India and Bangladesh on Saturday firmed up a futuristic vision to expand cooperation in several new areas and inked a raft of agreements, including to boost ties in the maritime sphere and blue economy.
The pacts were finalised at the wide-ranging talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his visiting Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina.
The key pacts signed by the two sides included one on forging strong ties in the digital domain and another on having a “green partnership. The two sides also inked an agreement on railway connectivity.
“Today we have prepared a futuristic vision for cooperation in new areas.
The youth of both the countries will benefit from the consensus reached on cooperation in areas such as green partnership, digital partnership, blue economy and space,” Modi said in his statement to the media.
In her remarks, Hasina described India as Bangladesh’s major neighbour and a trusted friend.
“India is our major neighbour, trusted friend and regional partner. Bangladesh greatly values our relations with India, which were born out of the War of Liberation in 1971,” she said.
“I recall with gratitude the contribution of the government and the people of India to Bangladesh’s independence,” she said.
11 decisions taken in
Hasina-Modi summit
10 instruments inked
Hasina also paid homage to the “brave fallen heroes of India” who sacrificed their lives in the 1971 war.
“Today, we had very productive meetings where we discussed cooperation in areas of security, trade, connectivity, sharing of water from common rivers, power and energy, and regional and multilateral cooperation,” she said.
“We agreed to collaborate with each other for the betterment of our people and countries,” she added.
The Bangladesh prime minister began her two-day visit to India on Friday.
It is the first incoming bilateral state visit by a foreign leader after the formation of the new government in India following the Lok Sabha elections.
In the morning, Hasina visited Rajghat and paid rich tributes to Mahatma Gandhi.
Ahead of the talks, the visiting leader was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Officials said the focus of the Modi-Hasina talks would be to impart a new momentum to the bilateral ties, including in areas of trade, connectivity and energy.
Hasina was among the seven top leaders from India’s neighbourhood and the Indian Ocean Region who attended the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Modi and the Union council of ministers on June 9.
Dhaka, Delhi sign 10 instruments new MoUs to further deepen ties
BSS from New New Delhi reports; Dhaka and New Delhi on Saturday signed 10 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) including seven new and three renewed in the presence of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to further consolidate the ever-growing relationship between the two neighbouring countries.
The MoUs were signed after the delegation-level talks between the two countries at the Hyderabad House here as Sheikh Hasina is now in New Delhi on a two-day state visit to India.
The talks mainly featured connectivity, energy, sharing of water from common rivers, maritime resources, trade, border management, security and development partnership.
After the delegation level meeting, the Bangladesh prime minister along with her Indian counterpart witnessed the exchange of MoUs on the key areas of blue economy and maritime cooperation, railway, capacity building, health, academic cooperation, fisheries and disaster management.
Of the seven new MoUs, a MoU on the Field of Blue Economy and Maritime Cooperation in the Bay of Bengal and India Ocean Region was signed between the government of Bangladesh and the government of India.
Another MoU was signed between Bangladesh Oceanographic Research Institute (BORI) and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) of India for Joint Research on Oceanography of the Indian Ocean and Capacity Building.
A MoU on Rail Connectivity between India and Bangladesh was also signed as two separate shared vision of India Bangladesh Digital Partnership and shared vision of India Bangladesh Green Partnership for a Sustainable Future were signed between the two sides as well.
Another MoU between Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACE) and Department of Space, Government of the Republic of India and Ministry of Posts, Telecommunication and Information Technology, Government of Bangladesh was signed for Collaboration on a Joint Small Satellite Project.
A MoU between DSSC, Wellington and DSCSC Mirpur for cooperation concerning military education in the field of strategic and operational studies was also signed.
Three renewed MoUs are- MoU for Fisheries Cooperation; MoU for Disaster Management; and MoU on Cooperation in the Field of Health and Medicine.
A Quick Look on Outcomes
(1). Shared Vision for India-Bangladesh Digital Partnership, (2). Shared Vision for India-Bangladesh Green Partnership (3). MoU on Maritime Cooperation and Blue Economy (4). MoU between In-Space and Bangladesh’s Ministry of ICT and Telecom (5). MoU between Ministry of Railways, Government of India and Ministry of Railways, Government of Bangladesh for railway connectivity (6). MoU for Cooperation in Oceanography between Bangladesh Oceanographic Research Institute (BORI) and India’s National Institute of Oceanographic Institute (NIO) under CSIR (7). MoU between Defence Services Staff College (DSSC), Wellington and Defence Services Command and Staff College (DSCSC), Mirpur for cooperation concerning Military education in the field of strategic and operational studies (8). Renewal of MoU for cooperation in Health and Medicine (9). Renewal of MoU between NDMA and Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief for cooperation in the field of Disaster Management, Resilience and Mitigation and (10). Renewal of MoU for cooperation in Fisheries.
Announcements: (i) e- visa for Medical Patients from Bangladesh (ii) New Assistant High Commission of India in Rangpur in Bangladesh (iii) New train service between Rajshahi and Kolkata (iv) New bus service between Chittagong and Kolkata (v) Commencement of goods train services between Gede-Darsana and Haldibari-Chilahati upto Dalgaon (vi) Construction of Inland Container Depot (ICD) at Sirajganj under grant assistance (vii) Commencement of export of 40 MW of power from Nepal to Bangladesh through Indian grid (viii) Joint Technical Committee for discussions on renewal of the Ganga Water Treaty (ix) Visit of technical delegation to Bangladesh for project on conservation and management of Teesta River inside Bangladesh (x) 350 training slots for Bangladeshi police officers (xi) Muktijoddha Scheme for medical patients with an upper ceiling of 8 lakh per patient.
