Hasina meets Modi; signs MoUs on water sharing, food security

Bangladesh Prime Minister Shiekh Hasina received a ceremonial welcome by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on her arrival at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on Tuesday (September 6).

Later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Hasina signed seven Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) on issues related to water sharing, railways, space, science and judiciary at the Hyderabad House.

Bangladesh is now India’s biggest trade partner in South Asia, and the bilateral trade has grown from $9 billion to $18 billion in the last five years. It has also become the fourth largest export destination for India with the exports registering a growth of over 66 per cent from $9.69 billion in 2020-21 to $ 16.15 billion in 2021-22.

Following the signing of the MoUs, senior officials from both sides exchanged the agreements in the presence of PM Modi and Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina.

During her interaction with reporters outside the Rashtrapati Bhawan, Hasina said the prime goal of the bilateral talks would be to build a friendly relationship focused on alleviating poverty and boosting economic development.

“Our main focus is to develop our people’s federation, poverty alleviation, and economy. With all these issues, I feel our two countries work together so that people not only in India and Bangladesh but across South Asia can get better lives. That’s our main focus,” the Bangladeshi premier said.

Asserting how India has been a close ally since the Bangladesh Liberation War, Hasina said it is a pleasure for her to visit the country.

“India is our friend. Whenever I come to India, it’s a pleasure for me, especially because we always recall the contribution India has made during our liberation war. We have friendly relationship, we are cooperating with each other,” she said.

Earlier in the day Hasina paid tribute at Rajghat.

The Bangladesh Prime Minister visited the Dargah Nizamuddin Aulia in New Delhi soon after her arrival on Monday.

Her visit to India is vital ahead of the general elections in Bangladesh next year. Hasina, who has maintained cordial relations with India since her prime ministership in 2009, is expected to promise investment and trade from India and solve the decades-long water dispute with Bangladesh’s neighbour.

It is also an opportunity for India, Bangladesh’s largest trading partner in South Asia, to take up joint projects with the country, to score over China, which at present is involved in all major infrastructure development schemes in Bangladesh.