Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on a two day visit to neighbouring country Bangladesh. There he will held bilateral talks with Banlgadesh PM Sheikh Hasina.
On the first day, the two sides held talks and signed 22 agreements. These includes the Land Boundary Agreement, cooperation in maritime safety and agreement to curb human trafficking and fake Indian currency.
Important Details about Bangladesh
Capital – Dhaka, Currency – Taka, Prime Minister – Sheikh Hasina, President – Abdul Hamid.
Some highlights of the visit are as follows:
Land Boundary Agreement
- India and Bangladesh signed the over 40 year old Land Boundary Agreement (LBA). According to the agreement 111 enclaves with a total area of 17,160.63 acres from India will be transferred to Bangladesh, while 51 enclaves of area 7,110.02 acres will be transferred to India. Also, a 6.1 km undefined border stretch will be demarcated.
- India will have an advantage of 500 acres and 10,000 acres will go to Bangladesh. The pact will settle the question of citizenship for over 50,000 people.
- LBA was inked on May 16, 1974 by the then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Mujbur Rehman.
- Four Indian states Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and West Bengal are involved in the exchange of territories.
India Bangladesh bus services
- Two bus services between India and Bangladesh were launched on 6 June. They are Kolkata-Dhaka-Agartala and Dhaka-Shillong-Guwahati.
- These two bus services will link West Bengal to North Eastern states via Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Bangladesh confers Liberation War Honour on Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee
- Mr Vajpayee was conferred with the award for his contribution towards the fight for liberation of Bangladesh from Pakistan. He consolidated friendship of India and Bangladesh and played an active role in latter’s independence.
List of 22 Agreements Signed between India and Bangladesh
The agreements are as follows:
- Exchange of Instruments of Ratification of 1974 Land Boundary Agreement and its 2011 Protocol
- Exchange of letters on Modalities for implementation of 1974 Land Boundary Agreement and its 2011 Protocol
- Bilateral Trade Agreement (renewal)
- Agreement on Coastal Shipping between Bangladesh and India
- Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade (renewal)
- Bilateral Cooperation Agreement between Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) and Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) on Cooperation in the field of Standardization
- Agreement on Dhaka-Shillong-Guwahati bus service and its Protocol
- Agreement on Kolkata-Dhaka-Agartala Bus Service and its Protocol
- Memorandum of Understanding between Coast Guards
- Memorandum of Understanding on Prevention of Human Trafficking
- Memorandum of Understanding on Prevention of Smuggling and Circulation Fake Currency Notes
- Memorandum of Understanding between Bangladesh and India and for Extending a New Line of Credit of $2 billion by government of India to government of Bangladesh
- Memorandum of Understanding on Blue Economy and Maritime Cooperation in the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean
- Memorandum of Understanding on use of Chittagong and Mongla ports
- Memorandum of Understanding for a Project under IECC (India Endowment for Climate Change) of SAARC
- Memorandum of Understanding on Indian Economic Zone
- Cultural Exchange Programme for the years 2015-17
- Statement of Intent on Bangladesh-India Education Cooperation (adoption)
- Agreement between Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited (BSCCL) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) for leasing of international bandwidth for internet at Akhaura
- Memorandum of Understanding between University of Dhaka, Bangladesh and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India for Joint Research on Oceanography of the Bay of Bengal
- Memorandum of Understanding between University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh and University of Jamia Milia Islamia, India
- Handing over of Consent Letter by Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA), Bangladesh to Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), India to start operations in Bangladesh.
PM’s gift to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi today presented Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina a hand-woven tapestry from Venkatagiri, Andhra Pradesh, woven in jamdani style – a well-known tradition in Bangladesh. Located in Nellore district in Andhra Pradesh, Venkatagiri is famous for handlooms, and its weavers have adopted the fine jamdani weaving technique while assimilating traditional designs of the region, such as the artwork in this tapestry that shows the Kalpavriksh tree and the Kamadhenu cow which are regarded as auspicious and bestower of prosperity. The tapestry has been woven using very fine cotton yarn and pure gold thread, with both the warp and the weft having the same count of cotton yarn.
The tapestry has been done by Nellore’s national award winning artist and master craftsman Shri Gowrabathini Ramanaiah.
