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Business News/ Politics / Policy/  India, Bangladesh ‘saath-saath’, says Narendra Modi
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India, Bangladesh ‘saath-saath’, says Narendra Modi

Vowing to maintain close ties with Bangladesh, Modi said India will always take Bangladesh along as it moves ahead

The Indian government extended a $2 billion line of credit to its neighbour which is expected to create 50,000 jobs in India and provide a big boost to the Make in India drive. Photo: PIBPremium
The Indian government extended a $2 billion line of credit to its neighbour which is expected to create 50,000 jobs in India and provide a big boost to the Make in India drive. Photo: PIB

On the concluding day of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit, Bangladesh on Sunday conferred its prestigious liberation war honour on former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee for his “active role" in its independence struggle and consolidating friendship with India.

Modi, who received the award on behalf of 90-year-old Vajpayee from Bangladesh president Abdul Hamid, said it was a “matter of great pride for all Indians that a great leader like Atal Bihari Vajpayee is being honoured. He dedicated his entire life to the service of the country and he fought for the rights of the common man". More here

The Indian government also extended a $2 billion line of credit to its neighbour which is expected to create 50,000 jobs in India and provide a big boost to the Make in India drive. “We have already provided $862 million line of credit to Bangladesh and this $2 billion is going to provide a big boost to project exports from India and help Indian companies," Yaduvendra Mathur, chairman and managing director of Export Import Bank of India (Exim Bank), told The Times of India.

The newspaper elaborated that a line of credit is a promise to provide loans at subsidized rates from agencies such as Exim Bank. Read

The commitment to extend a line of credit came a day after Anil Ambani’s Reliance Power Ltd and Adani Power Ltd committed an estimated combined investment of $4.5 billion for setting up power stations in Bangladesh.

Vowing to maintain close ties with Bangladesh, Modi said India will always stand by its neighbour and take Bangladesh along as it moves ahead. “People thought we were paas-pass, now the world must acknowledge that we are not just paas-paas but also saath-saath," he said.

The Daily Star in Bangladesh reports that the two counties issued a 65-point joint declaration ‘Notun Projonmo-Nayi Disha’ (New Generation, New Direction), aiming to harness the full potential of partnership in various sectors, including the energy sector.

On the Teesta water sharing issue, Modi said that water cannot be used for “political reasons" since it’s a “human issue". Teesta runs through north Bengal and Bangladesh and how much water both countries get has always been a matter of disputed between the two countries.

“I have come to take Bangladesh along but I must also take the states along," Modi said. “I am confident that with the support of state governments in India, we can reach a fair solution on the Teesta and Feni rivers. We should also work together to renew and clean our rivers."

The Telegraph had reported that Mamata Banerjee boarded the flight back to Calcutta with a wide grin after Modi said in Bangladeshi what she wanted to hear from him on the Teesta river. More here

Meanwhile, Modi referred to Pakistan on at least four occasions during his 63-minute speech on Sunday as he spoke on terrorism, fake currency, connectivity and India’s track record on peace. In a blunt attack on Pakistan, Modi accused it of creating “nuisance" and “constantly" troubling India by promoting terrorism, while giving an address at Dhaka University, as reported by NDTV. More

Modi also made a case for India’s inclusion in the UN Security Council, saying India’s commitment to peace can be gauged from the fact that India let all Pakistani soldiers captured in the 1971 war return to Pakistan. “India has never attacked anyone for territory," he said, adding that Indian soldiers, however, had shed blood for others. More

Bangladesh has offered to establish two special economic zones (SEZs) for Indian companies, besides allowing Life Insurance Corporation of India to start operations in the country. As per the MoU on the economic zone, Bangladesh will offer SEZs to Indian companies in Mongla and Bheramara. India is the third country after Japan and China to have shown interest in developing economic zones in Bangladesh, media reports in Dhaka said.

For a blow-by-blow account of what the PM did in Bangladesh on Sunday, read.

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Published: 08 Jun 2015, 01:21 PM IST
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