Dhaka: Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar visited Bangladesh and held talks with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. During the talks, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina offered the port of Chittagong to India. If India manages the Chittagong port, India’s connectivity to its northeastern states will increase tremendously. Hence, China was eyeing the port of Chittagong, known as a strategic port closely. However, this proposal by Bangladesh to India has shocked China.
Moreover, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar invited the Prime Minister of Bangladesh to visit India. The two countries should work towards augmenting connectivity, said Prime Minister Hasina. Prime Minister Hasina has said that this will significantly benefit the northeastern states of India. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Hasina has appeased Indians by proposing a Chittagong port. For the past few years, China has been working hard to bring this port under its control. For this, China had started to invest in Bangladesh heavily.
Consequently, China’s goal was to use Bangladesh as a base against India. China had succeeded at first. But over time, the terrific episodes of countries getting trapped in China’s debt had surfaced. Thus, the Bangladeshi leadership was alerted in time and cancelled some Chinese projects.
China was outraged to learn that Bangladesh was planning to join the QUAD alongside India, the United States, Japan and Australia. Thus, it had publicly warned of severe consequences. Therefore, the dangers of cooperation with China were evident before Bangladesh. Besides, India had provided invaluable assistance to Bangladesh amid the Coronavirus Pandemic.
Against this backdrop, Bangladesh has strategically decided to expand its cooperation with India. This is what the proposal of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh regarding the port of Chittagong shows.
Related posts:
India-Bangladesh ink 22 cooperation pacts including Defense, Nuclear and Cyber security cooperation
Israel’s ‘Fence System’ on Indo-Pak Border
Bangladesh Vijay Diwas: We would not have attained freedom without India, Bangladeshi MP expresses gratitude during India visit
India sends medicines and other medical supplies to Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka
Bangladesh PM thanks India for the aid
Indian MEA, S. Jaishankar visits Bangladesh
Prime Minister Modi inaugurates ‘Maitri Setu’ between India-Bangladesh
