Newsroom24x7 Desk

Dhaka: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said here that the settlement of the maritime boundary last year is evidence of the maturity of ties between India and Bangladesh and their shared commitment to international rules.

“Our Parliament’s approval of Land Boundary Agreement reflects the consensus in India on relations with Bangladesh. The agreement on blue economy and maritime cooperation opens a new area of economic opportunities” the Indian Prime Minister said adding, we should now extend our frontiers of cooperation to Space.

Modi was addressing a joint press briefing with Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina on Saturday.

Modi said: “we stand at a moment of huge opportunity in our relationship. We will work together to harness the rich potential of our relationship. And, we will address our challenges in a spirit of friendship and from a position of mutual trust and confidence.

The Prime Minister said that India and bangladesh have renewed existing trade and transport agreements and added new dimensions to the economic ties.

Modi said that the coastal shipping agreement will boost bilateral trade. The Indian Economic Zone will promote Indian investments in Bangladesh. The new border haat at Kamalasagar will reinforce traditional economic links. And, the agreement on blue economy and maritime cooperation opens a new area of economic opportunities. We should now extend our frontiers of cooperation to Space.

Stating that he was conscious of the huge trade imbalance, despite duty free and quota free access to Bangladesh in India on all but 25 items, Modi said that he has assured the Prime Minister of bangladesh that we will do everything we can to bridge the deficit.

Power supply from India to Bangladesh will grow from 500 MW to 1100 MW within two years, Mod announced adding the 1320 MW Rampal power project is making progress in accordance with your laws and regulation. We can do more together in power sector, here and in India.

Observing that connectivity is the catalyst for deeper engagement, Modi said Bangladesh’s decision to allow transit of power equipment and food-grain to the Northeast echoes the strength of your human values and our shared economic opportunities.

The PM further said:

“Connectivity by road, rail, rivers, sea, transmission lines, petroleum pipelines and digital links will increase. Today, we have unveiled some of the pathways to this future.

As I have said before, we will deepen regional connectivity and cooperation between Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal. There is a natural logic to this arrangement.

Our development partnership is scaling new heights. The quick implementation of the line of credit of 800 million U.S. dollars and full disbursement of 200 million dollars in grant is a tribute to our cooperation.

We are pleased to extend another line of credit of 2 billion U.S. dollars to support infrastructure and other development activities in Bangladesh.

As the three agreements on human trafficking, fake Indian currency and maritime safety show, our security cooperation is growing.

I am confident that we both have the political will and mutual confidence to further improve border management and coordination to prevent illegal activities, trafficking and movements.

Our rivers should nurture our relationship, not become a source of discord. Water sharing is, above all, a human issue. It affects life and livelihood on both sides of the border.”