Delhi: Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was accorded a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhavan this morning, followed by a visit to Rajghat to pay respects to Mahatma Gandhi. In a detailed address, Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra highlighted the significant aspects of her state visit to India.
Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Sheikh Hasina held extensive discussions at Hyderabad House, covering various strategic and bilateral topics. The visit underscores the ongoing high-level political engagement between the two nations, reflecting the deep trust and respect shared by both leaders.
Key Highlights of the Visit:
Sustained High-Level Engagement:
PM Sheikh Hasina attended the swearing-in ceremony of the Union Council of Ministers on June 9, following the 18th Lok Sabha elections.
Her last state visit to India was in September 2022, followed by her participation in the G-20 leader summit as a guest country in September 2023.
She was among the first to congratulate PM Modi on his historic third term, highlighting the strong bilateral relations.
Strategic and Defence Cooperation:
An MoU on space technology was exchanged to collaborate on launching a jointly developed small satellite for Bangladesh on India’s launch vehicle.
Discussions emphasized augmenting bilateral defence cooperation, focusing on the modernization of Bangladesh’s armed forces and defence-industrial collaboration.
Connectivity Initiatives:
A new passenger train service between Rajshahi and Kolkata is set to commence, along with a trial run for a goods train on the Bangladesh railway from Gede Darshana to the Haldibari Chilahati cross-border interchange point planned for next month.
A new bus service between Kolkata and Chittagong will be launched.
Indian assistance for developing the inland container depot (ICD) in Sirajganj was announced.
Energy and Infrastructure Collaboration:
The first sub-regional power trade agreement was reached, deciding to export 40 MW of power from Nepal to Bangladesh through the Indian grid.
An agreement to expedite the construction of a 765-kilowatt high-capacity interconnection between Bihar and Assam via Bangladesh, with suitable Indian financial assistance, was made.
