Bangladesh has cancelled a Rs 180 crore contract with an Indian firm.
According to several media reports, Dhaka has cancelled the tender with a Kolkata-based defence company to build an ocean-going tug for its navy.
The development points to yet another sign of worsening ties between the two countries since the ouster of Sheikh Hasina in August 2024.The new interim government being led by Muhammad Yunus, meanwhile, has moved closer to China.
It comes after India on Saturday imposing port restrictions on the import of certain goods such as readymade garments and processed food items from Bangladesh.That came after Yunus made a controversial statement in China that India’s seven northeastern states, which share a nearly 1,600 km border with Bangladesh, are landlocked and have no way to reach the ocean except through his country.
Yunus called Bangladesh the “guardian of the ocean” in the region.
His remarks did not go down well in New Delhi .
But what happened? Will this hurt Bangladesh more than India?
Let’s take a closer look
What happened?
Bangladesh cancelled the $21 million order (Rs 180 crore) with Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd (GRSE).
GRSE is run by the ministry of defence.
It counts the Indian Navy and Coast Guard among its clients.
“We wish to inform you that the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh has cancelled the order,” GRSE told the stock exchange.
It was to be equipped with a high bollard pull capacity—76 tons ahead and 50 tons astern—and a speed of at least 13 knots.
The vessel was intended to tow vessels over long distances, provide berthing assistance, conduct rescue missions, carry out salvage operations, firefighting, and limited pollution control on the open seas.
The deal was signed between GSRE representatives and senior officials of the Bangladesh’s Navy in Dhaka in July 2024.
It came in the backdrop of Navy chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi visiting Bangladesh to strengthen defence ties.
It was also the first major deal inked under the $500-million line of credit for defence purchases extended by New Delhi to Dhaka that was operationalised in 2023.
Bangladesh’s other infrastructure projects are also being built with lines of credit from India – which had heavily invested in Bangladesh under Hasina.
As per ETV Bharat, India in the past eight years had extended Bangladesh three lines of credit worth around $8 billion.
