Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has stated that the central government’s decision to withdraw the transshipment facility for Bangladesh’s export cargo underscores Prime Minister Modi’s government’s priority to safeguard the security of the Northeast region.
“India’s decision to revoke the transshipment facility for Bangladesh underscores Hon’ble Prime Minister @narendramodi’s unwavering commitment to safeguarding national interests and the security of the Northeast region,” CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said in a post on X.
https://twitter.com/himantabiswa/status/1909985779839016960
“This decisive action reflects the government’s firm stance on protecting India’s strategic and economic priorities,” he added.
India on Wednesday withdrew the transshipment facility extended to Bangladesh for exports to the Middle East, Europe and various other countries through its ports and airports.
The transshipment facility allowed Bangladeshi export cargo to move to third countries via Indian Land Customs Stations (LCSs), ports, and airports.
The decision was announced on April 8 through a notification issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC).
The Ministry of External Affairs, on Wednesday, said, “The transshipment facility extended to Bangladesh had, over a period of time, resulted in significant congestion at our airports and ports. Logistical delays and higher costs were hindering our own exports and creating backlogs.”
The decision was taken following the recent controversial statement of the head of Bangladesh’s interim government, Muhammad Yunus, in China that India’s northeastern states are landlocked and his country was the “only guardian” of the Indian Ocean in the region.
Muhammad Yunus, during a recent four-day visit to China, described India’s Northeast as ‘landlocked’ with “no way to reach out to the ocean”, casting Bangladesh as the region’s key maritime gateway.
ALSO READ: India halts transshipment facility for Bangladesh after Yunus calls Northeast ‘landlocked’
The chief minister had earlier described Yunus’s statement as “offensive and strongly condemnable”, and called for prioritisation of exploring alternative routes connecting the Northeast to the rest of India, bypassing the ‘Chicken’s Neck’.
