| Summary/Abstract |
India and Bangladesh have made significant progress on several matters, all of which certainly merit applause. However, more interesting is the progress made on sub-regional cooperation in the region. The bilateral connectivity will, no doubt, expand in the region, with other states like Nepal and Bhutan benefitting from the access to two Bangladeshi ports as well as trade through the Indian corridor. Matters of water sharing, trade and commerce, including energy, will soon go much beyond the bilateral prism. The recent motor vehicle agreement signed between Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal is just a first but critical step towards a sub regional initiative that has gathered momentum amongst the South Asian neighbours. Certainly bilateral matters will continue to dominate and be seen as more critical between any two neighbours. The sub-regional cooperation process will ensure that incentives to find resolutions to certain outstanding bilateral matters will assume greater salience.
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