MODI-A Real Hero for Developing Countries and Peace Maker of South East Asia.

A large number of deals have been signed including one for exchanging enclaves, ending the contentious bilateral issue that has been lingering since 1974.The neighboring countries have also agreed for greater regional connectivity for the development of South Asia. Bangladesh and India renewed bilateral trade agreement and a protocol on inland water transit and trade. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed for extending a $2 billion line of credit by India. Other MoUs covered areas like the blue economy and maritime cooperation in the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean.

Bilateral documents signed and handed over:

1. Exchange of Instruments of Ratification of 1974 Land Boundary Agreement and its 2011 Protocol
2. Exchange of letters on Modalities for implementation of 1974 Land Boundary Agreement and its 2011 Protocol
3. Bilateral Trade Agreement (renewal)
4. Agreement on Coastal Shipping between Bangladesh and India
5. Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade (renewal)
6. Bilateral Cooperation Agreement between Bangladesh Standards & Testing Institution (BSTI) and Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) on Cooperation in the field of Standardization.
7. Agreement on Dhaka-Shillong-Guwahati Bus Service and its Protocol
8. Agreement on Kolkata-Dhaka-Agartala Bus Service and its Protocol
9. Memorandum of Understanding between Coast Guards
10. Memorandum of Understanding on Prevention of Human Trafficking
11. Memorandum of Understanding on Prevention of Smuggling and Circulation of Fake Currency Notes
12. Memorandum of Understanding between Bangladesh and India and for Extending a New Line of Credit (LoC) of US$ 2 billion by Government of India to Government of Bangladesh
13. Memorandum of Understanding on Blue Economy and Maritime Cooperation in the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean
14. Memorandum of Understanding on Use of Chittagong and Mongla Ports
15. Memorandum of Understanding for a Project under IECC (India Endowment for Climate Change) of SAARC
16. Memorandum of Understanding on Indian Economic Zone
17. Cultural Exchange Programme for the years 2015-17
18. Statement of Intent on Bangladesh-India Education Cooperation (adoption)
19. Agreement between Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited (BSCCL) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) for leasing of international bandwidth for the internet at Akhaura
20. Memorandum of Understanding between University of Dhaka, Bangladesh and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India for Joint Research on Oceanography of the Bay of Bengal

21. Memorandum of Understanding between University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh, and University of Jamia Milia Islamia, India
22. Handing over of Consent Letter by Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA), Bangladesh to Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), India to start operations in Bangladesh.

Flagged off the following Items:

 Unveiling of Foundation Stone for Construction of Khulna-Mongla Railway line

1. The unveiling of Foundation Stone for Rehabilitation of Kalaura-Shahbajpur section of Bangladesh Railways.
2. Inauguration of Tarapur-Kamlasagar Border Haat
3. Unveiling of Foundation Stone for Bangladesh – India Friendship Building at National Police Academy, Sardah
4. Inauguration of Upgraded Laboratories at BSTI
5. Unveiling of Foundation Stone of Rabindra Bhaban Kuthibari, Shilaidaha
6. The unveiling of Foundation Stone for Construction of Bangladesh – India Friendship Bridge-1 over Feni River.
7. Dhaka-Sylhet-Shillong-Guwahati Bus Service
8. Kolkata-Dhaka-Agartala Bus Service.

Prime Minister Modi handed over the following to Prime Minister Hasina:

1. Audio recording of Bangbandhu’s Speech at Brigade Maidan, Kolkata (06 February 1972)
2. DVD of Parliamentary Debate on Land Boundary Agreement
3. Mementos of INS Vikrant
4. Replica of a dredger supplied to Mongla Port
5. Photo and replica of one of the 24 Automatic Weather Stations installed in Bangladesh under the STORM program

Prime Minister Hasina handed the following to Prime Minister Modi:

1. A photograph of the “Signing Instrument of Surrender 1971”
2. A map indicating the location of SEZs for India
3. A photograph of the model of the Maitree Super Thermal Power Project (2X660 MW) at Rampal.

The visit provided Bangladesh raised some other key issues with Prime Minister Modi to consolidate further bilateral relations. First is the reduction of the huge trade deficit of Bangladesh with India. During 2013-14, Bangladesh imported goods worth $6.2 billion in the official channel, while Bangladesh could only export goods worth about $456.63 million (much less than previous years). In addition, unofficial imports from India are reportedly about 1.5 times more than official imports.