Bangladesh and India Take Relations to New Heights
10 April 2017
India Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended a warm welcome to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during her state visit to India on 7-10 April 2017. Speaking on the exchange of agreements between India and Bangladesh and joint press statement on 8 April 2017, Prime Minister Modi heralded a golden era in Bangladesh-India bilateral relations, highlighting long-standing relations between the two countries, and India's commitment as Bangladesh's partner in development. Prime Minister Modi announced a new concessional line of credit worth $4.5 billion for Bangladesh to support infrastructure development, including ports, airports, and power transmission lines. This brings India's resource allocation for Bangladesh to more than $8 billion dollars over the last 6 years.
A total of 22 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) and one financial agreement were signed during Prime Minister Hasina's four-day visit, including:
- MoU establishing border 'haats' (rural markets) across India and Bangladesh borders, signed by commerce secretaries of Bangladesh and India. Both countries agreed to establish more haats to promote trade and increase livelihoods of border communities;
- MoU and standard of procedure (SOP) establishing passenger and cruise services on the coastal and protocol route, signed by secretaries of Bangladesh and India Ministries of Shipping;
- MoU on development of fairway from Sirajganj to Daikhowa, and Ashuganj to Zakiganj, on Indo-Bangladesh protocol route, signed by secretaries of Bangladesh and India Ministries of Shipping; and
- SOP and agreement to regulate passenger motor vehicle traffic on the Khulna-Kolkata route, signed by foreign secretaries of Bangladesh and India.
Related Links:
- India Prime Minister Speech: India long standing trusted development partner of Bangladesh, determined that fruits of cooperation benefit our people
- List of Agreements/MoUs exchanged during the State Visit of Prime Minister of Bangladesh to India (April 07-10, 2017)
- India Bangladesh meet: Pacts signed on cruise services, regulation of motor vehicles
- India announces $5-billion line of credit to Bangladesh, 22 pacts signed
- Bangladesh, India sign 22 agreements and memoranda of understanding