India once secured the right to run a terminal at Mongla Port. The deal adds to India’s long-held concerns over China’s growing presence in Bangladesh, especially in projects first discussed with Delhi. Now Bangladesh has signed a $335.78 million loan agreement with China’s Export-Import Bank to expand and modernise it.
Alia Meher, joint secretary of the Economic Relations Division (ERD), and Fengjun Tian, assistant general manager of EXIM Bank of China, signed the agreement on October 10 on behalf of their respective governments, a Bangladesh government press statement said.
The loan will pay for two container terminals equipped with modern machinery. It follows an understanding reached during Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s visit to China in June this year. This is part of the agreement. READ | Bangladesh-China Joint Statement, Mongla Port’s Implications For India Decoded This was seen as a significant strategic win in India’s efforts to counter China’s influence in the Indian Ocean region. However, the joint statement issued after Tarique Rahman’s visit to China put both the Teesta and Mongla plans firmly in China’s hands. He expressed hope that others would extend the same interpretive generosity.
The state-run news agency, China has confirmed concessional financing for the project at an interest rate of 2 per cent, according to the Bangladesh Sangbad Sanstha (BSS). Alia Meher, joint secretary of the Economic Relations Division (ERD), and Fengjun Tian, assistant general manager of EXIM Bank of China, signed the agreement on October 10 on behalf of their respective governments, a Bangladesh government press statement said.
Speaking to NDTV earlier this year on India-Bangladesh ties, Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman said Dhaka did not see its foreign policy as a zero-sum game. “Our relationship with other countries is not a problem,” he said. “Our development partnership with Bangladesh is guided by a mutually agreed roadmap, which is reviewed periodically,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had said.
