Dedicating three projects, India strengthens bilateral and diplomatic relations with Bangladesh

New Delhi, September 11: Demographically linking countries and consolidating bilateral ties, India and Bangladesh has chalked several associations with each other. Further strengthening the bilateral ties, India and Bangladesh jointly inaugurated three projects in Bangladesh, via video conference. These three projects include a power supply, rail link, and rehabilitation for railway sections.

Making utmost use of digital technology, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina, Chief Minister of Tripura Biplab Kumar Deb, Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee jointly inaugurated these projects through video conferencing. Along with them, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Foreign Minister of Bangladesh were also present.

These three projects highlight:

(a) 500 MW additional power supply from India to Bangladesh, through the existing Bheramara (Bangladesh) - Baharampur (India) interconnection.

(b) Akhaura – Agartala Rail Link

(c) Rehabilitation of the Kulaura-Shahbazpur section of Bangladesh Railways.

Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi recalled the several meetings with Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, including at the BIMSTEC meeting in Kathmandu, in Shanti Niketan, and during the Commonwealth Summit in London.

 

Reiterating his view that leaders of neighboring countries should have a relationship like neighbors, talking and visiting frequently, without getting bogged down by the protocol. He said this closeness is evident in the frequent interactions between him and the Bangladesh Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Modi recalled Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina’s vision of reinstating connectivity to the way it was before 1965. Expressing happiness, PM Modi said that in the last few years, there has been steady progress towards this goal. He said that today, we have increased our power connectivity, and started two projects to increase our railway connectivity. He recalled that during his visit to Bangladesh in 2015, it had been decided to supply an additional 500 MW power to Bangladesh.

PM Modi further added that this is being done using the transmission link between West Bengal and Bangladesh, and thanked the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee for her facilitation in the completion of this work. He added that with the completion of this project, 1.16 Gigawatts of power is now being supplied from India to Bangladesh. He said this journey from Megawatts to Gigawatts is symbolic of a golden era in the relations between India and Bangladesh.

The Prime Minister said that Akhaura-Agartala rail connectivity will provide another link in the cross-border connectivity between the two countries. He thanked the Chief Minister of Tripura, Biplab Kumar Deb, for his facilitation in the completion of this work.

Prime Minister Modi also appreciated Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s development goals of transforming Bangladesh into a middle-income country by 2021 and a developed country by 2041. PM Modi later said that closer relations and people to people links between the two countries would take our development and prosperity to new heights.