Bangladesh prime Minister Sheikh Hasina- India prime Minister Manmohan Singh talks focus on terrorism, security, connectivity, trade, investment
Bangladesh and India yesterday signed four deals on exchange of electricity, and fight against terrorism, organised crime and drug trafficking, capping two-hour talks between Bd Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh.
Bd Prime Minister Hasina and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, leading their countries at the delegation-level talks at the Hyderabad House from 5:30pm to 7:30pm, had a detailed discussion covering the entire gamut of bilateral issues with particular focus on terrorism, security, connectivity, trade and investment, border concerns and sharing of water and power resources.
Bd Prime Minister Hasina, whose four-day state visit began yesterday, met Indian President Pratibha Patil, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj before the talks with Singh.
The two sides inked a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in power sector for import and export of electricity to the tune of over 900 million units per annum, depending on availability, need and price.
Under the deal, the Power Development Board will buy electricity from India at a price to be agreed upon by the two parties, said official sources.
The other three agreements signed are Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, Transfer of Sentenced Persons and Combating International Terrorism, Organised Crime and Illicit Drug Trafficking.
The one on transfer of sentenced persons would allow those convicted of criminal offences to serve their sentences in their own country if they want.
Someone sentenced to death however would not get this opportunity.
The draft agreement mentions that if such deals existed with a third country, Bangladesh and India would provide transit facility for extradition of the sentenced person, said officials.
The agreement on combating international terrorism, organised crime and illicit drug trafficking is the bilateral implementation of a protocol that has long been effective under Saarc.
If terrorist activities are conducted in and against both India and Bangladesh, the two countries can exchange general and intelligence information.
Officials said under the power agreement, Bangladesh would import up to 1,200 megawatts of electricity from India by the middle of 2012 to meet its fast-growing demand for power. It will initially buy 500MW increasing to 1,200MW over three years.
Bangladesh's state-managed Power Grid Company and Indian state-run Power Grid Corporation will jointly set up transmission lines to carry the power to the Bangladesh grid.
The neighbours also signed a three-year agreement on cultural exchange under which they would jointly celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore.
This apart, Hasina and Singh discussed issues relating to the 6.1-km undermarcated stretch of the 4,096 km border, 'enclaves' and 'adverse possessions' (pockets in each country where nationals of the other are residing).
The two sides have exchanged lists of enclaves but have not done so in the case of adverse possessions.
Other Bd Hot News
News from Bangladesh
No comments:
Post a Comment