India-US dialogue: USA Mantris Receive Lessons on India’s Regional Perspective
This year’s 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue, an annual event being organized by the India and USA since 2018 The dialogue was represented by the ministers for External Affairs and Defence, of both the countries. There had been a lot of speculation in various Capitals about the dialogue, despite the fact that it was a bilateral meeting between India and the US.
The dialogue drew massive media attention in Bangladesh due to the upcoming general elections. The US did announce its visa policy to ensure free and fair elections in Bangladesh. On the other hand, India maintained that the election would be held as per scheduled.
However nothing on Bangladesh was mentioned in the joint statement after the meeting on Friday. This indicates a “ shut up call “ to the Mantris from Washington.
Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra, replying to a question at the briefing, said they had “very clearly” shared their “perspective” on Bangladesh as they discussed “very extensively regional issues”.
It is not our (India) space to comment on the policy of a third country. The election in Bangladesh is their internal matter, and it is for the people of Bangladesh to decide their future,” Kwatra said when asked further.
“We, as close friends and partners of Bangladesh, respect the democratic process in Bangladesh and will continue to support the country’s vision of a stable, peaceful, and progressive nation.”
Dhaka Tribune talked to international affairs experts to understand the meaning of the message that India had conveyed to the US during the Bangladesh elections.
The former Bangladesh ambassador and permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, Md Abdul Hannan, told Dhaka Tribune that this Bangladesh and India relationship was “special, continuous, multidimensional, futuristic, and strategic. In the meantime, both Bangladesh and India achieved tremendous progress in connectivity, trade, investment, and people-to-people contact”.
He said: “Indian foreign secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra clearly mentioned non-interference in Bangladesh’s democratic process, meaning they may not like others’ interference in this process. In the context of India’s relations with Bangladesh—a ‘neighbour first’, a friend, and a strategic partner—the issue of ‘interference’ may be a concern for India.”
The former envoy explained, referring to the statement of the Indian foreign secretary, that the prospect of rising terrorism was also a serious concern in terms of its impact on India.
“I think India gave a clear message to the US about its relations with Bangladesh. Positively, the US understood the same very well. The US earlier insisted on free and fair elections in Bangladesh. Now, they added an element of violence-free elections, recommending a dialogue. Therefore, it may be considered that the US will not go for a punitive measure after the elections but rather will extend support to continue the democratic process violence-free.
“Definitely, both the US and Bangladesh value their relations in terms of development partnerships. In the prism of Indo-Pacific, Quad, and greater geopolitical competitions in the region, it is natural that the US would not do anything that would concern India, with whom the US attaches the greatest importance in terms of strategic partnership,” he added.
Professor of International Relations at Jahangirnagar University, Shahab Enam Khan, appreciated India’s concern, but he believes that this is not going to change the American position in Bangladesh.
“First of all, this is India’s internal matter, and it is a part of India’s foreign policy engagement with the United States. So therefore, it is absolutely within their internal jurisdiction, and I don’t think it essentially reflects Bangladesh’s interest to a great extent,” he told Dhaka Tribune.
“What I mean is basically that Bangladesh doesn’t really require third-party assistance for various reasons. It’s a very confident country. It is balanced between the United States and China. What is very important for Bangladesh is certainly to appreciate at least India’s effort. But, however, this is not going to fundamentally change the American position.
“The American position will only change through Bangladesh and the United States bilateral extensive engagement, and I think we’re heading towards that path,” he said.
Regarding democracy and elections, Prof Enam said there are plenty of issues that are yet to be resolved. And I guess it is not only on the part of the ruling party; other political parties have an equal role.
“So, I’m quite sure the Americans are also observing that, particularly the recent fiasco that we have seen across the country, has not given any good example to the rest of the world. I’m quite sure both the government and the opposition will take note of it, and on many social media sites, we are now seeing election-related misconduct.
“Well, these are the things that we’ll be ruling our relationship with the Americans in terms of election and democracy.
“But overall, economic relations are going to be astronomically bigger. The United States is and perhaps is going to be the largest foreign direct investment country in Bangladesh.”
Explaining India’s concern and America’s position, Prof Enam said: “These are hard realities. So, I think, while we appreciate India’s concern, I don’t think that this is necessarily going to change the American position. And the last important point is obviously Bangladesh’s internal economic growth.
“So, which is again going to be a critical factor, and every country now has come to the consensus that it is the people who will decide the course of Bangladesh’s elections, politics, and many other issues.”
Inputs from Dhaka Tribune
