Highlights of Modi-Sheikh Hasina project talks
Bangladesh has invited Indian investment in the jute mills of Bangladesh under public-private partnership as part of the government’s decision to revitalize and modernize the jute sector through manufacturing of value added and diversified jute products.
Bangladesh side urged more meaningful cooperation in this sector between both countries and requested India to withdraw the duties imposed on export of jute products from Bangladesh since 2017.
This was stated in the Joint Statement issued after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Dhaka and held talks with his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina.
India welcomed cooperation in the Jute sector. On anti-dumping duty on jute, India has agreed to look into the matter, said the statement issued 27 Mar 2021.
Following the talks on several pending issues, Modi-led Indian side has urged the Bangladesh to remove the existing practices against the Indian companies from participating in tenders floated by various Ministries and the agencies of the Government of Bangladesh.
Bangladesh side, under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, informed that there is no country-specific restriction in the process.
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 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.
Both Prime Ministers reiterated the importance of enhancing connectivity for facilitating regional economic integration for the benefit of the all the parties involved.
India expressed gratitude for Prime Minister Hasina’s initiative of revitalizing the pre-1965 rail connectivity as well as for Bangladesh’s support for the numerous connectivity initiatives through rail, road and waterways.
In the same spirit, Bangladesh reiterated its eagerness to partner in the ongoing initiative of the India–Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway project.
Bangladesh side also requested India for favourable consideration of the new connectivity routes proposed by Bangladesh, namely allowing additional land ports of Bhadrapur-Bairagi Galgalia, Biratnagar-Jogmani and Birganj-Raxaul to be connected with Banglabandha-Fulbari and Birol-Radhikapur by road as alternative routes.
India was also requested to consider connecting Birol-Radhikapur and Rohanpur-Singhabad rail-interchanges with Biratnagar-Jogmani as this would help reduce the distance and cost of transportation of goods by rail from Bangladesh to Nepal.
Bangladesh side also sought rail connectivity with Bhutan through the newly inaugurated Chilahati-Haldibari route to facilitate rail connectivity with Bhutan.
The Indian side requested the Bangladesh side for cooperation in establishing connectivity between Guwahati and Chattogram and also from Mahendraganj in Meghalaya to Hili in West Bengal. Bangladesh side requested the Indian side for a detailed proposal in this regard.
Highlighting the benefits of connectivity and the trial run of trans-shipment of Indian goods from Kolkata to Agartala via Chattogram, the India side urged for early operationalization of the Agreement on the use of Chattogram and Mongla Ports for the Movement of Goods to and from India, including finalization of cost effective pricing and regulatory orders.
The Indian side requested for transshipment arrangement in Munshiganj and Pangaon as part of the Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade until the completion of the bilateral project to develop Ashuganj Container Terminal. Bangladesh side informed the infrastructure limitations in this regard and that work is being planned for upgradation of the facilities.
Prime Minister Modi recalled the recent inauguration of the Maitree Shetu over River Feni and appreciated Bangladesh’s support in materializing this crucial connectivity project.
Bangladesh Prime Minister stated that inauguration of the Feni bridge is a testament to the Bangladesh Government’s continued commitment to support initiatives to strengthen connectivity and economic integration in the region, particularly for the North-East of India. Both sides agreed to develop remaining trade and travel infrastructure to facilitate the optimal usage of this new bridge.
The Prime Minister of Bangladesh offered the use of Chattogram and Sylhet International Airport, by the people of North East India, especially of Tripura. Bangladesh also informed that Saidpur Airport is being developed as a regional airport for the use of the people of this region.
Recognizing the ongoing cooperation between the two countries in the sector of education, the two Prime Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to widening this cooperation for mutual benefit. In this connection, they appreciated the various collaborative arrangements between the universities and educational institutes of the two countries.
Both leaders directed their concerned authorities for early conclusion of the MoU on Mutual Recognition of Academic Qualifications. Bangladesh side offered to conduct short term exchange programmes for interested Indian youth in areas such as fisheries, agriculture, disaster management, SMEs and women empowerment. Both sides reiterated the desire to continue regular exchanges to promote culture, education, science and technology, youth and sports and mass media.
