BANGLADESH NEWS
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday voiced her strong resolve to work together with India for mutual development of the two countries and insisted that the neighbour needs to move forward quickly on some pending issues.
“India needs to move forward quickly on some pending issues so that the two countries can work to implement various agreed decisions,” she said.
The premier made the remarks when a 16-member Indian delegation comprising Chief Minister of Meghalaya Mukul Sangma and Chief Minister of Arunachal Nabam Tuki met her at her official residence Gono Bhaban in the afternoon.
Stressing the importance of cooperation, Hasina said it is the only way to tap the potentials of both the countries for mutual benefits in this globalised world.
She also told the Indian delegation that there is a high expectation about the Teesta water sharing deal.
PM’s Deputy Press Secretary Bijan Lal Dev briefed reporters after the meeting.
Underlining the need for bolstering trade relations with the northeast states of India, Hasina said both the countries could take more business-friendly steps to boost trade.
On import of hydroelectricity from Arunachal, the premier said
Bangladesh could import power from them or could go for joint-venture power production there.
She also said there are many ways to cooperate with each other.
Hasina said Bangladesh attaches the highest importance to its relationship with India as this relationship has reached a new height following her landmark visit to India in January 2010 as well as the historic return visit of Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to Bangladesh in September 2011.
She noted that the exchange of visits enabled the two sides to work out a matrix for the evolution of the bilateral relations harnessing the available synergies for mutual benefit.
Hasina mentioned that the scope for cooperation is immense and both sides should not only limit themselves to physical connectivity.
She said Bangladesh is keen to explore investment opportunities in the power sector in the northeast and expressed her satisfaction that the officials have agreed to explore grid connectivity for transmission of power from the northeast to Bangladesh.
The prime minister also recalled the support and contributions of the people and the government of India and particularly the neighbouring states of the northeast during the War of Liberation in 1971.
The Indian delegation members apprised the prime minister that the bilateral relations between India and Bangladesh have expanded and there has been socioeconomic development of the people of the northeast states.
They noted that there are more scopes of cooperation between the northeast states and Bangladesh in the fields of energy, tourism, horticulture, food processing and education.
They also requested the Bangladesh government to increase the number of border haats for strengthening the bondage between the two countries, and emphasised on sub-regional cooperation.
The Indian delegation also stressed the need for expanding the existing road connectivity of Dhaka-Agartala-Dhaka.
Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Sheikh Md Wahid Uz Zaman, Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pankaj Saran, PM’s Special Assistants Abdus Sobhan Golap and Mahbubul Haque Shakil were also present.
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