Sheikh Hasina India visit: Protocol route expanded to include river ports near Tripura

October 7, 2019: With an emphasis on opening its doors for increased connectivity between the northeastern Indian states and Bangladesh, prime minister Narendra Modi signed seven MoUs/agreements and inaugurated three projects along with his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina during her recent visit to India in New Delhi on October 5.

With the inauguration of the bilateral development partnership project on importing LPG in bulk, India can now have the Bangladeshi trucks crossing the border to meet the energy requirements of northeastern states. The agreement on Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) on the use of Chattogram and Mongla ports enable India to use both these ports for goods travelling to and from India. The agreements will also make Tripura the first northeastern state to have access to international sea trade.

The two leaders discussed the decision to operationalise the Dhulian-Gadagari-Rajshahi-Daulatdia-Aricha inland water route and the importance of using them for cargo movement. The talks initiated discussions for the greater use of each others’ seaports for trans-shipment of their export cargoes and the early operationalisation of the BBIN Motor Vehicles Agreement for the movement of goods and passengers.

During the bilateral discussions, Bangladesh informed that will soon lift the restrictions on most items traded through Akhaura-Agartala port upon the Indian request. Both leaders pointed towards a framework for cooperation in Trade Remedial Measures as the Bangladeshi officials requested to consider the antidumping/anti-circumvention duties imposed on many products exported from that country including Jute products.

“Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina appreciated India’s readiness to extend duty-free and quota-free access for Bangladeshi exports to the Indian market. They welcomed that for the first time, exports from Bangladesh to India crossed the one billion dollar mark in 2019 witnessing a year-on-year growth of 52 percent in the exports,” said a Press Information Bureau release.

Earlier, during the Bangladesh Business Forum held on October 4, commerce, industry and railways minister Piyush Goyal assured the visiting prime minister that India stands committed to the requests in railways sector because the connectivity of railways between the countries will bring trade boost to both countries along with greater and smoother access to the northeast region of India.