Dhaka and Riyadh today (Jan 21) discussed on enhancing trade, investment and connectivity between the two brotherly nations. The discussion was held when Saudi Arabian Vice-minister of Foreign Affairs Waleed El Khereiji called on Foreign Minister Dr. Hasan Mahmud in Kampala, Uganda on the sideline of Third South Summit of the G-77 and China. At the meeting held on Sunday, Khereiji congratulated Mahmud for assuming his new role as Foreign Minister. The two dignitaries also discussed various issues of mutual interest. Foreign Minister is leading the Bangladesh delegation to the 19th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and the Third South Summit of the G-77 and China in Kampala, Uganda. Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen, Bangladesh Permanent Representative to the UN Muhammad A Muhith and Bangladesh High Commissioner to Kenya and Uganda Tareque Muhammad, among others, are accompanying the Foreign Minister Dr. Hasan Mahmud.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md. Shahriar Alam emphasized on deepening relations in the region for shared prosperity through regional connectivity where the Bay of Bengal is the common strategic interlocutor. He expressed this in his remarks delivered as Special Speaker at the ‘Third India-Japan Intellectual Conclave’, at an event organized at Agartala jointly by Assam based influential think tank Asian Confluence, Indian Ministry of External Affairs, Bangladesh Mission in Agartala and the Embassy of Japan in India. The State Minister gratefully recalled the crucial role played by India particularly the people of Tripura during the War of Liberation of Bangladesh in 1971 that Bangladesh waged under leadership of led by the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Mr. Shahriar Alam highlighted the transformative changes in the bilateral ties between Bangladesh and India in the recent years under the leadership of Prime Miniser Sheikh Hasina and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He added that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina always advocated regional and sub-regional cooperation. With its advantageous geographic location between South and South East Asia, and the Bay of Bengal to the south, Bangladesh was working to establish itself as the regional hub of connectivity. He said that implementation of the BIMSTEC Master Plan for Transport Connectivity would be instrumental for further economic development in the region.  Mr. Shahriar Alam termed big infrastructural projects of Bangladesh such as the Padma Multipurpose bridge, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel under the river Karnaphuli, the Matarbari deep seaport, the Payra deep sea port, third Terminal of the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, Padma Bridge Rail Link Project  as engine of growth of the region.   The State Minister said that Bangladesh envisions a free, open, peaceful, secure, and inclusive Indo-Pacific which was a core area of global politics and key determinant of long-term prosperity of South Asian Region. An important constituent of the Indo Pacific, the Bay of Bengal can change the fate of the greater Bay of Bengal community including South Asia.  The State Minister elaborated how the connection of North East India with mainland India and access to the Bay of Bengal using Bangladesh territory and her sea ports would bring phenomenal change in the prosperity in this region. He appreciated the greater involvement of Japan for undertaking Bay of Bengal Industrial Growth Belt for the infrastructural developments of Bangladesh.    The State Minister called upon the political leadership of this region at all levels to be visionary about the bright prospect. He emphasized that greater benefits of the people should not be allowed being hostage to political considerations. He expected that Bangladesh’s neighbor would reciprocate the way Bangladesh is coming forth to allow her territory for use of her neighbours.  State Minister Shahriar Alam  was speaking at the inaugural session of the two-day long event as Special guest together with the Indian Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region, Culture and Tourism Shri G Kishan Reddy; Minister of State for External Affairs Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh; Industries and Commerce and Welfare of OBCs Minister of Tripura Smt. Santana Chakma; and Japanese Ambassador to India Mr. Hiroshi Suzuki.  State Minister Shahriar Alam who arrived Tripura today is expected to meet the Chief Minister of Tripura Prof. Dr. Manik Saha tomorrow before he returns to Dhaka.

