India, B'desh resolve to ensure more people-to-people contact

India and Bangladesh today resolved to ensure greater people-to-people and business-to-business contacts between the North East and the neighbouring country.
"People to people and business to business contacts are essential to ensure sustainable political goodwill and trust, economic growth and shared prosperity of the people of two countries," the Guwahati Declaration signed on the concluding day of the eighth round of India Bangladesh Friendship dialogue here today, said.
The eighth round of the Friendship Dialogue carefully assessed the impact of changing world on peace, stability and prosperity of South Asia, and India and Bangladesh in particular.
The Declaration stated that matters related to innovation, entrepreneurship, human resources development, technology, finance, industrial production, manufacturing, agro-processing, freights and shipping, power generation and energy security are of strategic importance for both Delhi and Dhaka.

The Dialogue reassesed and measured progress in the areas discussed in earlier rounds, particularly in managing peaceful and prosperous international borders and security, water security and Joint Basin Management, energy security and cross border generation and trade in power.
The Dialogue also deliberated on connectivity and integrated multi-modal communication with special emphasis on utilising inland waterways, sub-regional and regional development and utilisation of mega architectures such as regional and continental highways, rail networks, sea ports and coastal shipping, investment, production and manufacturing.

The next round of dialogue will be held at Cox Bazar in Bangladesh next year.
The eighth Dialogue between the two countries was organised by India Foundation in collaboration with State Innovation and Transformation Aayog (SITA), Government of Assam, Bangladesh Foundation for Regional Studies (BFRS) and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies (MAKAIAS).

It was attended among others by Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar and Bangladesh Minister of Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam.