Bangladesh |
Russia |
Bangladesh–Russia relations (Russian: Российско-бангладешские отношения) is the relationship between the two countries, Bangladesh and Russia the successor state of the Soviet Union.
During the Soviet era, it had been a strong supporter of the Mukti Bahini in the Bangladesh Liberation War and provided aid in terms of arms, medical and rehabilitation aid to the new nation. However, after the victory of the 1971 war and the independence of Bangladesh there had been a buildup of suspicion amongst the Bangladeshis due to the prolonged presence of Soviet officials. This led to a rise in nationalism and catapulted nationalist leaders as Ziaur Rahman to power and changed the foreign policy of Bangladesh into a pro-capitalist nation.
Relations with the Soviet Union were cordial in the years immediately following independence. The Soviet Union supported Indian actions in aiding the war of independence, and after the war the Soviet Navy sent a floating workshop to Bangladesh for clearing Pakistani mines from the Chittagong and Chalna harbors. Mujib visited Moscow in 1972, and high-level officials from both countries made numerous reciprocal visits until 1975. The Soviets supported the socialist programs of the Mujib government and its very exceptionally close ties with India. Early Soviet aid was limited, however. During the first four months of its existence, Bangladesh received economic aid worth US$142 million from India, but only US$6 million from the Soviet Union.
After the 1975 coup, relations with the Soviet Union rapidly cooled. The military regimes of Zia and Ershad deemphasized socialist policies and encouraged closer ties with the United States, Arab states, Pakistan, and the Peoples Republic of China--all of which were politically distant from the Soviet Union. Bangladesh condemned Soviet support for Vietnam's occupation of Cambodia and Bangladesh also strongly opposed the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan along with other Western and Islamic nations and contributed to the effort to force the Soviet Union to withdraw. In 1989, the Soviet Union ranked 14th among aid donors to Bangladesh. The Soviets focused on the development of electrical power, natural gas and oil, and maintained active cultural relations with Bangladesh. They financed the Ghorasal thermal power station, the largest in Bangladesh. A low point in Bangladeshi-Soviet relations came after the expulsion of nine Soviet diplomats from Dhaka in December 1983 and January 1984. Moscow, in turn, refused to accept the new Bangladeshi ambassador and canceled a Bangladeshi trade mission visit to Moscow. It is also believed that the Communist Party of Bangladesh was funded and supported in the erstwhile volatile region of the former East Pakistan since it was part of Pakistan itself allied with the United States and China which were hostile towards rival Soviet Union, the party itself was based on the idealogical principals of Marxism.
Bangladeshi-Soviet relations rapidly improved in 1984 and regained a level of cordiality in the mid- and late 1980s. In 1985 the Soviet Cultural Centre reopened in Dhaka. In 1986 a Soviet special envoy visited Dhaka, and later the Bangladeshi foreign minister visited Moscow. Although Soviet aid to Bangladesh was still small compared with assistance from Japan, the United States, or even China, by 1987 Bangladesh had entered into sixteen different economic accords with the Soviet Union. Soviet assistance has concentrated on the energy sector, especially several power plants at Ghorasal, near Dhaka.
Relations between the two countries have fluctuated from time to time. More recently, Russia has conducted an aggressive military sales effort in Dhaka and has succeeded with a $124 million deal for eight MIG-29 fighter jets. Bangladesh has established full diplomatic relations with all of the former Soviet states in 1992. Relations between Russia and Bangladesh are extremely positive and both countries have cooperated in a number of areas such as education, culture, military, and energy. One example of cooperation in energy is Russia offering its assistance to help build Bangladesh's nuclear reactor.
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