Business and trade

Relations between Bangladesh and India have always been rocky. In the past decade alone, hundreds of people from the two neighboring countries have been killed due to sporadic border clashes. Now there is hope that a new border market might ease the tensions.

The border market, also called the Border Haat, was inaugurated on the 23rd July by the Bangladeshi Minister of Commerce Muhammad Faruk Khan and his Indian counterpart Anand Sharma. Both countries are hopeful that the market might help to facilitate lasting peace in the area.

People-to-people contact

Professor Akmal Hossain, professor of International Relations at Dhaka University, believes the market is a step in the right direction. He considers it a positive move in terms of people-to-people contact.

Bangladesh has a bilateral trade agreement with India, which was signed on January 11, 2010. It allows Bangladesh to import goods from India for up to three billion US dollars annually and India to import items from Bangladesh for up to 500 million US dollars. However, the trade agreement does not include this new border market.

The 'Cow Corridor'

About the goods that are being traded at the border market, Dr. Navnita Behera, professor of Political Science at Delhi University, said that there wasn't much variety to the items that were being traded at the border market. "The Indo-Bangladeshi border is famous for its 'Cow Corridor,'" says Behera. "In India the killing of cows is not generally permitted because of religious beliefs, whereas in Bangladesh there is a big market for beef. So what people on the Indian side do is allow their cows to cross over the border."

Among the goods offered at the market are sugarcane, garments, fruits and vegetables and crockery. The vendors are not allowed to trade machinery, luxury items or meat.

Improving relations

Both courtiers are optimistic that the market will help improve their relations. Professor Akmal Hossain calls the market a great opportunity, saying, "if we can enhance such contact among the people then at one point the people will be able to influence their governments in a very positive way. Then we might have a better understanding of each other."

Behera, on the other hand, seems skeptical that the market will have much influence. "The question is how much pressure these traders can exert on their governments - can they play a role is building bridges," when the decisions are "made by the ruling elite?"

Author: Marina Joarder
Editor: Sarah Berning