During talks with his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said this was the golden phase ('Sonali Adhyay') of the bilateral relationship between the two countries.
This is the first time Hasina is visiting India after her re-election. Government sources told ANI that India's objective is to showcase continuous progress in the relationship and make it irreversible. India also wants to take ease of living to the neighbourhood, which was also emphasised during the talks.
Increasing connectivity between the two countries was also the highlight of the talks. It has been decided to increase weekly flights to 120 and to many new destinations. A private Bangladesh flight will soon be launched for Chennai. Deputy High Commission of Bangladesh will also be based in Chennai.
India also decided to take forward the LPG segment to Bangladesh. India will soon be purchasing, bottling, and storing LPG in Bangladesh, and will be supplying it to India's North-East. This will save time and money and will also be helpful for the environment. Revenue of USD 17 million will also be generated by Bangladesh.
India will also assist Bangladesh in upgrading locomotive factory and in ramping up railways.
India and Bangladesh inked 7 agreements including Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) on the use of Chattogram and Mongla ports and Coastal Surveillance System.
NSA Ajit Doval, Union Ministers S Jaishankar, Dharmendra Pradhan and Piyush Goyal were also present during exchange of agreements and inauguration of bilateral projects.