On 19 February 2020 the Indian High Commission launched a desperate bid to sell defence equipment to the Bangladesh Armed Forces.
India’s renewed efforts comes as Dhaka did not utilise any of the $500 million line of credit extended to it by New Delhi since April 2017.
At least twelve Indian defence equipment manufacturers participated in the seminar in Dhaka where Bangladesh’s Industries minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun attended as ‘chief guest’.
The seminar has been given importance by the Indian authorities as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla are due to visit Bangladesh on March.
India’s External Affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar requested Bangladesh to utilise a line of credit extended by India for purchasing military equipment, in a meeting with his Bangladesh counterpart AK Abdul Momen on August 20 in Dhaka.
India succeeded in exporting some minor equipment such as commercially available Tata SUVs and components for landing craft built at Khulna Shipyard. Beyond that Indian defence hardware manufacturers have been unable to even compete in Bangladesh armed forces routine tenders managed through the offices of the Directorate General Defence Purchase (DGDP) in Dhaka.
Bangladesh mostly imports defence equipment from China and Europe. Russia, Serbia, Singapore, Ukraine and Czech Republic are also significant players.
Recently Boeing has publicised it is working with the Bangladesh Air Force for exporting the latest AH-64E Apache attack helicopters. The company hopes the sale will open up a gateway to export more sophisticated hardware such as multi-role fighter aircraft such as the F/A-18 and F-16.
Bangladesh Air Force will augment its predominantly Chinese and Russian origin combat aircraft fleet with Western made fighter aircraft in accordance with Forces Goal 2030.
India’s place in this remains limited however the country is trying to work with Russia to export engines and components for MiG-29 fighter aircraft that are presently in service with the BAF. The BAF recently sent some of its MiGs to Belarus for undergoing mid-life upgrades. It is unlikely the Bangladesh Air Force will require any further Russian support to operate its MiGs until those aircraft are retired from service. Bangladesh has several military agreements with Turkey, China, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and United Kingdom to enhance its training. It is working with Italy and the United States to further improve military preparedness at all levels.
