India and Bangladesh have signed a series of new agreements pledging co-operation in a number of areas. These include deals on their shared border space and trade. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina signed the agreements during a visit to New Delhi this month. Hasina’s visit was the first by a foreign head of state to India since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third term started after his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led alliance won the nation’s general parliamentary elections.
Hasina was amongst several world leaders who attended Modi’s swearing-in ceremony on June 9. Modi and Hasina noted that they had discussed furthering defence cooperation, military production, counter-terrorism efforts, the management of the border and other issues. They also agreed to revive talks on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.
Talks are now set to continue in the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) and other international forums. The BIMSTEC is a group of seven South Asian and Southeast Asian countries, which depend on the Bay of Bengal for trade and connectivity. India has been attempting to foster closer political and economic ties with neighbouring countries amid China’s increasing influence in the Indian Ocean region.
Last year, Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar remarked that New Delhi should try to do better than Beijing in engaging with nations in the region. Modi also noted that the youth of both countries will benefit from their cooperation in the new areas. Meanwhile, Hasina has invited her Indian counterpart to Bangladesh “to further strengthen the friendly relations of the two countries.”
Last November, Modi and Hasina jointly launched three key infrastructure projects, including two railway initiatives to boost trade and connectivity. Earlier in the year, Dhaka officials gave India permanent access to the crucial Bangladeshi ports of Chattogram and Mongla to enhance trade.
Indian companies are also engaged in the construction of Bangladesh’s first nuclear power plant, which is being conducted by Russia’s Rosatom.The first of two units at the 2,400 MW Rooppur NPP is expected to be operational next year, providing much-needed energy to the emerging regional economic power.
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