Latest news with #BangladeshIndustrialDevelopmentAuthority
India.com
3 days ago
- Business
- India.com
Pakistan's friend Turkey to make weapons in Bangladesh? Yunus regime in talks with Ankara to..., concern for India because...
(File) Bangladesh Turkey relations: In a concerning development for India, Turkey, which openly supported Pakistan, and even supplied the enemy forces with advanced military drones during the recent India-Pakistan conflict, is in talks with the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government in Bangladesh to build defence industrial complexes in Chittagong and Narayanganj. BIDA chief visits Turkey, discusses defence cooperation According to media reports, the proposed defence cooperation between Ankara and Dhaka was discussed at length during the recent five-day visit of Bangladesh Industrial Development Authority chief Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun to Turkey, that also included a trip to the Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation (Makine ve Kimya Endüstrisi)– a state-owned arms industry located in Kirikkale in Turkey's Central Anatolia region. As per reports in the Bangladeshi media, Harun's visit was aimed developing deeper strategic Bangladesh-Turkey defence relations, discuss co-production of weapons, technology transfer, and capacity building. The Bangladeshi official and his colleagues reportedly received classified briefings on the MKE manufacturing floor, testing site and artillery systems, energy and small arms manufacturing. Notably, Bangladesh purchased 18 MKE Boran 105 mm howitzer units last year, and plans to acquire an additional 200 units of the Turkish-made artillery gun in the near future. Additionally, Dhaka is also mulling to purchase the Otokar Tulpar light tanks from Turkey. Bangladesh-Turkey defence relations Bangladesh-Turkey defence ties strengthened under the Sheikh Hasina regime in 2018 when Dhaka procured 15 different types of military hardware, including Bayraktar TB2 drones, from Ankara. Dhaka's latest engagement with the Turkish arms industry is aimed at boosting the defence cooperation between the two nations to a whole new level, that includes industrial integration and technology transfer for Bangladesh. Reports claim that formal talks to set to begin to materialise a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), besides institutionalizing a defence industrial working group, between the two countries. The development comes at a time when India-Pakistan tensions are at a fever pitch post Operation Sindoor, which was conducted by Indian Armed Forces to avenge last month's barbaric Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians in Kashmir valley. Experts have noted that the entry of Turkey, which has emerged as an anti-India force after supporting Pakistan in the recent conflict– in India's eastern neighbourhood, is a matter of major concern for New Delhi, especially during the current situation.
India.com
25-05-2025
- Business
- India.com
Bangladesh in big trouble due to Yunus government's decision..., says India doesn't have...
Bangladesh in big trouble due to Yunus government's decision…, says India doesn't have… India-Bangladesh News: Amid the ongoing tensions with India, Bangladesh Industrial Development Authority (BIDA) Chairman Ashik Chowdhury made a statement that can further impact the relationship between the two countries. He said that India has no economic zone in Mirsarai in Chittagong district, adding that such initiatives exist only on paper. However, earlier, Dhaka had welcomed New Delhi's investment in Mirsarai. Notably, India had approved a loan of USD 115 million to build infrastructure in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Industrial City's 900 acres of land. Bangladesh's Statement On Indian Project Chaudhry stated that the Indian Economic Zone is only written on paper, and no significant work has been done here. 'If we look at the main plan of the Mirsarai Economic Zone, it was planned for 33,000 acres of land. We have reduced it to 10,000 to 15,000 acres in the first phase. We do not need that much land. We can consider the remaining land in two or three phases,' Chaudhry said. 'The Indian Economy Zone here is only written on paper. It was part of the main plan, but no significant work was done on it,' he added. He said that there has been no development on this project since the interim government of Muhammad Yunus came to power in August last year (2024), The Project Is In 'Complete Suspension' Ashik Chowdhury said that the project is in a state of complete suspension, adding that Chittagong Port is the port of all Bangladesh; rather, it is very important for the entire South Asia, including the northeastern states of India, Nepal, and Bhutan. It is worth noting that India-Bangladesh relations deteriorated following Mohammad Yunus's comments on the northeastern states in front of China earlier this year. New Delhi banned Indian land ports for several goods from Bangladesh. India has banned the import of goods such as readymade garments, carbonated drinks, snacks, cotton and cotton yarn from Bangladesh through road routes. Earlier, Bangladesh had banned the import of yarn from India through land routes.
