Outgoing Indian High Commissioner Riva Ganguly Das has said that the hospitality she received in Bangladesh is unprecedented.
“I came to Bangladesh in March last year. When someone comes here, it becomes a deep relationship. The friendship and hospitality that we get here in Bangladesh, we (diplomats) do not get it anywhere in the world,” she said at a farewell dinner with the journalists at Pan Pacific Sonargoan Hotel on Thursday.
She also highlighted the ‘friendly’ relations with Bangladesh and said the Covid-19 pandemic could not stop the regular engagements.
Both sides continued to script a relationship of ‘Golden Chapter’ guided by the two Prime Ministers – Narendra Modi and Sheikh Hasina.
“We continued our work. There was considerable progress during this period,” she said, highlighting the ongoing trade and business relations using railway and water routes.
New avenues of trade and connectivity were opened between the countries during the pandemic.
The two neighbours launched a new inland water route from Daudkandi in Bangladesh to Sonamura port in Tripura.
The inauguration of the new riverine route followed the ‘Second Addendum on Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade’ between the countries in May this year amid Covid-19.
With that addendum, the number of Indo, Bangladesh Protocol (IBP) routes was increased to 10 from eight.
The pandemic lockdown has slowed down the trade initially. But both countries set examples by introducing new ideas to continue the businesses.
Railway was one of those means. Indian Railways handed over a total of 103 freight trains to Bangladesh carrying essential commodities such as onions, ginger, chilies, maize, turmeric, rice seed, sugar, finished products, and raw materials for industries to Bangladesh Railways in June.
Though there are regular freight train operations between both the railways, for the first time the numbers of freight trains operated by both the Railways have crossed the 100 mark.
Both the Railways had come up with solutions to transport all the essential commodities across the border when the lockdown and transport restrictions were imposed by both the countries to arrest the spread of Covid-19.
Many importers are now using the rail route for transporting their goods, though usually they are not reliant upon the rail transportation services.
Upon seeing the success of the movement of goods by rail, Bangladesh Railways has permitted the introduction of the Parcel Train Service between India and Bangladesh. The carrying capacity of the parcel train is 238 metric tons.
India also handed over 10 railway locomotives to Bangladesh, reflecting a renewed focus on the “neighbourhood first” policy to bolster economic ties and connectivity within the region, during the pandemic.
The first transshipment of goods (iron and pulses) from Kolkata to India’s North-East took place through Bangladesh’s Chattogram port during this lockdown.
The High Commissioner said she was “very excited” about Mujib Borsho – the birth centenary celebration of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
“We wanted to do a lot of things together,” she said, adding that India has given books written on Bangabandhu to 100 colleges and universities marking the year.
India also took initiative to release a commemorative stamp in New Delhi on Bangabandhu.
The High Commissioner said post-Covid world would give “more opportunities” to the two neighbours to collaborate and cooperate further.
She is expected to leave Dhaka after the foreign ministers’ level talk – 6th Bangladesh-India Joint Consultative Commission (JCC) – to be held on September 29.
Due to a pandemic, they decided to hold the meeting virtually.