India-Bangladesh Relations A Special Journey and the Way Forward

We are happy to present the Report “Bangladesh @50—India-Bangladesh Relations: A Special Journey and the Way Forward” prepared by the Asian Confluence to mark 50 years of Independence of Bangladesh and also of India-Bangladesh friendly relations. This release of the Report is significant as Indian Prime Minister joins Bangladesh Prime Minister in their celebrations and also to celebrate 50 years of India-Bangladesh relations. Bangladesh@ 50 is not just a celebration of an event—birth of a nation—it is a celebration of the spirit of freedom and of sustaining democratic values in the face of great odds. For Bangladesh, it is also a celebration of something more important—of optimism— in coming out of the shadows of abject poverty to carve out a growth story full of hope for the future. The Report is not only timely it is also very relevant. It has great implications for the North Eastern Region (NER) of India. Successive Prime Ministers of India have described the NER as the gateway to Southeast Asia. Prime Minister Modi has expressed the hope that NER will be the growth engine for the country. NER also has very high expectations from the Act East Policy. Bangladesh plays a key role in fulfilment of NER’s expectations from the Act East Policy. India-Bangladesh pragmatic cooperation has paid well in scaling up economic development in NER.