Withdrawing transshipment facility to B'desh shows govt's priority to safeguard NE: Himanta

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the Centre's decision to withdraw the transshipment facility to Bangladesh for exports to various countries reflected Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government's priority to safeguard the security of the North East region.

He also described the decision as a reflection of the government's commitment to protect the country's "strategic and economic priorities".

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 move came against the backdrop of 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 ocean” in the region.

“India's decision to revoke the transhipment facility for Bangladesh underscores Hon'ble Prime Minister @narendramodi's unwavering commitment to safeguarding national interests and the security of the Northeast region,” Sarma said in a post on X.

“This decisive action reflects the government's firm stance on protecting India's strategic and economic priorities,” he added.

Sarma 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'.

The strategic Siliguri Corridor, called the 'Chicken's Neck' for its shape, is a strip of land located in northern West Bengal, having a width of just over 20 km. This narrow strip, which connects the Northeast to the rest of India, is sandwiched between Nepal and Bangladesh, with Bhutan and China a few hundred km away.