In the face of mounting tensions between New Delhi and Dhaka, Bangladesh cancelled a big defence deal worth Rs 180.25 crore with a Kolkata-based state-owned shipmaker, the company confirmed.
Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd (GRSE), operating under the Indian Ministry of Defence, formally notified the stock exchange on Wednesday and said: "We wish to inform you that the Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh has cancelled the order."
The cancelled order involved the manufacture of a highly advanced ocean-going tug, which would be used for long-distance towing and sea salvage operations in deep seas.
The move is considered to be a retaliatory measure against India's recent cancellation of transshipment rights for Bangladeshi cargo to third countries. The move was made following some comments by Bangladesh's interim prime minister, Muhammad Yunus, during his recent visit to China. Yunus has been controversially referring to India's northeast as "landlocked" and terming Dhaka as the "only guardian" of the sea in the region.
In another conversation with the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives in Nepal, Yunus called for an economic cooperation for the northern eastern states of India and Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh. Drawing attention to the strength of collaboration in the fields of hydropower, health and infrastructure, he said, "We have more to gain together than apart."
Hostilities increased again on May 18 when India slapped strict curbs on Bangladeshi imports such as ready-made garments and processed food. Bangladeshi garment shipments are now prohibited from entering India through northeastern Integrated Check Posts (ICPs) under a notification issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), in a move reflecting trade restrictions imposed by Dhaka earlier.
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