[ALOCHONA] No need for a fresh agreement on transit, it has been in the 1974 Indira-Mujib treaty

No need for a fresh agreement on transit, it has been in the 1974 Indira-Mujib treaty

Manmohan Singh's upcoming Dhaka visit will be a 'really memorable' one, prime minister Sheikh Hasina's international affairs advisor has said, asking critics to 'be far-sighted instead of being myopic''.

Gowher Rizvi said the Indian prime minister's visit with five neighbouring chief ministers, for the first time, would put an end to long disputed issues including border, and Teesta river water sharing, paving the way for transit of Indian goods through Bangladesh territory,

The extension of transit facilities to India will see 'Bangladesh's economy growing by another 4 to 6 percent', he said. Replying to journalists' questions at the Diplomatic Correspondents Association of Bangladesh (DCAB)'s Iftar party in the capital on Saturday, nine days ahead of the Indian premier's visit, the advisor termed the visit a 'comprehensive' one.

Manmohan will come to Dhaka on Sep 6 on a two-day visit, accompanied by his wife Gursharan Kaur and chief ministers of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee, Meghalaya's Mukul Sangma, Tripura's Manik Sarkar, Assam's Tarun Gogoi and Mizoram's Lal Thanhawla. Gowher briefly described the issues on the agenda during the high-profile visit, but elaborated on the much-talked about transit issue.

The internationally renowned political scientist termed prime minister Sheikh Hasina's Jan 2010 visit to India a 'defining moment' in Bangladesh-India relationship. Hasina had invited Manmohan during the visit. Referring to those who oppose transit, Rizvi said they are doing 'misguided' publicity.

"There is no need for a fresh agreement on transit since it has been in the 1974 Indira-Mujib treaty. We need to work out the modalities and operational details of the (transit) routes."

An expert on South Asia affairs, he explained there was transit among Bangladesh (then East Pakistan), India and Pakistan from 1947 to 1965, which collapsed during the India-Pak war in 1965. But, it was in 1974 Indira-Mujib treaty, there were provisions of using river, road, rail and air routes. It did not happen after Aug 15, 1975 assassination of Bangabndhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as there was no political will between the two countries after the changeover.

Prime minister Hasina expressed her desire to resume it during her visit. He said the transit activities will start once infra-structure is 'ready'. "First it starts with river route, then rail and road."

The advisor dismissed speculations that Bangladesh will not gain from the transit facility and said, "We must profit from the transit fee we set." "All estimates show there is a profit."  "But transit fee is a very small part of our gain. Our benefits will be in trade, investment and employment generation in the country."

He said Bangladesh's trade with India increased 33 percent in the last 12 months, only because of good relations. "We collected reviews from experts who studied good transit practices in the world and submitted a report to the government. "The government will review the report and set the best rate for Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Bhutan."

He insisted Bangladesh will determine the fee. "But, (it) must be set considering market competitiveness." "If we charge a prohibitive amount that will discourage transit access, then our infrastructure development will go in vain."

The advisor, however, could not specify how much profits Bangladesh can make out of transit. But he said the government would be able to recover infrastructure development costs within seven to 15 years. Replying a question, he said, Bangladesh would be able to use India's transit to trade with Nepal and Bhutan.

Advisor Gowher said they had closely monitored the joint communiqués signed during the Delhi visit in the last 20 months. "There will be a review on what we've achieved so far. But we will not stop here. We will take it forward." He said there were some ingrained problems between the neighbours since the partition of in 1947.

"We wish to resolve all the problems," he said, 'both the countries have power and water problems.' The prime minister's advisor said they saw a 'future' through the visit. "There will be an interim agreement on Teesta water-sharing, apart from discussion on trade and investment during Manmohan's visit. "We will discuss how to augment (our share of) water in future as we share at least 50 rivers."

Gowher said there will be a 'framework agreement' on wide-ranging issues that will give "us direction about what will better for the relationship between the two countries". "The whole area of cooperation will be included in the framework agreement."

The advisor said there would be no hiding any agreement or memorandum of understanding. "Everything will be made public," he said and added those "who say we are making 'secret' deals are propagating misinformation to confuse people".

Replying a question, the advisor said, "No sane person should say Bangladesh will give corridor to India." "They (who say this) don't know the meaning of the word (corridor)," he said, "corridor means giving away the sovereignty of the area".

"We are an independent and confident nation," he asserted. "We are negotiating from a position of strength. There will be no agreement sacrificing national interest."

http://www.bdnews24.com/details.php?id=204491&cid=2

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