India is very keen to develop the infrastructure of its north-eastern region and it is going that extra mile to fulfil it. To enhance the rail connectivity and infrastructure development in the North-eastern region of India, as many as 59 railway stations would be developed with world class facilities, India’s Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stated recently. Vaishnaw informed that 15 stations each in all divisions of Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) are to be developed under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme.  He further claimed that for the first time, an amount of Rs 1.20 lakh crore has been earmarked for connecting the hilly and border areas. The Gross Budget Allocation for N.F. Railway for the financial year 2023-24 is Rs 10,988.80 crore. It is 13.75 per cent more than the previous year's allotment. The allocation for the north-eastern states is Rs 10,269 crore, which is about Rs 300 crore higher than last year.   In the Union Budget 2023-24 presented by Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Parliament last week allotted 2.4k lakh crore for the development of railway infrastructure in the country. Indian Railways (IR) is on a mission to connect the northeast with the rest of the country, and keeping this as a priority Bairabi-Sairang Rail Line Project (51.38 km) is about to get completed.  The project is of national significance and will provide seamless connectivity to Mizoram’s state capital, Aizawl (Sairang), with the rest of India, reported Financial Express.  The Bairabi-Sairang rail line will have 130 bridges, 23 tunnels, and four stations namely Kawnpui, Hortoki, Mualkhang, and Sairang. As per reports, the cost of construction from Bairabi to Sairang was estimated at Rs 2384 crores. However, later it was revised to Rs 5021.45 crores. The line is under Indian Railways’ Northeast Frontier zone. In August 2019, 65 per cent work was completed, and in February 2020, Railway Board Chairman inspected the 51.38 km long rail line project. In February 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, reportedly, the project faced several delays in construction work, and due to lockdowns and lack of labour, the revised deadline for the railway line to Sairang (and the final extension till Mizoram’s capital Aizawl) is March 2023. In a separate but related development, construction work is going at a fast pace on the Sivok–Rangpo rail line project to connect Sikkim with the rail network of the country, according to the Financial Express report.  From Sivok in West Bengal (WB) to Rangpo in Sikkim, the total length of this line will be 44.96 km. 41.55 km rail line will be in WB, and Sikkim’s share will be 3.41 km. In total, 14 tunnels will be made. The longest tunnel will be 5.27 km. The length of the shortest tunnel will be 538 metres.  An article stated the geographical and logistical challenges in the north-eastern states are quite different from the rest of India. The mountainous terrain is a major bottleneck for developing a network of transportation in the region. Several factors, including the challenging topography, have led to underdevelopment in several sectors, including health, education, infrastructure etc., resulting in slow economic growth. The government has been implementing various infrastructure development projects in the North Eastern States during the last five years. These relate to improving air, rail, road and waterway connectivity. Source: The Assam Tribune  

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said Dhaka dwellers will witness different rail connectivity by 2030 to ease the traffic situation. "InshaAllah, a different scenario will be established in Dhaka city by 2030 through the rail communication," she said. The premier said this while inaugurating train movement from Rooppur, Shashidal and Joydebpur railway stations on the newly installed 69.20km rail track under three projects of Bangladesh Railway (BR). Joining virtually the function from her official residence Ganabhaban here, she also said the government has introduced Metro Rail which will be extended from Uttara to Kamalapur in future. "Not only on the overhead (elevated route), but also we are going to underground . . .," she said referring to the inauguration of construction works of the underground rail under MRT-I scheme. "It (rail) will ease people's communication, movement and save fuel cost as well as many more. Traffic of Dhaka city will be eased," she said, adding that "We are formulating our plan in such way."   