(a) whether the Prime Minister of Bangladesh visited India recently;
(b) if so, the details thereof including the issues discussed during the visit and the outcome thereof;
(c) whether a trilateral agreement on Civil Nuclear Cooperation involving India-Bangladesh-Russia has been signed;
(d) if so, the details thereof and the likely benefits to be accrued to India in this regard; and
(e) the other steps taken to boost the bilateral relations between the two countries?
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
[GEN. (DR) V. K. SINGH (RETD)]
(a) & (b) Yes. Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina visited India from April 7-10, 2017. During the visit, 22 Agreements/MoUs in the fields of Defence, Space, Nuclear Energy, ICT, Cyber Security, Development Cooperation, Judicial Cooperation, Transport, Mass Media etc. were signed. A large number of commercial agreements in the energy, power, education and health were also signed. A number of cross border connectivity links were launched or announced, namely a bus service connecting Kolkata-Khulna-Dhaka, a train service between Kolkata and Khulna and a rail link between Radhikapur in India with Birol in Bangladesh. During their talks, the two Prime Ministers undertook a comprehensive review of all aspects of the bilateral relationship, including review of implementation of decisions taken during the visit of Prime Minister Modi to Bangladesh in June 2015. Matters relating to security, border management, trade and investment cooperation, water sharing issues, power and energy cooperation, people to people contacts, etc were discussed.
(c) & (d) No trilateral agreement on Civil Nuclear Cooperation between India, Bangladesh and Russia has been signed. However, a bilateral Agreement on Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy has been signed during the visit.
(e) The agreements signed and the discussions during the visit have boosted bilateral relations considerably, having expanded the scope of our cooperation to many new areas and having enhanced our appreciation of each other’s priorities and concerns.
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