Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, April 29: During her meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina emphasised the importance of improving connectivity between the two nations, saying that India’s North-Eastern states can use the Chittagong port for that purpose.
“If the connectivity is increased, the Indian North-Eastern states like Assam and Tripura can have access to the Chittagong seaport,” Hasina said during her interaction with EAM Jaishankar.
The Chittagong or Chhatogram port, located in the Chittagong hill tracts, is one of Bangladesh’s most major seaports. Because of the sea port’s proximity to North-Eastern Indian states, it has the potential to greatly improve economic activity in those regions by offering direct access to global shipping routes.
The Chittagong or Chhatogram port, located in the Chittagong hill tracts, is one of Bangladesh’s most major seaports. Because of the sea port’s proximity to North-Eastern Indian states, it has the potential to greatly improve economic activity in those regions by offering direct access to global shipping routes.
In 2010, India and Bangladesh signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to allow products to and from India to be transported through Bangladesh’s Chittagong and Mongla ports.
Notably, in 2018, the Bangladesh cabinet approved the proposed agreement with New Delhi to allow for the use of the two ports for the transport of goods. During his two-day visit to Bangladesh, Jaishankar met with Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday. The EAM and the Bangladeshi PM discussed bilateral, regional, and international matters of mutual concern during their meeting. PM Hasina has been invited to visit India later this year by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to EAM Jaishankar.
Jaishankar also met with Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister, AK Abdul Momen, and extended an invitation to him to join the Joint Consultative Commission’s next meeting, which will be conducted in India ahead to PM Hasina’s visit. Jaishankar also announced the resumption of cross-border bus and railway services between the two nations immediately after Eid during a joint press conference with his Bangladeshi counterpart.
EAM Jaishankar landed in Dhaka on Thursday, April 28, to begin a three-day trip to Bangladesh and Bhutan. Jaishankar’s visit to Bangladesh is notable because it is his first since March 2021.