With Railways Minister Md. Nurul Islam Sujan in the chair, Railways Secretary Dr. Md. Humayun Kabir delivered the welcome address. Acting High Commissioner of India Dr Binoy George also spoke. A video documentary on the three projects of BR was screened at the function. The prime minister said her government has constructed Padma Multipurpose Bridge with own finance and kept the rail communication facilities on the bridge. She said installation works of rail track on the Padma Multipurpose Bridge is going on fast alongside extension of the rail track to Rupdia and Singia of Jashore.  Besides, two fast track projects are being implemented rapidly to establish rail connectivity with the tourist city of Cox's Bazar due to the initiative of Awami League (AL) government, she added.  Sheikh Hasina said her government is also constructing separate rail bridge on the Jamuna river, which is progressing fast.  "Those who once opposed the rail connectivity through the Bangabandhu Bridge alongside road communication, they again proposed to construct a separate rail bridge on the Jamuna River. Now construction works of the Bangabandhu rail bridge is going on," she said.  Mentioning that Khulna-Bagerhat-Mongla rail route was shut down by Khaleda Zia during her tenure, the premier said now they are constructing new rail bridge along with rail track on this route.  She said Akhaura-Laksam Dual Gauge Double-Line, Dhaka-Tongi 3rd and 4th Dual Gauge Line and Tongi-Joydevpur Dual Gauge Double-Line are under construction. In addition, the government is constructing Dhaka-Narayanganj dual-gauge line, Bhanga-Barisal-Payra Port railway line, Joydevpur-Ishwardi dual-gauge double-line, Khulna-Darshana dual-gauge double-line, Sirajganj-Bogura dual-gauge railway line, she said.  Moreover, work on Joydevpur-Mymensingh-Jamalpur dual-gauge double-line, Rooppur nuclear power plant rail-link, Akhaura-Agartala railway line, Dhirashram ICD project is in progress, she added.  The head of government said that for the purpose of transporting goods of Rooppur nuclear power plant, they took up the project titled "Rehabilitation and Construction of Railway Line with Signaling for Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant" with own funding. Under the project, a total of 26.52km railway track including loop-line, Rooppur railway station building, 7 culverts, 13 level crossing gates and signaling-telecom works have been completed, she added.  As a result, the project area is connected to other parts of the country by rail, she continued. Sheikh Hasina said they undertook the project to upgrade the Dhaka-Chattogram corridor to double-line. Earlier, out of 321 km of this corridor, 249 km double-line construction has been completed, she said. The project titled "Construction of Dual Gauge Double Rail Line from Akhaura to Laksam and Conversion of Existing Rail Line to Dual Gauge" was taken up with Asian Development Bank and European Investment Bank and self-financing for construction of remaining 72 km double-line. Mentioning that Laksam-Cumilla train service started earlier, Sheikh Hasina said that now railway double line construction from Shashidal to Rajapur and from Kasba to Mandbagh has been completed which was inaugurated today.  "The double line on the remaining 33 km route will be completed in June this year, Inshaallah," she added. The prime minister also highlighted briefly the development works for railways in the last 14 years.  She said they have constructed 650 km of new railway lines, converted 280 km of meter gauge to dual gauge and rehabilitated/reconstructed 1,297 km of lines.  Besides, 126 new station buildings and 223 station buildings have been rehabilitated/reconstructed, she said.  In addition, 732 new railway bridges were constructed while 774 railway bridges were rehabilitated or reconstructed alongside rehabilitation of 50 broad gauge and 50 meter gauge passenger coaches, she went on saying. Sheikh Hasina said they have collected 106 locomotives, 20 sets of DEMUs, 535 passenger carriages and 516 freight wagons. They have developed and modernized signaling system at 130 stations, she said, adding that a total of 142 new trains including Mithali Express have been launched on 44 new and extended routes.  Earlier, the prime minister separately witnessed a presentation on the revival of Motijheel at Ganabhaban. 