NDTV
22-05-2025
- Business
- NDTV
No Indian Economic Zone In Bangladesh's Mirsarai: Official Amid Dip In Ties
There is no Indian Economic Zone in Bangladesh's Mirsarai Economic Zone and the idea of having one exists only on "pen and paper", Bangladesh Industrial Development Authority (BIDA) Chairman Ashik Chowdhury has said, amid a strain in ties between the two countries. Earlier, the Bangladesh Economic Zone Authority (BEZA) had welcomed Indian investment in the Indian Economic Zone project in Mirsarai, a town in Chattogram district in the neighbouring country. In 2020, India had approved $115 million in principle under the third line of credit to support the project with an aim to create infrastructure on a 900-acre of land in the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Industrial City. "I know there is confusion over whether in the Mirsarai Economic Zone, there is an Indian Economic Zone or not. If you look at the original master plan of the Mirsarai Economic Zone, the plan was for 33,000 acres. We have cut down that in Phase 1 and reduced it to 10,000 to 15,000 acres. I believe that we do not need so much space. We can look at the rest in the second or the third phase," Mr Chowdhury said. "What is usually said about the Indian Economic Zone, that is only an economic zone on pen and paper. This was there in the original master plan but there was no progress or significant work done on this. The area marked in the master plan is a forest area. Practically, there is no progress or set up there, so there is a lot of misconception about this in the public domain. I had clarified earlier and I am clarifying again that there is no activity that has happened there," he added. The BIDA Chairman said that after the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government took charge in August last year, there was no progress on the project. "It is a complete pause or in a postponement position... The Chittagong Port is not just Chittagong's port. It is entire Bangladesh's port, and we are saying it is for the entire South Asia and even the seven sisters and Nepal and Bhutan. For everyone, it is primary," he said. The BIDA official's remarks came amid declining relations between India and Bangladesh since last year, after the latter failed to contain attacks on minorities, especially Hindus, in the country. Bilateral ties further nosedived after Dhaka's pitch to China on Northeast India earlier this year, prompting New Delhi to impose a slew of curbs on that country. In March, Bangladesh interim government's Chief Advisor Mohammad Yunus said Dhaka is the "only guardian of the ocean" for landlocked Northeast India, evoking a sharp reaction from New Delhi and its political leaders. On April 9, India withdrew the transhipment facility it had granted to Bangladesh for exporting various items to the Middle East, Europe and various other countries, except Nepal and Bhutan. Days later on April 13, yarn exports from India across landports were stopped and Indian shipments were subjected to rigorous inspections on entry to Bangladesh. On May 17, India imposed port restrictions on the import of certain goods, such as readymade garments and processed food items, from Bangladesh, in response to similar curbs placed by Dhaka on certain Indian products last month. Reacting to Mr Yunus's remarks, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said: "...No country should be under the impression that it can take over the Chicken's Neck. The World has seen India's military prowess during Operation Sindoor." The Chicken's Neck, known as the Siliguri Corridor, is a narrow strip of land, measuring around 22 km-35 km in width, that connects the northeast region with the rest of India. "We have one Chicken's Neck. But Bangladesh has two Chicken Necks. If Bangladesh attacks our Chicken's Neck, we will attack both the Chicken Necks of Bangladesh," Mr Sarma said, referring to a narrow corridor that connects the rest of Bangladesh to Chittagong, its largest port city. Chittagong has seen trouble in the past and Bangladesh seems to suggest that India's Northeast is solely dependent on access to the Chittagong port. India has already announced a new four-lane highway from Shillong in Meghalaya to Silchar in Assam. The Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Transport Project in Myanmar is set to connect the Kolkata port to Sittwe port on the Kaladan river in Rakhine state. The Sittwe port will be connected to Paletwa in Myanmar through an inland waterway, the Kaladan River and finally to Zorinpui on the southernmost tip of Mizoram, through a road section. Once Mizoram is connected to Sittwe, the rest of the Northeast can easily access the sea.
