Dhaka desk: The upcoming visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to India in the first half of April is all but certain to see the elevation of cooperation in defence and security between the two next-door neighbours, government sources concerned have told The Independent. As a matter of fact, they said that the region as well as the world will witness at least couple of ‘breakthroughs’ with regard to defence cooperation between Dhaka and New Delhi.
Both the countries are working on signing about 40 bilateral instruments in the shape of agreements, memorandums of understanding and other forms and out of these 20 to 30 are expected to be signed during the visit, said the sources. Of those instruments to be signed, at least two are most likely to be related to defence cooperation, they said. India is interested in signing a framework agreement on defence cooperation and has put forward a proposal in this regard, said the sources. But, Dhaka is interested in signing a MoU on defence cooperation, which is not obligatory like the agreement, they said, adding that most likely, it is a MoU that will be signed.
The sources also said that India has also put forward a proposal to provide a line of credit (LOC) worth $500 million (about Tk 4,000 crore) for defence purchase, and Delhi wants an agreement in this regard.
But, they said that here also, Bangladesh opted for a MoU rather than agreement to ensure flexibility.
The MoU has already been approved by the Ministry of Defence, headed by Prime Minister Hasina herself, they added.
The sources reminded the correspondent that the visit is still one and a half months away and the works are in progress. So, they said that there might be changes in terms of the nature of the instruments.
About the necessity of deals on defence cooperation and LOC for defence purchase, different government sources said that India just wants to be seen as a ‘player’ against the backdrop of the dominance of China in Bangladesh’s defence equipments.
In December last, Manohar Parrikar visited Bangladesh as the first ever Indian Defence Minister and talked to political and military leadership in this regard, they said.
That visit reflected India’s interest in associating itself with Bangladesh in terms of defence purchase, they added.
About the proposed MoU on LOC for defence purchase, the sources said that it is not mandatory to buy arms from India, rather it is an option to buy arms if Bangladesh military feels the necessity.
It’s no problem at all to make such arrangements with a number of countries because these will allow the country to have more options, they said.
The sources, however, pointed out that defence purchase does not necessarily mean rifles, tanks, etc. rather it could be military hardware and software together like radars.
The Bangladesh military does not appear to be that interested in buying arms from India, perhaps considering the standard and the fact that India itself is one of the major arms importers in the world, they said. If Bangladesh military makes defence purchases from India, it will, most probably, be the first instance, they said. Any possible reaction of China, Bangladesh’s biggest arms supplier, is very much in the mind of the government while entering into arrangements with Delhi, Beijing’s regional competitor, they added.