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said digital connectivity would be the key equipment to transform the country into a Smart Bangladesh. "Digital connectivity will be the key tool to build Smart Bangladesh. Smart citizens, smart economy, smart government and smart society will be built on the basis of digital connectivity," she said. The premier said this in a video message aired at the inaugural ceremony of the Digital Bangladesh Fair-2023 at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) here this morning. The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications arranged the three-day fair aimed at showcasing the IT and ITES products and services in the country. In her message, the prime minister also hoped that the digital goods would play a significant role in investments and exports. "Digital Bangladesh is now a reality. Our next target is to build Smart Bangladesh and Smart Nation. There is no alternative to using ultra modern technology to achieve the target of building Smart Bangladesh," she said. The prime minister said her government wants Bangladesh to become economically prosperous, ensuring maximum use of digital technology including official intelligence, internet of things, virtual reality, augmented reality, robotics and big-data. In this connection, she went on saying, "Five-G services will be ensured at the industrial regions." Mentioning that Bangladesh saw a revolution in digitisation, she said young generation is now dreaming of building Smart Bangladesh. Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had set up the country's first Satellite Earth Station at Betbunia in Rangamati district on June 14 in 1975, through which, the information technology use here started, she said. The premier said they had announced Vision-2021 in the electoral pledge of 2008 whose main aspect was to ensure socio-economic development of Bangladeshi people by establishing Digital Bangladesh. She said her government had launched Bangabandhu Satellite-1 to the orbit in 2018 which has brought a revolutionary change in the broadcasting and telecommunications sectors. The prime minister said her government had been able to resume the telecommunication system that was snapped in Sylhet, Sunamganj and Netrokona districts during the cyclone Sitrang last year. Besides, she said Bangladesh is earning huge foreign currency by using unused frequencies from satellites. "Bangladesh is now a proud 57th member of the satellite family in the world," she said. The prime minister also said steps have been taken to install Bangabandhu Satellite-2 into orbit with multifaceted working capacity aiming to materialise the target of establishing Smart Bangladesh. She said her government is going to set up a third submarine cable by 2024 as they have already installed the first and second submarine cables, adding that Bangladesh has so far achieved a bandwidth capacity of 3400 GBPS. The premier continued that the bandwidth capacity will be increased to 7200 GBPS in the middle of this year, while it will be 13200 GBPS after installation of the third submarine cable. She mentioned that Bangladesh is earning 4.81 million US dollars every year through giving bandwidth leases to Saudi Arabia, France, Malaysia and India. The prime minister said Bangladesh doesn't need to depend on foreign satellites any more. She noted that nearly 956298 kilometers optical fibre cables have been set up till union levels across the country while 10 Gigabyte capacity has been ensured in every union, helping provide high speed internet to the people and the government offices. A total of 8600 post offices across the country have been turned into digital ones using the infrastructure, she said, adding that nowadays 18 crore mobile SIMs are being used while the number of internet-using people is 12 crore. "The digital inequality and prices of broadband internet between the rural and urban areas has been erased due to it," she added. Highlighting her government's successes in reaching telecommunications networks up to remote and inaccessible areas, she said a common tariff of "One country one rate" has been introduced across the country. In this context, the prime minister said Bangladesh was honoured with ASOCIO-2022 Award in recognition of introducing non-discriminatory "One Country One Rate" tariff system across the country. Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni, Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar, Posts Telecommunications and Information Technology Ministry's Parliamentary Standing Committee President AKM Rahmatullah and Secretary of Posts and Telecommunications Division Abu Hena Morshed Zaman spoke at the function. At the programme, the firstly introduced Posts and Telecommunications Award was distributed among 22 organisations and persons in 14 categories in recognition of their praiseworthy works in the telecom sector to build Digital Bangladesh.  

