Introduction

Recent years have witnessed a shift in regional economic cooperation strategy from multilateral to bilateral cooperation agreements (ADB, 2006a). Several region-wide economic liberalization and cooperation initiatives, such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in East Asia and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in South Asia, are prominent, but complete realization of their objectives remains unfulfilled. Aggressive and increasing bilateral trade and investment accords are confirming a shift from a regional emphasis on multilateralism to a drift away from multilateralism. This trend is raising concern that regional economic cooperation and integration could suffer. However, if bilateral cooperation and integration is pursued in a way it becomes compatible to the wider aims of regional economic integration, this could be a stepping stone and a necessary step toward regional or subregional accords.

The South Asian subcontinent is home of about 39% of world’s extremely poor people (428.4 million in 2001), far exceeding the Sub-Saharan African average (315.8 million in 2001).¹ The majority is concentrated in the eastern part of South Asia, an area comprising Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and the eastern and northeastern states of India. This subregion represents the greatest challenge in the fight against poverty. However, because of the region's unique endowment of resources, it can be transformed into a leading subregion of economic growth.

In recent years, South Asia has received growing attention as a region that is integrating successfully into the global economy. Free trade agreements (FTAs) of the SAARC (SAFTA) and Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) will likely boost economic integration not only in South and Southeast Asia but also between the two regions. However, to maximize the benefits in terms of faster growth and poverty reduction, the South Asian region needs to strengthen regional and bilateral cooperation in several areas, together with ambitious structural reforms to entrench macroeconomic stability and ensure an attractive and conducive environment for investment. Closer and properly planned bilateral cooperation among countries will strengthen the regional cooperation and integration process (e.g., SAARC and BIMSTEC) and help ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of their activities.

Sluggish progress in multilateral trade negotiations under the Doha Development Round appears to have further accelerated the rush to forge regional cooperation. In general, regional trade agreement activities have intensified across the world. There is an increasing trend toward regional cooperation and integration, such as bilateral and regional preferential trade agreements in Asia and in other regions, particularly the expanded European Union (EU), and North American integration, namely, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). In Asia, the major regional and/or subregional economic cooperation programs include ASEAN, SAARC, Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Economic Cooperation Program, South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC), and BIMSTEC. In South Asia, India and Bangladesh belong to several regional and subregional economic cooperation programs, such as SAARC, SASEC, and BIMSTEC.

The slow progress of the SAARC has forced South Asian countries to pursue bilateral FTAs. For example, India signed bilateral FTAs with Bhutan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka in South Asia, and with Thailand and Singapore in Southeast Asia. India is also negotiating a bilateral FTA with Bangladesh. Sri Lanka concluded an FTA with Pakistan in 2005. Negotiations on a bilateral FTA between Bangladesh and Pakistan are also progressing.

A discussion on bilateral relations between India and Bangladesh is clearly justified when their growing interdependence in industry and trade is considered. According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB, 2006b), intra-regional trade and investment offer immense opportunities for accelerating growth and reducing poverty in South Asia. India could become a hub for stimulating the growth of intra-industry trade in the region and boost the inflow of foreign investment to South Asia. At the same time, in view of several regional and subregional cooperation programs involving India and Bangladesh, bilateral economic cooperation and integration between these two economies is a necessary step for a longterm construction of an integrated South Asia. This will provide the basic foundation for a more effective SAARC in moving toward more free market and trade-oriented policies.

India and Bangladesh are good neighbors. Notwithstanding the development that India and Bangladesh have witnessed in recent years, the two countries together still contain a large number of extremely poor people living on one dollar a day.² This is the real challenge posed before the two countries. Although they are situated in a region endowed with vast resources, they have failed to convert these resources into productive and collective wealth in an accelerating manner.

Together India and Bangladesh boast a total population of more than 1 billion, and their rapid domestic economic development has demonstrated broad prospects for cooperation. However, as Nag points out,³

"India’s economic performance in the past two decades has been remarkable, but closer subregional integration would help the country and its neighbors to achieve their full economic potential."

India and Bangladesh are still characterized by a low level of economic integration, despite the fact that their economies are complementary to a large extent and stand to benefit substantially from economic integration. However, compared with their strength, there still exists much potential for developing trade and economic relations between the two countries.

This paper discusses the emerging trends in India–Bangladesh economic cooperation and integration, and various prospects and opportunities for strengthening their relationship in the context of South Asian regional cooperation. The paper attempts to identify the potential for economic cooperation in different segments of trading infrastructure. It also reviews the prevailing profile of the transport infrastructure sector of India and Bangladesh. Finally, underlining the importance of trade facilitation in the growth of bilateral and regional cooperation, the paper concludes with few remarks on policies to deepen economic integration.

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