As Prime Ministers Sheikh Hasina and Narendra Modi prepare to hold crucial talks at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Saturday, India said on Friday that the two countries are discussing steps to be taken to elevate the bilateral relations to the next trajectory. India’s External Affairs Ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar told reporters in New Delhi that the two sides are expected to sign six to seven MoUs in the areas of connectivity, capacity-building and culture after talks between the two Prime Ministers.
He said the two PMs would jointly inaugurate three projects but declined to specify them. Asked about the agenda of the talks, Kumar said, “I don’t want to prejudge what will come up for discussion but the focus of tomorrow’s talks will be on bilateral relationship and other issues of mutual interest “Relations between India and Bangladesh have never been so close and it is important to understand that we are talking about steps to be taken to take the relations to the next trajectory,” he said adding “we are looking forward to the talks tomorrow.”
To a question about Modi’s reported assurance to Hasina at their meeting in New York on September 27 that Bangladesh need not be worried over the NRC in Assam which left out 19.6 lakh people, Kumar said “India’s position on this is very clear. It is an ongoing exercise. We have been saying that the NRC was Supreme Court-mandated and monitored process and I think it is important to understand that the due process has to be completed first and that there are several appellate processes before reaching that stage,” he added.
The comments by Kumar came a day after Hasina told media persons at a reception at the Bangladesh High Commission last night that she was happy with Modi’s assurance in New York. “Obosshoyi (Of course). I don’t see any problem. I had a talk with Prime Minister Modi. Everything is okay,” she said replying to questions on the NRC issue which is likely to come up at her meeting with Modi at the Hyderabad House on Saturday.
On October 1, Modi’s close aide and Indian Home Minister Amit Shah had made it clear that the NRC would be extended to the entire country and illegal immigrants would not find space in India.
Asked about Bangladesh Foreign Minister A K Abdul Momen’s statement that the issue of border killings would be raised at today’s talks, Kumar said it was important to understand that the number of such killings has come down drastically due to the concerted efforts by the two sides and by the borer guarding forces of the two countries and under the leadership of the two Prime Ministers.
“But what we are trying to do now is trying to discuss and see that following the demarcation of the land boundary agreement whether border killings can be brought down to zero. How that is to be done worked out by the two sides. As far as the isolated incidents are concerned, it is regretted by both sides and the border guards of both the countries will try to see if such incidents do not happen and we should always try to avoid such incidents,” Kumar said.
To a question about Teesta river water-sharing deal, the Indian official said the government of Bangladesh is aware of India’s position in this regard. He said apart from Teesta, there are at least several other trans-border common rivers and a meeting of the Secretary-level Joint River Commission will be held soon to discuss the water-sharing issues.
Hasina is in New Delhi on a four-day official visit to attend the India Economic Summit of the World Economic Forum and is scheduled to meet Modi on Saturday for a bilateral meeting. Meanwhile, Bangladesh will supply liquified petroleum gas to energy-hungry India under an agreement to be signed by the two sides after Hasina-Modi talks on Saturday. This will be the first time LPG from Bangladesh will come to India, India’s Oil and Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Thursday.
Another MoU likely to be inked is for a new waterway to connect Gomati river in Tripura and Meghna river in Bangladesh, Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb said. Deb said at a function in Agartala on Thursday that the proposed MoU would facilitate movement of goods from Ashuganj port on Meghna river to Sonamura in Sipahijala district of Tripura.
The movement of vessels on Gomati river for providing waterway connectivity to Tripura would be possible only after the inclusion of the stretch between Sonamura and Daudkandi in Kumilla as part of the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol route, Deb said.
The chief minister had in June sought the permission of the shipping ministry through an official letter for construction of a temporary jetty on Gomati river and declaration of the stretch of it from Sonamura to Daudkandi as waterway connectivity of the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol route. At present, ships and steamers have to take a circuitous route from Haldia in West Bengal to Daudkandi in Bangladesh even though which is only 80 km from Sonamura.
If Sonamura and Daudkandi can be linked through waterway, Tripura and north eastern India will get the maximum benefit because of the access it could open up to Chittagong port, Deb said. Chittagong port is just 70 km from Sabroom, a town in Tripura near the border with Bangladesh. According to sources, both sides are also in talks for agreements for a Special Economic Zone and a skill development centre to be set up in Khulna.