India stresses on enhancing connectivity with Bangladesh
New Delhi: As enhancing the connectivity between India and Bangladesh is an important aspect of bilateral cooperation, both countries stressed on developing multi-modal connectivity on Wednesday. During her State visit to India, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Union Minister of Development of North Eastern Region G Kishan Reddy presented various aspects of enhancing collaboration between Bangladesh and the Northeast region of India while their meeting here in the national capital at ITC Maurya hotel, where Reddy also requested support for strengthening border trade infrastructure between Bangladesh and India through the Northeast states.
During the meeting, they talked about enhancing border trade through various measures such as establishing and strengthening Border Haats, Integrated Check Points, and Land Customs Stations. The DoNER minister also stressed various areas of collaboration such as energy, agriculture, tourism, etc, and requested Hasina to consider further reviews.
There were also business-level talks where Reddy addressed a CEOs' conference where the Prime Minister of Bangladesh was present, along with business leaders from both nations.
During the meeting, the minister said, "The unprecedented focus of the Narendra Modi-led government on the development of NER has led to a favourable investment climate. The trade, investment and connectivity linkages between us are integral to our multi-faceted."
Reddy also spoke on the tremendous potential for leisure tourism, medical tourism, education, and cultural exchanges that can further cement the relations between Bangladesh and the North Eastern States. He engraved upon the business leaders to explore the untapped potential of NER in various sectors. He invited investors and business leaders and assured complete support from the government.
Besides, he expressed that Indo-Bangladesh relations have been noteworthy since PM Modi's regime.
Earlier, in the last month, Reddy in a written reply in the Lower House of the Parliament said that both the rail and bus services between the two countries have resumed after the pandemic. Meanwhile, he also informed that the construction of Maitri Setu on river Feni in Sabroom has been completed and Royal Maitri International Bus Services from Tripura to Kolkata via Bangladesh by Tripura Road Transport Corporation (TRTC) have started. Further, an MoU for facilitating temporary transit of petroleum, oil and lubricants (POL) and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) products through Bangladesh to India's North Eastern Region has been signed between the Ministry of Road and Highways, the Government of Bangladesh and Indian Oil Corporation Ltd on August 2. Also, the proposal for developing a road link from Mahendraganj in Meghalaya to Hili in West Bengal through Bangladesh was raised with Bangladesh during the Virtual Summit held in December 2020, as well as during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Bangladesh in March 2021.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina embarked on her four-day State visit to India on Monday afternoon, where she met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President of India Draupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and opposition leader Rahul Gandhi so far.
