The Indo-Bangladesh friendship pipeline carrying High Speed Diesel from Numaligarh refinery in India to Bangladesh will be completed next year. Briefing media in Dhaka on the first day of the visit of President Ram Nath Kovind to Bangladesh on Wednesday, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said that the pipeline from Siliguri to Parbatipur is a unique project that enables India and Bangladesh to integrate their energy requirements. It is progressing well and is expected to be inaugurated next year, said the Foreign Secretary.
Talking about the future course of India Bangladesh ties, Harsh Vardhan Shringla said that both countries are looking to expand ties in cutting edge areas like green technologies, renewable energy, start ups, IT and digital platforms which are of interest to the younger generation and provide employment.
Foreign Secretary highlighted the excellent cooperation between India and Bangladesh in combating the COVID pandemic. He said India has provided 2.18 crore COVID vaccines to Bangladesh apart from sending the Liquid Medical Oxygen through the Oxygen Express trains and other activities. He appreciated the help of Bangladesh to India during the second wave of COVID 19 when it sent medical supplies to India.
The economic and trade ties between India and Bangladesh are growing with an impressive 14 percent growth in bilateral trade on an year to year basis last year, said the Foreign Secretary. He said Bangladesh’s export to India has crossed USD 1 billion and it’s continuing to rise. The Ready Made Garments (RMG) export to India has spiked recently, said the Foreign Secretary.
Congratulating Bangladesh on its graduation from the LDC status, Foreign Secretary Shringla said that in order to continue the duty free access to the export market between India and Bangladesh, it is important to conclude Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) to have the new framework in place. He said both the countries are working on CEPA for its early conclusion.
Foreign Secretary Shringla expressed happiness at the progress of the Line of Credit (LOC) projects between the two countries. He said last year despite COVID pandemic, USD 120 million was disbursed under the LOC. He announced that India and Bangladesh are working on another package of LOC and streamlining the existing LOC projects.
On defense cooperation Foreign Secretary Shringla said that several items have been identified and fast tracked under the USD 500 million LOC for the defense products extended by India. They are in fairly advanced stages of being processed.
On the question of Bangladesh joining QUAD, Foreign Secretary said that it was for Bangladesh to decide on the issue. He said that QUAD is a group of 4 countries which aims to work with other countries in the Indo-pacific region in a cooperative and constructive manner to enhance the vision of a free, open, transparent and inclusive Indo-pacific region.
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