In a bid to give boost to their ties, India and Bangladesh on Saturday inked nearly two dozen pacts in strategic areas of defence and civil nuclear cooperation after "productive" talks between their prime ministers.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held extensive discussions with his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina on ways to strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries. He also announced a new line of concessional credit of $4.5 billion for the implementation of projects in Bangladesh. 

Both the countries inked a pact on the defence cooperation framework apart from signing an agreement for extending defence Line of Credit (LOC) of $500 million. An agreement between Defence Services Staff College, Wellington (Nilgiris) in Tamil Nadu and Defence Services Command and Staff College, Mirpur, Dhaka was also signed for enhancing cooperation in strategic and operational studies.

A pact between National Defence College in Dhaka and National Defence College in New Delhi for enhancing cooperation in the field of national security, development and strategic studies was also inked between the two countries after both their prime ministers held "productive" talks.

The countries also agreed to cooperate for peaceful use of nuclear energy apart from reaching an arrangement between the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) India and Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority (BAERA) for the exchange of technical information and cooperation in the regulation of nuclear safety and radiation protection. The countries also agreed on an inter-agency agreement between Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership (GCNEP), India and Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) on cooperation in nuclear power plant projects in Bangladesh.

During the meeting, the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) and Bangladesh Government Computer Incident Response Team (BGD e-Gov CIRT) also agreed to cooperate in the area of cyber security. An agreement between both the countries on establishing border haats across the Indo-Bangladesh border was also signed. The countries also agreed to cooperate in the bilateral judicial sector. The National Judicial Academy in India and the Supreme Court of Bangladesh also inked a pact on training and capacity building programme for Bangladeshi judicial officers in India.

Both the countries also agreed on a financing agreement for the construction of 36 community clinics in Bangladesh apart from signing a pact on extending a third Line of Credit (LoC) by India to Bangladesh.

Other pacts include an agreement on cooperation in the field of mass media and audio-visual co-production. An MoU on development of fairway from Sirajganj to Daikhowa and Ashuganj to Zakiganj on Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route between the Indian Shipping Ministry and Bangladesh Shipping Ministry was also signed. Both the countries also signed a pact on passenger and cruise services on the coastal and protocol route. The Geological Survey of India (GSI) and the Geological Survey of Bangladesh (GSB) also agreed on mutual scientific cooperation in the field of Earth Sciences for Research and Development among others. Hasina, who arrived here on Friday on a four-day trip

will visit Ajmer on Sunday and will also meet Indian business leaders on Monday.

Source: Timesofoman