Myanmar-India gas pipeline

If the pipeline is built bypassing Bangladesh territory, Bangladesh will gain nothing. The status of the bilateral issues with India will remain the same as it stands today. India and Myanmar will derive benefits from the pipeline while Bangladesh will stand as a spectator. Contrarily, if Bangladesh does not include other bilateral issues with India to be discussed and accepts the pipeline through its territory, we shall earn reportedly around US$125-500 million a year as transit fees of gas that is no small amount of money for Bangladesh.

One major problem of Bangladesh-India dispute non-settlement is that India always emphasises upon bilateral discussion and Bangladesh always puts all the disputes at a time. If any issue involves more than two countries, what is the harm to India if it is discussed in the full forum? India did not allow Nepal to be included in the discussion on Ganges water disputes, although Nepal could do immense help building water reservoirs in Nepal's territory. In fact, welfare of all the people of this region lies in the settlement of these bilateral or trilateral disputes not in the sustenance of those. So, all countries of this region should take realistic measures to solve those issues. Other than appearing with a bundle of issues, Bangladesh should talk with one issue at a time, like allowing its territory for gas pipeline in exchange of the use of Indian transmission lines to import electricity from Bhutan. There are reasons: we shall receive gas transmission fees from India and Myanmar allowing gas pipeline through our territory, and in exchange we shall pay fees to India for electricity transmission from Bhutan. This sounds logical. However, in the case of gas pipeline, even if India does not want to discuss any other issue and does not allow India's electricity transmission line for import of electricity from Bhutan, it is in the interest of Bangladesh to allow gas pipeline through its territory without anything in exchange. We will be getting gas transmission fee that is our benefit. This opportunity must not remain untapped.

People concerned should consider these points.