Bangladesh cancels $21 million order given to Indian defence shipyard

NEW DELHI: Amid the nose-dive in bilateral ties, Bangladesh has cancelled an order worth $21 million (around Rs 180 crore) inked with Kolkata-based defence shipyard Garden Reach Shipbuilding & Engineers (GRSE) last year for the construction of an 800-tonne advanced ocean-going tug.

The contract, which included design, construction and delivery of a 61-metre-long tug in 24 months, was the first major deal inked under the $500-million line of credit for defence purchases extended by New Delhi to Dhaka that was operationalised in 2023.

The deal for the tug, with the maximum speed with a full load of at least 13 knots, was signed by officials of the Bangladesh Navy's directorate general of defence purchases and GRSE in Dhaka in July last year. The contract had coincided with Navy chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi's four-day visit to Bangladesh to further consolidate defence ties and explore new avenues for maritime cooperation.

The ouster of the then PM Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh in Aug last year, however, has hit bilateral ties. India had earlier steadily stepped-up military ties with Bangladesh, which incidentally acquired its first-ever diesel-electric submarines from China a few years ago, to counter Beijing's strategic inroads into the country.

Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi had earlier this year said India and Bangladesh consider each other "strategically important" neighbours and any kind of "animosity" between the two countries is not in the interest of either.