 "Rohingya Muslims, who spent four days in the open after crossing over from Myanmar into Bangladesh, carry their children and belongings after they were allowed to proceed towards a refugee camp, at Palong Khali, Bangladesh. Photo: AP | PTI")
In his meeting with visiting Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday evening, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appreciated Dhaka for the burden that Bangladesh has shouldered in hosting over a million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar's Rakhine State.
According to a statement that the Ministry of External Affairs released after the meeting of the two leaders at Modi's official residence at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg, the Indian Prime Minister conveyed "India's constructive and positive approach to supporting solutions towards safe and sustainable repatriation of the refugees."
Bangladesh has been asking India to lean on Myanmar to repatriate the people who took refuge in the country to escape persecution after a military clampdown in 2017. Hasina is visiting India as Bangladesh is a guest country for the G20 Leaders Summit. The Indian side, the MEA said, welcomed Bangladesh's Indo-Pacific outlook announced in April.
Bangladesh's Indo-Pacific outlook, announced on 24 April, outlining 15 objectives, seeks a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific and converges with India's perspective. New Delhi, along with several other countries in the region, views China's aggressive moves in the Indo-Pacific with concern.
The two leaders, the MEA said, looked forward to the joint inauguration of the Agartala-Akhaura and Khulna-Mongla rail links and Unit-II of the Maitree Power Plant. The first unit of the 1320 MW Maitree Super Thermal Power Project at Rampal in the Khulna district of Bangladesh was inaugurated in September 2022 by the two leaders during Hasina's India visit.
The US$ 2 billion project is a 50:50 joint venture between the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), with US$ 1.6 billion as Indian Development Assistance under Concessional Financing Scheme.
The leaders welcomed the operationalisation of the agreement on the use of Chattogram and Mongla Ports, the commissioning of the India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline, and the settlement of bilateral trade in INR, which has encouraged the business community on both sides to utilise the mechanism, the MEA said.
Modi and Hasina "looked forward" to the two sides beginning negotiations on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), covering trade in services and goods and protecting and promoting investment.
The two sides signed three agreements, including strengthening bilateral cooperation in digital payment mechanisms, which was between the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and Bangladesh Bank, and another on Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Bangladesh Agriculture Research Council (BARC).
