Agartala, Feb. 4: The Bangladesh government is clearing the decks for allowing India to have direct access to Chittagong port in response to a long-standing Indian demand. This will pave the way for transit of Indian goods from the mainland across Bangladesh to the northeastern states of India.
A senior official of the Bangladesh government who is currently on a visit to Tripura, said bilateral talks for India's access to Chittagong port had been held over the past several years and now the Bangladesh government is all set to take a decision.
"A detailed guideline in this regard to be officially known as 'standard operating procedure' is being prepared and now only finishing touches are being provided to the document. A high-level meeting will be held in Dhaka in March to finalise the process," the official said.
He added that the approval of the standard operating procedure in the joint India-Bangladesh meeting would be followed by signing of a bilateral agreement to pave the way for India's access to Chittagong port.
The official said Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina wants a joint consortium, comprising official representatives of India and Bangladesh, to be formed to oversee the operational side of access to and use of Chittagong port.
The Centre has been pressing Bangladesh for the right over the last five years. In view of the trade boom that the move may stimulate, Hasina is now keen to grant this facility which will help South Asia.
"Actually what is uppermost in the thinking of the Bangladesh government is not only to help India but also get rich revenues that Bangladesh will earn by allowing access to Chittagong port," said the official of the revenue ministry.
During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Bangladesh in June last year, the issue of Indian access to Chittagong and Mongla ports was discussed between the two countries and an MoU was signed. Now the final shape of the standard operating procedure and signing of a bilateral agreement in its wake will clear the decks for Chittagong port to be used by India.