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today stressed the need for developing direct connectivity with Uzbekistan for mutual benefits. She said Bangladesh is keen to set up fertiliser factory in Uzbekistan under a joint venture while Uzbekistan hoped to establish its embassy in Bangladesh. The discussion was held when Deputy Prime Minister for Investment and Foreign Economic Relations and Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan Jamshid Abdurakhimovich Khodjaev paid a courtesy call on the premier at her official Ganabhaban residence in the capital. PM's Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed newsmen after the call on. Sheikh Hasina said both Bangladesh and Uzbekistan should work together to explore many areas for the mutual benefits of the two countries. She said Bangladesh is setting up 100 economic zones across the country to capitalise its young and vibrant manpower. The premier said Bangladesh attaches priority the relationship with Uzbekistan. Recalling the visit of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur to Tashkent, Uzbekistan in 1973, she said the tour had helped laid foundation of the bilateral relations between the two countries and it had been strengthened over the years. She said Bangladesh is emphasizing on the development of ago-processing industries to meet the growing demand of local market and export those to international markets. About the Russia-Ukraine war, the PM said the war is creating problems for all the countries and the people are suffering for it. Bangladesh, she said, has started taking precautionary measures amid the global crisis. The Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister put emphasis on strengthening further long-term friendship and cooperation. "Bangladesh is a potential partner of Uzbekistan and we want to transform it to a strategic partnership," he was quoted as saying. He said his country is keen to enhance economic cooperation with Bangladesh. Jamshid Abdurakhimovich Khodjaev said Uzbekistan is a good hub of CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) countries as there are huge potentialities for developing business here. He sought Bangladesh's cooperation on the pharmaceuticals and ICT sectors. The visiting Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister highly appreciated Bangladesh's economic advancement, growing per capita income and development of agriculture sector. He said they were hoping to set up Uzbekistan embassy in Dhaka. The Bangladesh premier assured of providing necessary supports and cooperation to this end. Jamshid Abdurakhimovich Khodjaev conveyed the greetings of Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to Sheikh Hasina. Sheikh Hasina also conveyed her regards to Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and invited him to visit Bangladesh at his convenience. During the meeting, both the sides have agreed to work for avoidance of double taxation. Uzbek Deputy Minister for Investment and Foreign Affairs Laziz Kudratov and Uzbek Deputy Minister for Civil Aviation Jasurbek Choriev, Bangladesh PM's Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim and Bangladesh Ambassador to Uzbekistan Jahangir Alam were present. Source: BSS AH

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today (Thursday) said initiative has taken to resume various cross-border routes between Bangladesh and India that were stopped in 1965, stressing the need for enhancing connectivity between the two countries for mutual benefits "We have to increase connectivity. If the connectivity between the countries is increased, India's North Eastern provinces - Assam and Tripura - can have access to Chattagram port," she said. The premier said this when Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar paid a courtesy call on her at her official Ganabhaban residence in the capital this afternoon. PM's Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed newsmen after the call on. During the meeting, they expressed happiness at the current state of the existing bilateral relations between the countries. In this connection, the Prime Minister said the high-level visits between the countries will give impetus to carry forward the relations. The Indian Minister said the bilateral issues between the countries are being reviewed and progressing well. Defense sector cooperation, water sharing of Kushiara and Feni rivers, current Covid -19 situation and impacts of Russia-Ukraine war on the global economy prominently came up in the discussion. The Prime Minister said the Covid-19 situation is well in Bangladesh while Jaishankar said the normalcy is bringing back in India. Foreign Senior Secretary Masud Bin Momen,  PMO Senior Secretary Md Tofazzel Hossain Miah and Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Vikram Kumar Doraiswami were present. Source: BSS AH

