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Business News/ News / World/  Narendra Modi on two-day Bangladesh visit from 6 June
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Narendra Modi on two-day Bangladesh visit from 6 June

The two premiers would hold talks to review the 'entire gamut of bilateral relations', the foreign ministry statement said

A file photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Photo: PTIPremium
A file photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Photo: PTI

New Delhi: Carrying his “neighbourhood first" foreign policy into the second year in office, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Bangladesh on 6-7 June.

The Prime Minister’s first visit to India’s eastern neighbour follows a unanimous go-ahead by Parliament to implement a four-decade-old land boundary pact with Bangladesh earlier in May and raising hopes for signing of an accord on sharing of Teesta waters between the two countries.

“The visit is expected to further expand cordial and cooperative relationship between the two countries and strengthen the ties of friendship and trust between India and Bangladesh," said a statement by the Indian foreign ministry.

It didn’t give too many details of Modi’s schedule, except that he will hold talks with Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and call on President Abdul Hamid.

Modi is expected to flag off a third bus service between the two countries connecting Bangladesh capital Dhaka with Shillong in Meghalaya and Guwahati in Assam, in North-East India, a Press Trust of India report said.

“We were informed that the final decision on the bus service will be taken during the Indian prime minister’s visit scheduled next month," said Mohammed Azharul Islam Khan, joint secretary of Bangladesh’s road transport and bridges ministry, in Shillong on Monday.

The two bus links in operation include the Dhaka-Kolkata service launched in June 1999 by the then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the Dhaka-Agartala service.

India sees Bangladesh as the gateway to South-East Asia and also as a key country in its effort to develop the insurgency-affected northeast.

In the past, Indian militant groups have sought refuge in Bangladesh to escape security forces. Soon after coming to power in 2009 December polls, Hasina handed over at least three militants belonging to the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) to Indian authorities.

Bangladesh is India’s second largest trading partner among its South Asian neighbours, behind Sri Lanka, with bilateral trade in the first 11 months of 2014-15 at $5.7 billion.

Earlier in May, the Bangladesh cabinet approved the draft of a new five-year water transit protocol with India, allowing passage of goods to a third country using common rivers, amending an existing pact that had expired two months ago.

“The new agreement will also allow Bangladesh use common channels for trade with other countries, like Nepal and Bhutan," Nazrul Islam, secretary for Coordination and Reform affairs of cabinet division, was quoted as saying in a PTI report.

Modi’s visit to Bangladesh follows the unanimous green signal from Parliament to implement the 1974 land boundary pact with Bangladesh earlier this month. Known as the Indira-Mujib Treaty, the agreement was signed by the then prime minister Indira Gandhi and her then Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Mujibur Rehman. The non-implementation of the treaty had cast a shadow over bilateral ties.

During the 2011 visit by former prime minister Manmohan Singh, India had signed an additional protocol to the 1974 pact. However, the accord, that agreed to demarcate sections of the border as well as exchange of over 160 enclaves between the countries, couldn’t be implemented as India could not ratify the pact. After Parliament go-ahead, Bangladesh will receive 111 enclaves (17,160 acres) from India’s possession and India will receive 51 enclaves (7,110 acres) from Bangladesh. Enclaves are tiny landlocked territories that each country has within the borders of the other nation.

The go-ahead is seen as a “game changer because this softening of India’s leadership role shows that we want good relations with neighbours, and we are prepared to solve problems in a spirit of friendship," said Veena Sikri, former Indian high commissioner to Bangladesh.

“This message will certainly be taken on board by other neighbours when they look at solving problems with India and moving ahead in the same spirit. When you have something as tricky as this solved, then other issues—be it connectivity, trade, security or economic investment—can also be tackled," she said in an interview earlier this month.

India’s approval to the land boundary pact has spurred hopes for the signing of another pact on the sharing of the Teesta river waters. “Both the countries will give their approval to it very soon. We are hopeful that we will get full cooperation from the West Bengal government," home minister Rajnath Singh told reporters in Kolkata on Tuesday.

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Published: 26 May 2015, 06:04 PM IST
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