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Dhaka, Delhi keen to sink differences, boost economic cooperation

PALLAB BHATTACHARYA, New Delhi
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India and Bangladesh appear to have agreed not to let their differences to come in the way of boosting economic cooperation.
This was the single most important message sent by the high-level political contacts Bangladesh's Finance Minister M Saifur Rahman had with the Indian leadership during his just-concluded four-day visit to New Delhi.
The message came as a change of heart after months of bitter acrimony between the two countries following India's allegation of the presence of 'Indian Al Qaeda elements in Bangladesh' and 'large-scale illegal immigration from that country' and Bangladesh's persistent denial.
But during Rahman's talks with the Indian leaders, including Prime
Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, Finance Minister Jaswant Singh, External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha, both sides were understood to have shown the willingness to move forward with trade and economic cooperation and not allow their ties to be stuck in differences.
This does not mean the contentious bilateral issues were swept under the carpet, said highly placed sources. Both sides, however, recognised that they can move ahead in areas where there is convergence of views.
The differences on illegal immigration did figure in Rahman's
talks with Indian leaders, but it was in a "passing reference", said the sources.
The keenness to turn around bilateral ties was reflected as much in Rahman's declaration that Bangladesh was willing to consider India's suggestion for a free trade agreement to help overcome trade deficit as was in New Delhi's decision to extend the validity of a credit line of Rs 200 crore.
The proposal for free trade accord is a key component of India's regional trade diplomacy to overcome hassles of negotiations for tariff and non-tariff concessions on products and the consequent bitterness that creep into bilateral ties from these, the sources said.
The two countries also agreed on some other measures to help
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improve bilateral trade and movement of people across the border like toning up storage facilities at trading points on both sides of the border, quick introduction of bus service between Agartala and Dhaka and movement of people by train.
India is disappointed with Bangladesh's inability to take a decision on the export of natural gas, but there is no hard feeling. In fact, India is appreciative of the political whirlwind in which a sound economic proposition has got caught in Bangladesh.
That disappointment would not affect India's emphasis on economic diplomacy was mirrored when Yashwant Sinha is understood to have told Rahman during a meeting on Thursday morning that if Bangladesh utilises its gas resources for its industrial projects, Indian companies with technical knowhow would be keen to invest in them.
In fact, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the apex body of Indian industries, also showed appreciation of the political sensitivity involved in Bangladesh's possible decision to export gas when Rahman addressed the body.
The CII sent an important signal to the Indian government when its international Vice-President Arun Bharat Ram said that the CII would try to convince Indian entrepreneurs to accept zero duty import of certain items from Bangladesh provided there is a 30 per cent value addition to them on the model of India-Nepal
trade agreement.
The Indian government had faced protests from a section of affected businessmen at home at the time of the finalisation of the India-Nepal accord last year.
Before Rahman went into talks with the Indian leadership, both New Delhi and Dhaka recognised that the exercise had wide ramification for the future economic ties, especially the Joint Economic Commission's meeting to be presided over by their foreign ministers in July.
Analysts here point out that despite the bad blood created by trading of charges between the two governments following India's security concerns over "elements" in Bangladesh and "illegal immigration", bilateral institutional mechanisms remained activated.
Yashwant Sinha had visited Dhaka in August last year and it was followed by commerce secretarylevel talks in the Bangladesh capital and in New Delhi. Indian Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal also visited Dhaka last month for regular foreign office-level consultations and the BSF-BDR biennial meetings also took place.
But it remains to be seen if and when the summit-level interaction between the neighbours takes place. Saifur Rahman renewed Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's invitation to her Indian counterpart Atal Behari Vajpayee for a bilateral visit to Bangladesh.
Vajpayee, in his turn, invited Khaleda for a visit to India.