Diplomatist Magazine Diplomatist October 2019

INDIA & THE WORLD resources and to provide for the suppression of piracy, armed robbery, theft and to make provisions for punishment and for matters connected therewith’. Port logistics as bedrock for commercial linkages India has 13 major ports out of which, seven are located along the country’s eastern coast, including the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The ports namely, Kolkata–Haldia, Paradip, Visakhapatnam and Chennai are crucial for India’s maritime trade with Bangladesh. It is noteworthy in this context that in the year 2016-17 within the Kolkata port, the Kolkata dock recorded the highest export ﬁ gure of 17, 79, 766 tonnes (dry, breakbulk and containers) while the Haldia dock recorded the highest import ﬁ gure of 17, 682 tonnes (general cargo and containers) amongst all the major ports on India’s east coast. These facts of the ﬂ ow of cargo and containers clearly show the importance of proximity and age-old trade linkages. Two major ports handle international cargo in Bangladesh - Chittagong and Mongla (at Khulna) - with the former being the principal seaport located on the banks of the Karnafuli River. To meet the growing demands of the economy and relieve the pressure on these two ports, a new port, Payra, was inaugurated at Patuakhali. Like Payra, the port at Matarbari will also help to clear the tailback faced at the Chittagong and Mongla ports and it is expected that once completed, Matarbari port can compete with Colombo in terms of transshipment. Further, a plan prevails to build another deep- sea port (now stalled), at Sonadia under the Bay of Bengal Industrial Growth Belt or Big-B initiative.. Maritime transport is the most cost and energy-eﬃ cient mode of transportation in the world, and shipping industries play a key role in establishing and sustaining commerce and growth. Acknowledging this fact, talks for enhancing maritime connectivity between India and Bangladesh have been underway for some time now, with the Coastal Shipping Agreement (CSA) being in discussion since 2012. The CSA signed between India and Bangladesh, launched at the New Mooring container terminal at Chittagong Port, is to enhance bilateral trade through ports directly, as opposed to having goods shipped via Colombo, Singapore or Klang, which was the process followed prior to the agreement. It has also made way for Indian goods reaching the Chittagong Port to be delivered to India’s Northeast. For instance, cargo from Kolkata to Chittagong or Mongla can be delivered through multimodal transport (rail, road or inland waterways) to either destination within Bangladesh or India’s Northeast. Bangladesh has allowed the use of the following routes for such purpose: Chittagong/Mongla to Agartala (Tripura), Chittagong/Mongla to Dawki (Meghalaya) and Chittagong/ Mongla to Sutarkandi (Assam). Bangladesh vessels are registered in India as river-sea vessels, by virtue of which it is subject to some relaxations reserved for Indian coastal vessels. This has promoted trade between India and Bangladesh. Nevertheless, the number of ships must be increased on the coastal shipping route. As of now, only container traﬃ c is prevalent, and there is a need to introduce cargo ships as well, which will help in the reduction of prices. Though India and Bangladesh opened direct shipping since 2016 the cargo volume didn’t grow to the expected levels due to congestion at Chittagong port in Bangladesh. Recently, Bangladeshi shipping lines have started moving containerised cargo from Kolkata to the inland river port at Pangaon but the volume still remains quite low. As of now Pangaon (26 Km away from Narayanganj on river Sitalakkha) is the only inland container terminal (ICT) in Bangladesh. Currently, rice, crude oil, leather, cosmetics, medicines, plastic is being ferried by Indian vessels to Bangladesh. Exporting cargos like food grains, raw material for garments via sea routes may be explored by the Indian side to make bilateral trade more dynamic. 44 • Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist • Vol 7 • Issue 10 • October 2019, Noida

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