Khaleda leaves but key issues unresolved

The visit of Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia today ended on a cordial note even though several issues that have soured relations between India and Bangladesh still remain unresolved.

Despite hope and considerable effort by the Bangladeshi side, a Bilateral Investment Protection Agreement could not be inked, much less a preferential trade agreement that would have replaced an agreement signed in 1980.

The Revised Trade Agreement envisages expanding trade and economic relations between India and Bangladesh on the basis of "equality and mutual benefit by facilitation, expansion and diversification of trade"

This does not square with the statements of Finance Minister P Chidambaram that it was contingent upon India, a bigger nation, to be more generous towards poorer and smaller neighbours.

The revised trade agreement sets out what the two countries must not do to "prevent infringement and circumvention of rules relating to foreign exchange" and seeks mutually beneficial arrangements for use of waterways, roadways and railways.

However, specifics like transit through Bangladesh to India's north eastern states, which will make it cheaper for goods to be transported to the region, have not been not spelt out.

The joint statement underlined "common desire to strengthen and consolidate friendly ties".

However, without mentioning it specifically, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh touched upon the issue of terrorism. Several terrorist and separatist groups in the Northeast are said to be operating from Bangladesh. Although the Army was able to mount Operation All Clear to flush out Bodo militants who had set up camps in Bhutan, it was not allowed to carry out a similar operation in Bangladesh.

Manmohan Singh referred to the issue of terrorism and the need to address this at a banquet held by President APJ Abdul Kalam for the visiting dignitary.

It was agreed that meetings of institutional mechanisms such as Joint Economic Commission, the joint boundary working groups, the Joint Rivers Commission and home secretary-level talks would be held more frequently.

Later in the day, Bangladesh Finance Minister M Saifur Rahman said his country did not harbour terrorists and added that ties with India could not improve as long as this "erroneous impression" remained.

"This is an erroneous impression. As long as this remains, relations between India and Bangladesh cannot improve", he told reporters here.

He said Bangladesh was "shocked to hear reports in yesterday's meeting (with Indian delegation) that some of its nationals were involved in some terror attacks in Benares and some other places."