Much like the rest of South Asia, the landlocked Himalayan nation Nepal is confronted with a lack of infrastructure. Challenges on regional connectivity, restrictive trade policies and inefficient procedures have been some of the obstacles hindering trade in the region. In order to overcome these challenges, India and Nepal have inked treaties and trade agreements that address concerns for infrastructural development and envisage the establishment of a regional cooperation mechanism. As many as 98 per cent of Nepal's transit trade takes place through India and 65 per cent of Nepal's total trade is with India. India continues to lend sustained support to Nepal in building infrastructure, particularly to facilitate air traffic routes for cargo, as also faster and cheaper waterways and railways for transporting goods across borders. With Indian assistance, many infrastructural projects are either being undertaken, are nearing completion or have been concluded in Nepal, with the primary objective of bolstering trade by way of improved connectivity. India has operationalized many such projects in Nepal which include big and small highways, bridges, for road construction in the Terai region. Approximately INR 5,253 crore worth of road projects are being (or have been) implemented, which would benefit India and Nepal. A category of projects that deserves special mention is road connectivity between the two countries. The projects include a 144 km road from Rupaidiha to Barabanki (INR 1,338 crore), a 184 km road from Sonauli to Gorakhpur (approximately INR 570 crore), the Fobesganj-Jogbani road as well as a road linking Piprakodi to Raxaul (INR 429 crore) and 10 other roads costing around INR 500 crore. India has helped lay a cross-border petroleum pipeline to ensure a smooth supply of petroleum products to Nepal. Motihari Amalekhgunj petroleum pipeline is the first of its kind in South Asia. The 69-km pipeline will reduce the cost of transportation of fuel from India to Nepal and prove to be a game-changing project in Nepal. To build a robust rail network between the two countries, work is ongoing on at least six railway projects. These projects are: Jaynagar (India)-Janakpur (Nepal) to Bardibas in Nepal, Jogbani in India to Biratnagar in Nepal, Nautanwa in India to Bhairahawa in Nepal, Rupaidiha in India to Nepalgunj in Nepal, and New Jalpaiguri in India to Kakarbhitta in Nepal, and Kathmandu-Raxual. India has developed a waterway on the Ganges River which connects Varanasi and the seaport of Haldia, Kolkata. To provide linkages through waterways, it is working on inland waterways network to allow Nepal to use three inland waterways, thus expanding its transit options. Nepal can operate its own vessels on the river Ganga. India has given consent to access the Kolkata-Kalughat, Raxaul; Kolkata-Sahebgunj, Biratnagar and Kolkata-Varanasi-Raxaul routes for waterways. Additionally, India has built integrated check posts (ICP) in Biratnagar. The ICP boasts of some of the most modern facilities such as electronic weighbridges, fire safety, warehousing facilities including refrigerated cargo, 24x7 monitoring through CCTV and public announcement systems. The post also has the capability of handling around 500 trucks per day. Also, India handed over the Integrated Check Post (ICP) Birgunj to Nepal. India is also constructing two more such ICPs at Saunali (India)- Bhairahawa(Nepal) and Nepalgunj Road(India)-Nepalgunj(Nepal). Besides, India inaugurated two projects in Nepal which were built with India's grant assistance of Nepali Rupees 89.2 million. Of these, the Rapti Cold Storage Building in Lamahi Bazar of Lamahi was inaugurated in April 2021. The connectivity has assumed greater significance with the formation of regional and sub-regional groupings like BBIN and BIMSTEC. The physical infrastructure being built with Indian assistance will help Nepal boost her trade in the region. Source: ANI

The people of Darui Panchayat in the Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday started celebrating and dancing with joy after the road construction work was taken up in the village for the first time since independence. As soon as the JCB machine was installed, the people of the village started dancing to the beats of the drum and exchanging sweets among themselves. The work of Samba's Pahari Panchayat Darui to village Bardhan started on Friday from JCB which is 2 km 500 meters and in which Rs 2 crore 29 lakh will be spent. The work of Panchayat Darui to village Bardhan, which is 2 km and 500 meters started on Friday. The amount of Rs 2,29,00,000 will be spent to construct this road.   The local people welcomed Vimala Devi, the sarpanch of the panchayat and thanked her as she had played a very important role in getting the road built. Vimala Devi said the people were engaged in trying to get this road constructed since 2009 but finally the work has started in 2022. Vimala Devi added that the this road is being built under the NABARD scheme, only for three villages. Approval has been received and after completion of this work, their next goal is to connect this road to many villages from Nangal, Khirdi and others till Purmandal. A villager said that this road was among the long pending demands of the village as everyone from school going students to pregnant women was facing issues. He added that the connectivity was very important between Bardhan and Lalali road. Earlier people were facing lots of problems. It was very difficult to travel. There was no road for them. Students, pregnant women, and others were facing problems. Now when the road will be constructed, it wills a big convenience for us. He is very thankful to Central Government for this.   