The Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Saturday said that December 6, the day on which India formally recognized Bangladesh, will be celebrated as ‘Maitri Diwas’.
The decision came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is visiting Bangladesh on his first trip to a foreign country since the Covid-19 outbreak, held one-on-one talks with his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina held talks in Dhaka on Saturday.
According to a joint statement issued after their talks, Prime Minister Modi said that Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, one of the greatest leaders of modern times, will be remembered for his courage and indelible contribution to Bangladesh’s emergence as a sovereign country.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina thanked India for conferring Gandhi Peace Prize for the year 2020 on Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in recognition of his outstanding contributions towards the social, economic and political transformation of Bangladesh through non-violent and other Gandhian methods.
“To mark the 50th anniversary of India-Bangladesh friendship, both sides released respective commemorative postage stamps. It was decided to commemorate 6 December as Maitri Diwas, the day when India recognized Bangladesh in the year 1971. The Indian side announced the establishment of Bangabandhu Chair at the University of Delhi,” the statement read.
The two sides also signed five MoUs covering areas such as connectivity, commerce, information technology and sports.
“Had a productive meeting with PM Sheikh Hasina. We reviewed the full range of India-Bangladesh relations and discussed ways to deepen economic and cultural linkages in the times to come,” Modi tweeted.
“India and Bangladesh signed MoUs in key sectors such as disaster management, sports and youth affairs, trade, technology and more. These will add strength to our development partnership and benefit the people of our nations, especially the youth,” Modi said.
Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that the two leaders discussed the progress achieved in areas of health, trade, connectivity, energy, developmental cooperation and others.
“Recognising that terrorism remains a threat to global peace and security, both sides reiterated their strong commitment to eliminating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” said the joint statement.
The MEA further appreciated the participation of a 122-member tri-services contingent of the Bangladesh Armed Forces in the 2020 Republic Day celebrations of India.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended an invitation to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to visit India in 2022 in commemoration of the Golden Jubilee of the establishment of diplomatic relations. Both sides welcomed the port call by Indian Naval Ships Sumedha and Kulish on 08-10 March 2021 at Mongla upon the invitation of Bangladesh as part of the commemoration of the epochal occasions. This was the first-ever visit to Mongla Port by any Indian Naval Ship. Bangladesh Navy Ship is also scheduled to make a port call at Vishakhapatnam as part of the joint celebrations,” the statement read.
The Bangladesh side welcomed the decision of the Government of India to announce 1000 Shuborno Jayanti Scholarships for Bangladeshi students for pursuing education/courses in India.
A new passenger train connecting Dhaka and New Jalpaiguri on the Indian side was also inaugurated jointly by Modi and Hasina via a video conference. This is the third passenger train after Maitree Express (Dhaka-Kolkata) and Bandhan Express (Khulna-Kolkata) running between the two neighbouring countries.
On the subject of water resources cooperation, the MEA said that Hasina reiterated Bangladesh’s long-pending request for concluding the interim agreement on the sharing of the waters of the Teesta river.
She highlighted that to alleviate the sufferings and save the livelihoods of millions of people dependent on the Teesta river basin, it is necessary that Bangladesh receives its fair share of the Teesta waters, the draft agreement of which has already been agreed upon by both Governments in January 2011.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated India’s sincere commitment and continued efforts to conclude this agreement, in consultation with the relevant stakeholders. The Indian side also requested for early finalization of the draft of the interim agreement for sharing of water of Feni River, pending with the Bangladesh side which had been agreed upon by both sides in 2011,” the statement read.
The Ministry stated that to enhance trade between the two countries, both Prime Ministers underscored the need for the removal of non-tariff barriers. Bangladesh side requested for lifting the new policy of Indian Customs stipulating verification of certificates of origin issued from Bangladesh.
“The Indian side conveyed that under the provisions of the new Customs rules, in the event of a conflict between a provision of these rules and rules of origin of a trade agreement, the provisions of the rules of origin of the trade agreement shall prevail. Further, for bilateral trade to flourish, both leaders stressed the need for predictability of trade policies, regulations and procedures,” the ministry’s statement read.
The MEA said that both sides took note of the first meeting of the High-Level Monitoring Committee and directed the Committee to provide recommendations for the expeditious execution of projects under the Lines of Credit.
“Both sides expressed satisfaction at the robust cooperation in the power and energy sector, including between the private sectors. It was agreed to strengthen sub-regional cooperation, including with Nepal and Bhutan and in this regard cooperation in energy was underscored. The Indian side emphasized that the finalization of regulations and guidelines for cross border trade in electricity would increase sub-regional cooperation. India requested early finalization of modalities for implementation of the Katihar – Parbotipur – Bornagar cross border electricity interconnection,” the statement read.
Both sides welcomed the establishment of a study team in this regard. Both sides took stock of progress in the implementation of the India Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline and unit-1 of the Maitree Super Thermal Power Project and expressed hope that these projects would get commissioned soon, according to MEA.
New Delhi and Dhaka expressed satisfaction at the robust cooperation in the power and energy sector, including between the private sectors. It was agreed to strengthen sub-regional cooperation, including with Nepal and Bhutan and in this regard cooperation in energy was underscored.
The Indian side emphasized that finalization of regulations and guidelines for cross border trade in electricity would increase sub-regional cooperation. India requested early finalization of modalities for implementation of the Katihar – Parbotipur – Bornagar cross border electricity interconnection.
“Both sides welcomed the establishment of a study team in this regard. Both sides took stock of progress in the implementation of the India Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline and unit-1 of the Maitree Super Thermal Power Project and expressed hope that these projects would get commissioned soon,” MEA read.
Advertisement
Author
