Visa Halt: India loses, China gains
Staff Reporter :
Since the fall of Sheikh Hasina government, the bilateral relation between Bangladesh and India is still cooling which has badly impacted the issuance of Indian visas, especially medical ones.
After the formation of the Interim Government spearheaded by Prof Muhammad Yunus in August last year, Bangladesh several times urges India to resume the issuances of visas for Bangladesh citizens, but India came up with the same words ‘shortfall of staffs’.
But people of Bangladesh are not sitting idle for the waiting of India visas for various purposes especially healthcare purposes.
Bangladeshi people have recently got new options in China for their healthcare treatment and expressing their satisfaction for it.
Even a Reuters report found that since August, India has handed out fewer than 1,000 medical visas each working day, down from a figure of 5,000 to 7,000, said the sources, who all sought anonymity, citing their terms of employment.
The numbers have fallen as relations have cooled after Bangladesh’s interim government, led by Nobel peace laureate Muhammad Yunus, replaced India’s long-term ally Sheikh Hasina.
In 2023, India issued more than 2 million visas to Bangladeshis, most of them on medical grounds, government data from both countries shows. But its withdrawal since has opened an enticing gap for China.
Just this month, a group of Bangladeshis visited the southwestern province of Yunnan for treatment, in a bid to “explore the potential of the medical tourism market”, said the Chinese ambassador, Yao Wen.
Before the departure of the first batch of the patients to Kunming, Ambassador said, “A friend in need is a friend indeed. The Chinese government took immediate measures, mobilized available resources, and designated hospitals in China to receive Bangladeshi patients.”
With the strong support of Yunnan Province, he said that four of its top public hospitals – The First People’s Hospital of Yunnan Province, The First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Yunnan Fuwai Cardiovascular Hospital, and Yunnan Cancer Hospital have been designated.
China, with which India is only slowly restoring ties after Himalayan border clashes in 2020, is also considering opening a friendship hospital in Dhaka, the government of Bangladesh has said, and eased access for Bangladeshis seeking treatment there.