Another villager Lambardar Khem Raj also expressed happiness over the development and said thst they thank their sarpanch and central government for fulfilling our demand. Before this they have seen the days of great difficulties, there are rivers on both sides of our village, during the rainy days they used to lift my children on my shoulders and go to school after crossing the cotton river and used to bring them with him after they leave from school. During the rainy days the water was very high. He further said that people of many villages like Bardhan, Lalali, Nangal and Khirdi still have no access to roads and have to cross the river to go anywhere outside the village. A local resident, Diggy Sharma said that they are very happy that the road will be constructed. The next generation will not have to face the troubles.   Sandeep Singh said that there was no road connectivity in three-four villages in Samba district. They had faced lots of difficulties. They were trying to get the road constructed for years. Because of Central Government, now they will also move ahead. Their children can easily go to schools and colleges. Earlier, they used to take the sick people on the cot. There are many more villages where there is no road connectivity. So, they urge Central Government to construct roads for them too. He is very thankful to the Central Government for this.   Source: ANI

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today (Monday) stressed the need for recommitting to work  for strengthening further the 50-year diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and India by concentrating on people-to-people contact, trade, business and connectivity.   This has become increasingly important for both sides, she said in a video message aired in a programme in New Delhi on the ‘Maitri Diwas’ or Friendship Day marking 50 years of Bangladesh-India diplomatic relations.      “We continue to believe in the importance of our relationship. At the same time, this (50th) anniversary is an opportunity to reflect on the foundation of our bilateral relations and the path ahead. It is an occasion also to re-commit ourselves to work towards further strengthening the long standing dynamic partnership between Bangladesh and India,” Sheikh Hasina said.   She recalled that during the state visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Bangladesh on 26-27 March 2021, they agreed on the joint celebrations in 18 selected cities along with Dhaka and New Delhi, and to recognize 6 December as “Maitri Diwas”. Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) arranged the programme in New Delhi on Monday, marking the 50th anniversary of India-Bangladesh Diplomatic Relations as India had recognised Bangladesh on December 06, 1971. State Minister for Cultural Affairs K.M.Khalid,Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Bangladesh High Commissioner in New Delhi Ambassador Muhammad Imran and ICWA Director General Vijay Thakur Singh also spoke at the function.   Today, India and Bangladesh are jointly observing the friendship day (December 6) in Dhaka and New Delhi and 18 countries around the world, including Belgium, Canada, Egypt, Indonesia, Russia, Qatar, Singapore, the UK, Australia, France, Japan, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Switzerland, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and the US.   The Prime Minister said, “Bangladesh and India are celebrating the Golden Jubilee of establishment of diplomatic relations. This is a milestone in the journey of our bilateral relations. India recognized Bangladesh as an independent and sovereign state on December 6th, 1971.”   Sheikh Hasina said she is confident that together the two countries and two peoples would continue to turn their vision and ideas into realities, for decades to come.   “Our partnership is not confined to the treaties, MoUs, bilateral agreements that provide the formal structures for our working relations. Today, our broad partnership has matured, taking dynamic, comprehensive and strategic shape, and is based on sovereignty, equality, trust and mutual respect,” she added.   The relationship between Bangladesh and India is anchored in history, culture, language and shared values of secularism, democracy, and countless other commonalities, she continued.   “Our bonds of friendship have been further strengthened, diversified and expanded in recent years due to regular high level political interactions and exchanges,” the Prime Minister said.   Despite restrictions imposed due to COVID-19, she said , the relationships at all levels have remained stable and strong.   “This was evident in our excellent cooperation and collaboration in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic,” she opined.   The Prime Minister said the foundation of Bangladesh-India relations was laid by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.   Quoting a speech of 1972 of Bangabandhu, she said, “We have a very special relationship with India. The relationship is the friendliest. Friendship of Bangladesh and India is in our hearts. The bonds of friendship will remain firm and long-lasting”.   “Today, I fondly recall the generosity of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her government, leaders of other political parties and overall the people of India towards the people of Bangladesh in 1971,” she said.   The Prime Minister added that India provided accommodation to 10 million refugees from Bangladesh, gave space for the Mujibnagar government and waged a diplomatic campaign in favour of Bangladesh. Source: BSS AH