Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina throughout a ceremonial reception for the Bangladesh Prime Minister at Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi, on Saturday. | Photograph credit score: Sushil Kumar Verma.
India and Bangladesh agreed on Saturday to begin dialogue on a complete financial partnership settlement (CEPA) that paves the best way for broader financial ties between the 2 neighboring economies.
In his welcome remarks delivered at Hyderabad Home, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated the 2 sides will step up vitality connectivity and collaboration and introduced that commerce between the 2 nations is being performed within the Indian foreign money.
“Between Akhaura and Agartala, the sixth cross-border rail hyperlink between India and Bangladesh has been began. Cargo amenities have been began for northeastern states of India via Khulna-Mongla port. Mongla port has been linked by rail for the primary time. Each models of the 1,320 megawatt Maitree thermal energy station have began producing electrical energy. Commerce in Indian rupees (INR) has began between the 2 nations,” Modi stated.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina arrived right here on Friday on a two-day go to, the primary state go to by a international chief since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took workplace for his third time period on June 9. The 2 sides signed a number of MoUs protecting maritime cooperation and the financial system. railway connectivity, oceanography, well being and catastrophe administration, amongst others. Elaborating on the MoU on rail connectivity that was exchanged on Saturday, Overseas Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra stated that other than the six current cross-border rail hyperlinks between the 2 nations, the doc focuses on “the transit they allow between totally different elements of India via the territory of Bangladesh.”
“Connectivity primarily strengthens a big a part of the financial infrastructure inside Bangladesh. It’s successfully a paradigm of connectivity that enormously advantages each nations, each societies and each economies,” stated Mr. Kwatra, explaining that “the sub-regional transit that Bangladesh would make in direction of Bhutan and Nepal could be additional expanded and strengthened.” It’s understood that India will attempt to launch a rail service within the close to future that may join northeastern states, comparable to Tripura, with West Bengal via the territory of Bangladesh.
Welcoming the Bangladesh chief, Modi introduced that India will open an Assistant Excessive Fee in Rangpur within the northern a part of the nation. Rangpur, which is strategically located between West Bengal and Assam, can also be essential as it’s fed by the waters of the Teesta, which is a topic of long-standing negotiation between India and Bangladesh. The Deputy Excessive Commissioner of India is a part of the Excessive Fee in Dhaka and subsequently the mission in Rangpur might be a subsidiary workplace, sources right here stated.
Group at Teesta
Throughout the occasion at Hyderabad Home, Modi introduced {that a} technical group from India will quickly go to Bangladesh to debate “the conservation and administration of the Teesta River.” Within the backdrop of stalled negotiations on sharing the waters of the Teesta, Bangladesh got here up with the venture to preserve the Teesta and later the venture attracted the curiosity of New Delhi. The venture can also be more likely to be on the agenda when Ms Hasina visits China subsequent month as China has additionally proven curiosity within the venture associated to the transboundary river.
Medical digital visas
Modi additionally introduced that India will begin issuing digital medical visas to deal with the rising demand for medical visas from Bangladesh. Bangladesh has complained of delays in acquiring visas which can be typically urgently wanted for individuals in search of medical remedy in Indian hospitals. E-medical visas goal to deal with this enhance in demand.
Talking after Modi, Prime Minister Hasina stated she mentioned “politics, safety, commerce, connectivity, widespread river water sharing, energy and vitality, and regional and multilateral cooperations.” Overseas Secretary Kwatra stated the 2 leaders mentioned the Rohingya challenge, which has remained on the prime of the agenda since greater than 1,000,000 Rohingya refugees arrived in Chittagong after they have been displaced by the military. of Myanmar from crisis-ravaged Rakhine province.
The 2 sides additionally signed an MoU on the launch of small satellites.
Ms Hasina described her go to as “unparalleled” as it’s her second go to to India inside a span of 10 days. She attended Mr. Modi’s swearing-in ceremony on June 9. She invited Prime Minister Modi to go to Bangladesh to witness the event initiatives presently being carried out in that nation.
