India-Bangladesh CEO Forum

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Last Updated30/11/2021

The India-Bangladesh CEO Forum will meet soon for the first time.
The two countries are currently working towards finalising a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) to deepen trade and economic ties as partners rather than competitors.
The forum will help to promote mutual investments.

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal recently virtually inaugurated the Bangladesh International Investment Summit (BIIS) held in Dhaka.
He also highlighted that Bangladesh is India’s biggest trade partner in South Asia with a volume of over USD 10 billion of trade and hence holds a strong importance for India.
He also congratulated Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on the country’s transition from a less-developed country to a developing nation status.

India had sent over one crore COVID-19 vaccine doses to the country and has extended concessional credit lines of about $8 billion, the highest for any single country.
A bilateral textile industry forum has also been constituted to facilitate cooperation in the textile sector.
India is also developing two Indian economic zones at Mirsarai and Mongla.
The two countries will be celebrating December 6 as Maitri Divas, to mark 50 years of Bangladesh’s independence and its bilateral ties with India.

Land Boundary Agreement (2015) in which India and Bangladesh swapped the disputed islands and allowed the inhabitants to choose their country of residence.
India has provided 3 Lines of Credit(LOCs) of about $8 billion to Bangladesh since 2014 for the road construction, railways, bridges, and ports.
India also provided LOCs for the construction of Padma bridge whose funding was rejected by the World Bank.
3 passenger and freight railway services are currently in operation between India and Bangladesh.
Bangladesh government has demolished anti-India insurgents from its borders, making the India-Bangladesh border peaceful and infiltration free, and aiding India to redeploy its resources to more contentious borders like Indp-Pak.
Kolkata-Dhaka-Agartala Bus Service was launched in 2015 that shortened the distance between Kolkata and Agartala from 1,650 km(through chicken’s neck or Siliguri corridor) to 500 km.
Indian Prime Minister inaugurated the 1.9 km long ‘Maitri Setu’ bridge that connects Sabroom in India with Ramgarh in Bangladesh.
Border Haats organized in the border districts also enhance trade and people to people connectivity in India-Bangladesh relations.
India provides a power supply of 600MW from Palatana Power Plant in Tripura.
Bangladesh accounts for more than 35% of India’s international medical patients and contributes more than 50% of India’s revenue from medical tourism.

Teesta water sharing dispute.
Border killings .
National Register of Citizens .
Drug trafficking issue- Bangladesh a major contributor to it in India.
Bangladesh opposing India’s proposed the Tapaimukh Dam on the Barak River in Manipur and the Interlinking of the rivers project by India.
China's cheque-book diplomacy in Bangladesh.
India was the first country to recognize Bangladesh as a separate and independent state and establish diplomatic relations with the country. India and Bangladesh relations have a shared history, culture, language. However, the above challenges pose a threat to future course and these need to be resolved soon to prevent China from extending its diplomacy to a good friend and ally of India.