IBFPP: The G-20 side table discourse merits exclusive passage

Atul Borthakur

(Author is a visiting faculty of Dibrugarh University and retired GM of ONGC. He can be reached at atulborthakur@gmail.com)

The annual G20 summit in the present year is amazingly aerating under the India presidency for building sustainable growth and the strength of multilateralism at large through mutual dialogue. Primarily, deliberation was focused largely on broad macroeconomic issues, but the area of outline is expanded to include, inter alia, trade, climate change, sustainable development, health, agriculture, energy, the environment, climate change, anti-corruption, and the prioritisation of counter-terrorism. The group has vast potentiality to make world geopolitics calm covering developed to poorest of the poor nation. Ongoing summit year 2023, the India presidency spreads the vision, “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”. Altogether group member is a giant geographic circle that grips around 85% of the global GDP,75% of the global trade, around two-thirds of the world population. The group is covering 19 countries, namely: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Republic of Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the USA, and the European Union. For amplified participation in the meet, a significant number of guest countries are welcomed, e.g., Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain, and the UAE. The meet is going to uphold the principles of One Earth, One Family, and One Future, a stunning section that will benefit a series of guest members.

India presidency through side table dialogue with Bangladesh counterpart be a better course in G-20 meet to shape way forward of Rs 377 crore India-Bangladesh

Friendship Pipeline Project (IBFPP), wherein the MoU was signed, a ground-breaking ceremony was held in 2018. The G-20 setting is an accurate stage to expedite the long-hour

bottlenecks and building a better network of co-development and mutual trade between India and Bangladesh. The oil pipeline connects Siliguri in West Bengal, India, and Parbatipur in the Dinajpur district of Bangladesh. The 6-km Indian pipeline leg is under the prerogative of Assam-based Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL). On the other hand, the remaining 130 km of the oil pipeline will be in Bangladesh, and funding is proposed to be realised through India’s ongoing development cooperation programme.

NRL capacity at the current pace is 3.00 MMTPA, and expansion capacity is three folded to 9 MMTPA with an estimated investment of INR 28,000 crore. Company Net worth is progressively increased to Rs 8,388 crore (NRL website - as on 31st March, 2022) from previous year Rs 5,596 crore that expresses a sign of healthy petroleum trade function in the state Assam. A firm roadmap, the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between India and Bangladesh, is already in place for mutual prosperity.

The 130-km India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline (IBFPL) project aims to export oil products from India. In April 2017, NRL and BPC inked a long-term agreement for selling high-speed diesel through the said pipeline. The state-run NRL signed a further agreement with BPC for the export of diesel for a period of 15 years. The two neighbours, India and Bangladesh, utterly felt that the agreement would help proficient trade promotion.

and substantial investment vitally in Eastern and North Eastern region of India due to fair logistic proximity with Bangladesh.

Both nations are significantly obligated for healthy bilateral relations and a deepening of cooperation in the areas of energy, food security, and connectivity to an outsize extent.

- The two leaders are keen to accomplish CEPA as that could double India’s exports to Bangladesh in the tune more than $32 billion. During the bilateral ministerial meet, Federal Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal and his Bangladeshi counterpart Tipu Munshi also deliberated the settlement of trade in Indian rupees instead of dollars and other big currencies for international transactions, along with the staple of the ongoing dollar crunch in Bangladesh, a dip in the country’s foreign exchange reserves, and a weakening of Bangladesh’s currency (the taka) - construction of the proposed India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline to initiate trading of petroleum oil is being delayed due to complexities over land acquisition. The state-run Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) has decided to engage a third party to ease complexities and complete land acquisition for laying the first inter-country oil carrying pipeline between the two neighboring countries. The capacity of the oil pipeline is proposed flowing for one million metric tonnes per annum. The IBFPP will export fuel from Assam-based Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) via the Siliguri Marketing Terminal to Bangladesh. The invitation of Bangladesh to this summit will further strengthen the ties amid a number of energy and connectivity projects between the two countries, according to Bangladesh’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Shahriar Alam.

- Reflection of side table dialogue on issues and functioning of IBFPP deserve special attention for robust trade flow, revenue growth and GDP lift of NE India that two nation wishes mutual economic prosperity. The move is need of hour.