Discuss the significance of India's 'Neighbourhood First' policy in the context of recent India–Bangladesh diplomatic engagements.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs describes 'Neighbourhood First' as a consultative, non-reciprocal and outcome-oriented approach giving political and diplomatic priority to immediate neighbours [1]. India–Bangladesh engagements through 2026 demonstrate both the policy's value and its present strain.

Economic and connectivity significance

• Bangladesh is India's largest development partner, with bilateral trade of about USD 15.9 billion and four Lines of Credit worth nearly USD 8 billion for infrastructure [2].
• Restored rail links such as Haldibari–Chilahati advance sub-regional connectivity, giving substance to the policy's promise of free flow of goods and people [2].
• Deep economic interdependence gives India durable stakes in Dhaka that survive changes of government.

Regional and multilateral significance

• Bangladesh has chaired BIMSTEC since April 2025 [3], making it central to India's Bay of Bengal regionalism after SAARC's paralysis.
• India invited Bangladesh's leadership to the BRICS Outreach session of the 18th BRICS Summit (New Delhi, 12–13 September 2026) via that BIMSTEC chairmanship — as invited guest, not member [4].
• India's chairship theme, "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability" [4], shows how neighbourhood goodwill converts into a Global South constituency India can convene.

Where the policy is being tested

• After the post-2024 leadership change, a trust deficit persists; Foreign Affairs Adviser Humaiun Kabir stated that prospects of Tarique Rahman's India visit "remain slim" without a "dignified invitation" and mutual trust [5].
• This exposes the risk of personality-centric diplomacy: ties built around one leadership struggle to transfer to its successor.
• Unresolved irritants — Teesta water-sharing and border management — sharpen domestic criticism in Dhaka [2].

Recent engagements thus confirm 'Neighbourhood First' as a sound economic and connectivity anchor, while showing that generosity must be paired with protocol sensitivity. Going forward, party-neutral institutionalised dialogue, delivery on connectivity and water-sharing, and leveraging BIMSTEC–BRICS convergence can renew trust — realising the non-reciprocal spirit the policy was built on.