New Delhi: India and Bangladesh signed seven Memorandum of understanding (MoUs) on Tuesday in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina in Delhi. India-Bangladesh delegation-level talks led by PM Modi and Hasina commenced at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi. Hasina is on a four-day visit to India. She arrived in Delhi on Monday.
"India-Bangladesh delegation level talks led by PM @narendramodi & PM Sheikh Hasina commence. On the agenda are issues related to connectivity, energy, water resources, trade & investment, border management & security, development partnership and regional & multilateral matters," the official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs Arindam Bagchi tweeted.
Earlier, Hasina laid a wreath and paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat. She received a ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Soon after the welcome, the Bangladesh Prime Minister said she feels happy to be in India every time while noting significant ties between New Delhi and Dhaka.
"India is our friend. Whenever I come here, it is a pleasure for me, especially because we always recall the contribution India has made during our liberation war. We have a friendly relationship, we are cooperating with each other," the Bangladesh Premier said on Tuesday.
India, Bangladesh to jointly counter terrorism, fundamentalism: PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said India and Bangladesh should jointly face terrorist and fundamentalist forces that threaten to attack mutual trust between the two countries.
"Today we also stressed on cooperation against terrorism and fundamentalism. To keep the spirit of 1971 alive, it is also very necessary that we face such forces together, who want to attack our mutual trust," he said. "During the talks with PM Sheikh Hasina, we discussed ways to further boost connectivity, ramp up our trade partnership and enhance cooperation in sectors like IT, energy and more. We will also work together to tackle the menace of climate change," Modi tweeted.
In another tweet, the PM said: "I had excellent discussions with PM Sheikh Hasina in New Delhi. Bangladesh is a major trade and development partner of India. We cherish the people-to-people linkages between our nations. During our talks we reviewed the full range of bilateral relations."
India appreciates Bangladesh's role in giving refuge to Rohingya
Addressing a special briefing, India's foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra said, "We are aware of the Rohingya issue. There’s a global appreciation of Bangladesh's role in giving them refuge". "We have also provided financial help. In the future, whatever assistance is required GoI will give. India supports all efforts towards their repatriation to Myanmar", FS Kwatra said.
Kwatra noted that Bangladesh has assured the safety of minorities both publically and privately. Briefing about the meeting between Modi and Hasina, Kwatra said that both leaders underscored the importance of continuing the close security cooperation in the fields of counter-terrorism, border management, and cross-border crimes and agreed to further enhance the development partnership including upgradation of railway infra projects in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh PM on Monday said that India can do a lot to help her country deal with the issue of Rohingya refugees and that both countries can work jointly to rejuvenate the cross-border rivers. “India is a big country. It can do a lot,” Hasina said on India's role in the issue of Rohingya refugees. Over 10 lakh Rohingya refugees are currently living in Bangladesh after fleeing from Myanmar’s Rakhine. thousands of them are also living in India.
India, Bangladesh ink first water sharing pact in 25 years; Hasina flags Teesta
India and Bangladesh on Tuesday signed an interim water sharing agreement for Kushiyara river, the first such pact since the signing of the Ganga water treaty in 1996. Bangladesh Prime Minister Hasina noted that India and Bangladesh share 54 rivers and sought early conclusion of the Teesta water sharing agreement, which has been hanging fire for more than a decade due to opposition from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
India and Bangladesh signed a memorandum of understanding on sharing of waters of Kushiyara river, a pact that will benefit people residing in southern Assam and the Sylhet division of Bangladesh.
"Today, we have signed an important agreement on sharing water of the Kushiyara river. This will benefit southern Assam in India and Sylhet region in Bangladesh," Modi told reporters after the talks with Hasina. He said there were 54 rivers that pass through the Indo-Bangladesh border, and have been linked to the livelihood of the people of the two countries for centuries. "These rivers, folk tales about them, folk songs, have also been witness to our shared cultural heritage," Modi said.
PM Hasina meets President Murmu
During the day, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also called on President Droupadi Murmu, who said bilateral ties between India and Bangladesh have grown immensely and have always been guided by the spirit of cooperation and mutual trust.
Welcoming the Bangladeshi leader at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, President Murmu noted that the two countries are connected by shared history, language and culture and assured that India will continue to be a reliable partner in the development journey of its neighbour. Murmu noted that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Hasina, bilateral ties between India and Bangladesh have grown immensely, said a statement issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Prime Minister Hasina also called on Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and both sides reiterated the shared commitment to take the relationship forward for the benefit of the people of both countries.