Recalling that Bangladesh launched its first satellite, Bangabandhu Satellite (BS-1) in 2017, Prime Minister Hasina Sheikh informed that Bangladesh would launch the second satellite soon. In this regard, both the Prime Ministers agreed for further collaboration and technology transfer in space and satellite research.
Both sides acknowledged the potential of new and emerging areas of cooperation in bilateral cooperation and directed authorities on both sides to focus on and augment cooperation in cutting edge areas of science, artificial intelligence, peaceful uses of nuclear technology, big data and technology enabled services in health and education.
To facilitate further youth exchanges between the two countries, Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited 50 young entrepreneurs from Bangladesh to visit India and present their ideas to venture capitalists.
The following bilateral documents were signed and exchanged during the visit:
i. MoU on Cooperation in the Field of Disaster Management, Resilience and Mitigation;
ii. MoU between Bangladesh National Cadet Corps (BNCC) and National Cadet Corps of India (INCC);
iii. MoU on Establishment of a Framework of Cooperation in the Area of Trade Remedial Measures between Bangladesh and India;
iv. Tripartite MoU on Supply of ICT Equipment, Courseware & Reference Books and Training for Bangladesh-Bharot Digital Service and Employment Training (BDSET) Centre;
v. Tripartite MoU for Establishment of Sports Facilities at Rajshahi College Field and Surrounding Areas.
Meanwhile, FICCI and ThinkThrough Consulting Bangladesh announced partnership to jointly promote and commercialize grassroot technologies developed in India and Bangladesh. The announcement was made as part of the RuTAG Technology Commercialization Programme which is led by the Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor to the India Government and implemented by FICCI.
A bouquet of 49 technologies received under the RuTAG (Rural Technology Action Group) programme will be offered to industry, social Start-ups and NGOs in Bangladesh, FICCI said on 27 Mar 2021.
These technologies have been developed at RuTAG centres housed across seven Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) in India and focus on problems associated with marginal communities in rural areas. RuTAG innovations such as floating fish cages for inland aquaculture, powerless solar dryer for food processing, cold storage powered by pico hydro among others respond to real life problems faced by rural populations.
The technologies are across a wide range of sectors including environment, agriculture and farming, textiles, manufacturing, food processing and aquaculture among others. Besides technology transfer, capacity building support and virtual training sessions will also be provided to Bangladesh entrepreneurs to seamlessly absorb the Indian technologies.
The announcement was made on the side-lines of the visit of Prime Minister, Mr Narendra Modi’s visit to Bangladesh.
Prof K Vijay Raghavan, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Indian Government, stated, “Science and Technology collaboration between India and Bangladesh is towards social and economic development in the region. Both nations can gain immensely through knowledge exchange and technology partnerships. The RuTAG program provides a wide range of grass root innovations that have the ability to create rural livelihood opportunities in Bangladesh.”
Dr Ketaki Bapat, Senior Scientist and Co-ordinator RuTAG program, at the Office of the PSA said, “The RuTAG technologies have been developed at the finest institutions in India. We wish to share these technologies with social entrepreneurs in Bangladesh assuring complete handholding support and leveraging digital technologies for successfully adopting these technologies.”
Sanjay Nayak, Chair, FICCI S&T Committee and MD, Tejas Networks, reiterated, “Through the RuTAG Program, FICCI remains committed to scale Indian innovations in BIMSTEC countries with a special focus on Bangladesh. Bangladesh has been a long-standing development partner of India and there is tremendous potential for our nations on collaborating on the technology front.”
Speaking on the partnership, Parul Soni, Global Managing Partner, Think through Consulting, stated, “We are delighted to partner with the RuTAG Technology Commercialization Programme. Technological innovations can help rural communities in the world by increasing their income and their yields. While these reduce their risks arising on account of climate change and other natural disasters, these increase their opportunities too.” #projects #technologies #investment #trade /fiinews.com
