Bangladesh appreciates that both
Asian countries are ―rising‖ as global
powers and because of this the 21st
century has been designated as
―Asian century‖. At the same time
apprehension emanates from stresses
when Bangladesh is not sure of its
position in the new geopolitical
environment
The ―India factor‖ looms large in
Bangladesh foreign policy as .the
country is surrounded by west, east
and north by India, and on the
south- east it shares border (only
271 kilometre on land and river) with
Myanmar.
Bangladesh-India
relations
are
complex, sensitive and multidimensional. The relationship is not
restricted
to
only
between
governments but exists between
peoples of the two countries
independently of the policies of the
governments because the ties of
history and culture of the two
Since 2009, Bangladesh –India
relations have resulted in many
positive results in many sectors, such
as energy, infrastructure, river
dredging, facility of easy travel bus
and train,
24-hr access of
Bangladeshis to Angorpota and
Dahagram enclave and duty free
access of Bangladesh goods to Indian
market. However the non-signing of
Teesta Water Sharing agreement,
non-ratification of the Land Boundary
agreement and border killing of
Bangladeshis has overshadowed the
positive gains among people.
Relations with China are rooted in
history. During the 4th century
Chinese travelers Fa-hien and in 7th
century Hue-an tsung visited the
territory, now Bangladesh.
The
cultural interaction between China
and Bangladesh dates back to
centuries. A Buddhist monk from
Bangladesh named Atish Dipankar,
traveled to China in the 11th century
and preached Buddhism there for 17
years.
The heads of government of
Bangladesh, irrespective of their
political affiliations, invariably visited
China and met with Chinese leaders
to strengthen relations in every
possible sector.
China has assisted the country,
among others, in infrastructure,
3
All these factors make it absolutely
necessary for Bangladesh to main
friendly and cooperative relations
with both India and China which are
both ―giants‖ in Asia.
countries are so pervasive and from
ancient days.
Page
Bangladesh in cooperation with the
major naval powers is on the process
of addressing non-military maritime
threats, such as piracy, gun -running,
drug and human trafficking, maritime
oil spills and natural disasters.