Dhaka, Nov 14 (Inditop.com) The foreign secretaries of Bangladesh and India met here Saturday to prepare for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s three-day visit to New Delhi next month.
Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, who arrived here on a two-day visit, had a round of talks with her Bangladeshi counterpart Mohammed Mijarul Quayes at state guest house Padma, Star Online reported.
Rao is also scheduled to meet Sheikh Hasina and Leader of Opposition Khaleda Zia.
She called on Foreign Minister Dipu Moni at her ministry office. Although details were not announced, Moni has already said a transit facility pact that India has sought for long will be signed during the visit.
India needs the transit through Bangladeshi territory to open up its isolated northeast where seven states are bottled up. Lack of development and isolation have fanned militancy in some of them.
In lieu of this facility, Dhaka will get access through Indian territory to South Asian neighbours Nepal and Bhutan.
Hasina was in Bhutan last week when she discussed land access to promote on-land trade and offered more port facilities to the landlocked Himalayan kingdom.
A number of other bilateral issues between Bangladesh and India are on the table for the Hasina visit – beginning Dec 19 – that is considered crucial because of the friendly vibes between the Awami League and the Congress that rule in the two countries.
Hasina returned to power in January after sweeping the poll on Dec 29 last year.
This is Nirupama Rao’s first visit to Bangladesh after taking over as foreign secretary in August this year.
A regional approach to terrorism, enhancing bilateral trade, better border management where problems crop up frequently and sharing of waters of several rivers that the two neighbours share are among the issues that will be discussed during the visit.
Among ticklish issues is an Indian plan to construct a dam over Barak river in Manipur in the northeastern region. A campaign by some environmentalists and joined in by Bangladesh’s opposition parties threatened to impact bilateral ties only a few weeks ago. However, India has repeatedly assured it will do nothing to jeopardise Bangladesh’s interest to calm the protests.
Sharing some of the data, India has said the proposed dam is for power generation and would not divert water as feared by sections in Bangladesh.
