One more flat tyre

Afsan Chowdhury is a Bangladeshi liberation war researcher, columnist and journalist.

Published on

Atal Behari Vajpayee's South Asian 'road transport' diplomacy, begun with his much-hailed trip to Lahore, has been deflated, as it were, by the bangs of big guns going off in Kargil. Meanwhile, to the region's east, it doesn't at all appear that his second innings at bus diplomacy, this time with the Dhaka-Calcutta service, will smoothen out India-Bangladesh relations as some thought it would.

The recent trade talks between the two countries were a downbeat exchange, and as things stand, there is little chance of Bangladesh improving the balance of trade that continues to tilt massively towards India. The meeting between Sheikh Hasina and Vajpayee in Dhaka recorded discrepancies, reflecting political realities which both sides still don't appear ready to deal with. Both leaders met exclusively for less than half an hour followed by the official meeting which lasted only 20 minutes.

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