India withdraws transshipment facility for Bangladesh over port congestion

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Wednesday announced the withdrawal of the transshipment facility that was earlier extended to Bangladesh for routing its export-import cargo through Indian ports and airports. The decision, effective from April 8, 2025, comes in light of increasing logistical bottlenecks and operational delays caused by rising traffic at Indian gateways.

Speaking at the weekly media briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal explained the rationale behind the move. "The transshipment facility extended to Bangladesh had, over time, led to substantial congestion at our ports and airports. The resulting logistical delays and increased costs were adversely impacting India’s own export movement and creating serious backlogs," he stated.

He further clarified that this withdrawal does not affect Bangladesh’s exports to Nepal or Bhutan that transit through Indian territory, which will continue as per existing arrangements.

The development follows a high-level visit in July 2024 by a 13-member Bangladeshi delegation, led by SM Mostafa Kamal, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Shipping, Bangladesh. The team was in India from July 9 to 12, 2024, to explore potential avenues for the transshipment of Bangladeshi export-import (Exim) cargo via Indian East Coast ports. The delegation included senior officials from key ministries and Bangladeshi port authorities.