Under the leadership of Tarique Rahman, the relationship with India is going into a phase which will challenge both diplomacy and political patience. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Neighbourhood First” framework, Bangladesh emerged as one of India’s most dependable regional partners. Bi-lateral trade has increased by a massive margin yet the balance is still heavily skewed in favour of India. Even further than bilateral irritants are the bigger strategic question: How does Bangladesh balance India and China? Rather than undermining relationships, it may standardize them, transforming relations from personality diplomacy to policy diplomacy.
