesh to India, 2022).
Conclusion
It is evident from the range of initiatives taken by India and Bangladesh that connectivity is the buzzword that will take the bilateral relationship to the next level. The major boost in connectivity will have a far- reaching impact on the movement of people and goods in both the countries while simultaneously acting as an enabler to the sub-regional initiative of BBIN. The development in railway and inland water connectivity will multiply bilateral trade and is a win-win situation for both India and Bangladesh. This cooperation stands more significant in the backdrop of the economically unstable South Asian neighbour Sri Lanka and the global economy struggling with the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Furthermore, the connectivity bridges are expected to deepen cultural ties. Culture, Commerce, and Connectivity are at the core of India’s “Act East” policy. It can be concluded that the “Act East” policy has truly been operationalized in the case of India-Bangladesh relationship.
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