India, Bangladesh Sign Defence Industrial Partnership Deal

July 2, 2024

Since Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s trip to India in June, the two countries’ military cooperation has come a long way. This visit paved the way for a stronger defense relationship between the two countries.

Contract for Oceangoing Tug

The Bangladesh Navy’s decision to buy an 800-ton oceangoing tug that was “Made in India” is a big result of this better defense cooperation. The Indian company Garden Reach Shipbuilding & Engineers Ltd (GRSE) made this ship, and India is paying for it with a line of credit. The deal is timed to go along with Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi’s trip to Bangladesh as India’s Chief of Naval Staff.

Vessel Capabilities

Tow ships, helping with berthing and casting off, and do rescue and salvage work are just some of the important jobs that the oceangoing tug is built to do. It can change its position on the water even in rough conditions, like sea state 5. This shows that it has advanced maritime skills with strong features like firefighting and some pollution control.

Broader Defence Cooperation Framework

The agreement comes after GRSE signed a new deal to send a Trailing Suction Hopper (TSH) dredger to Bangladesh. This shows that companies working together on defense gear are becoming more common. During PM Hasina’s visit, India and Bangladesh signed several deals that strengthened their relationship in areas such as space, telecommunications, maritime security, and the ocean economy. The fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed Bangladesh to the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative shows how important these deals are from a strategic point of view. Along with important cooperation against terrorism, ongoing joint military exercises, medical aid, and training programs strengthen the defense links. Both countries want to keep the region stable and build strong bilateral ties in a strategically important South Asian area, so they are working to improve their defense-industrial relations.

About the India-Bangladesh Defence Partnership

Bilateral Defense Agreement and Joint Exercises: Since they signed a bilateral defense agreement in 2017, India and Bangladesh’s military relationship has grown a lot. Joint military drills like “Sampriti,” which focus on counterterrorism and disaster management, are an example of a collaborative effort.
Coordinated Maritime Patrols: The Indian Navy and the Bangladesh Navy have started patrolling together along the sea border they share to make it safer and build trust. Both countries also take part in the annual trilateral naval exercise “IN-BN-THAI CORPAT” with Thailand, which improves maritime cooperation in the area.
Economic and Strategic Support: India gave Bangladesh a $500 million Line of Credit in 2019 to buy military equipment. This showed that India supports Bangladesh economically as well as strategically. These projects are part of a strong framework that aims to improve stability and safety in the area.

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