NEW DELHI, Jan 11: In a bid to strengthen connectivity in the North East, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Dhaka in March, his first foreign visit ever since the outbreak of COVID-19.
Keeping this in mind, Bangladesh Foreign Secretary, Masud Bin Momen, is likely to fly to Delhi on January 28 for a meeting.
Discussions are likely to be held on enhancing trade and connectivity, expediting implementation of the Indian LoC projects, stopping border killing and sharing water of common rivers.
Besides, proposal to provide a corridor from West Bengal to the Northeastern parts of India is also under discussion, sources said.
Myanmar, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal can also be accommodated in the regional connectivity schemes for them to benefit out of the deep seaports as well as enhance economic activities.
India and Bangladesh are set to inaugurate a new railway line that will resume transborder railway connectivity between the two countries after 55 years, which will also serve as a way for India to bolster its connectivity to Chicken’s Neck, also called the Siliguri Corridor.
The new railway line will connect West Bengal to Chilahati across the border. On paper, the route will serve to better trade.
On the ground, the 75-kilometre-long railway line will bring the rest of India a little closer to the Chicken’s Neck to counter China’s growing aggressiveness in the North East.
Chicken’s Neck is a point of strategic anxiety for India and, in the past, Nath-La Pass and Doklam have served as the stage for the two Asian giants to battle their claims.
The strategic anxiety around the region is only heightened by China’s continued road and airstrip construction activities on its side of the border, which could allow it to mobilise rapidly in the region.
Cognizant of the threat, the area is constantly patrolled by entities including the Indian Army, Assam Rifles, Border Security Force and the West Bengal Police.
Albeit Modi has had virtual summits with his Bangladesh counterpart, he had deferred his trip to the neighbouring country owing to the pandemic.
