Page 8 - India-bangladesh Ties

Nepal, India, B'desh sign pact to facilitate cross-border electricity trade

Nepal, India and Bangladesh on Thursday signed a tripartite agreement to facilitate cross-border electricity trade, officials here said. As per the agreement, Nepal will export its surplus electricity to Bangladesh via India from June 15 to November 15 every year. India will make arrangements to supply electricity from Nepal to Bangladesh. In the first phase, Nepal will export 40 MW of hydroelectricity to Bangladesh via Indian territory. The rate per unit of electricity has been fixed at 6.4 cents. From the export of electricity, Nepal will make an annual income of around USD 9.2 million, Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) officials said. The MoU was signed in Kathmandu between NEA Executive Director Kulman Ghising, NTPC Vidyut Byapar Nigam CEO Deino Naran, and Bangladesh Power Development Board Chairman Mohamad Rizwan Karim, Nepal's Ministry of Energy officials said. Nepal's Energy Minister Dipak Khadka and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sayeda Rijwana Hasan were also present on the .

Taking stock of B'desh: Visa woes slow Petrapole border's road to normalcy

Movement of people and trade between India and Bangladesh are limping back to normalcy 2 months after latter's political upheaval. The first of a two-part series is a ground report from Petrapole

Hilsa bonanza: Prized fish from Bangladesh back on plate as imports resume

Before the turmoil, Bangladesh exported an average of 5,000 tonnes of Hilsa to India annually, a practice that began in 1996

Why Jaishankar sees India overcoming challenges in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh

Sri Lanka's new President, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, has been noted to have pro-China leanings, and his swearing in comes shortly after pro-India Sheikh Hasina's ouster from power in Bangladesh

Sri Lanka to Bangladesh: Is India facing a major geopolitical challenge?

Anura Kumara Dissanayake's swearing in as Sri Lanka's new President must have been closely followed in New Delhi, given that it came shortly after Sheikh Hasina's removal from power in Bangladesh

Amit Shah's remarks spark strong protest from Bangladesh. What did he say?

Bangladesh has issued a formal protest following recent remarks reportedly made by the Union Home Minister in Jharkhand

What does India want from Bangladesh post Hasina ouster? Jaishankar reveals

Bangladesh faced civil unrest and violence last month following a student-led protest against the quota system in government jobs, leading to the resignation of then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

Want good relation with India but on basis of fairness and equality: Yunus

Bangladesh's Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus on Wednesday said his country wants good relations with India and other neighbouring nations it should be on the basis of "fairness and equality". In a televised address, Yunus said after he took oath as the head of the administration, many foreign leaders, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Shehbaz Sharif, telephoned to congratulate him. "We want good relations with India and other neighbouring nations, but that relations should be on the basis of fairness and equality," he said. The 84-year-old Nobel laureate took oath as the head of the interim government on August 8 after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled to India following widespread protests against her government. Yunus said Bangladesh has already started high-level bilateral cooperation talks with India to deal with floods. "I have also taken the initiative to revive SAARC to enhance regional cooperation in South Asia, he ...

India-funded projects 'very important', to continue in B'desh: Interim govt

A top adviser of the interim government said Tuesday that India-funded projects are "very important" and will continue under the new administration in Bangladesh. Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed also said that Dhaka looks forward to "enhanced cooperation" with New Delhi during his meeting with Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma here, the state-run BSS news agency reported. "Already, the projects they (India) have with us are big projects, and we'll continue those, as those are not small projects and we'll take another big project for the benefits of ours...," the report quoted him as saying. "We'll not stop on whatever we have got, and we'll talk about those projects ...funding of the projects and also their implementation part," he added. The financial adviser's remarks come amid concerns about the timely implementation of projects funded under India's three lines of credit following the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government last month after a mass ...

Muhammad Yunus calls for resolving issues over Teesta treaty with India

Bangladesh's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus has said the interim government would pursue with India ways to resolve the differences over the long-pending Teesta water sharing treaty, as delaying it for years serves no purpose for either nation. In an interview with PTI at his official residence in Dhaka, Yunus stated that the water-sharing issue between the two countries must be resolved according to international norms, emphasising that lower riparian countries like Bangladesh have specific rights that they seek to uphold. By sitting over this issue (water sharing), it is not serving any purpose. If I know how much water I will get, even if I am not happy and sign it, it would be better. This issue has to be resolved, he said. Replying to a query on whether the interim government would push for resolving the issues over the Teesta water-sharing treaty at the earliest, he said the new regime will pursue it. Push is a big word; I am not saying it. We will pursue it. But we have to sit

Hasina must stay silent till Bangladesh seeks her extradition, says Yunus

Muhammad Yunus, the head of Bangladesh's interim government, has said that former prime minister Sheikh Hasina making political remarks from India is an unfriendly gesture", asserting that she must remain silent to prevent the discomfort to both countries until Dhaka requests her extradition. "If India wants to keep her until the time Bangladesh (government) wants her back, the condition would be that she has to keep quiet," he said. In an interview with PTI at his official residence in Dhaka, Yunus, who was appointed the country's Chief Adviser after Hasina's ouster, stressed that while Bangladesh values strong ties with India, New Delhi must move beyond the narrative that portrays every other political party except Awami League as Islamist and that the country will turn into Afghanistan without Sheikh Hasina. "No one is comfortable with her stance there in India because we want her back to try her. She is there in India and at times she is talking, which is problematic. Had she be

Attacks on Hindus not communal, issue exaggerated, says Bangladesh's Yunus

Chief Adviser to Bangladesh's interim government, Muhammad Yunus, has said the issue of attacks on minority Hindus in his country is exaggerated and questioned the manner in which India projected it. In an interview with PTI at his official residence here, Yunus said the attacks on minorities in Bangladesh are more political than communal. He suggested that the attacks were not communal, but a fallout of a political upheaval as there is a perception that most Hindus supported the now-deposed Awami League regime. I have said this to (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi also that this is exaggerated. This issue has several dimensions. When the country went through an upheaval following the atrocities by (Sheikh) Hasina and the Awami League, those who were with them also faced attacks, the Nobel laureate told PTI. The minority Hindu population faced vandalism of their businesses and properties, as well as the destruction of Hindu temples, during the student-led violence that erupted followi

Hasina must stay silent in India till B'desh seeks her extradition: Yunus

Muhammad Yunus, the head of Bangladesh's interim government, has said that former prime minister Sheikh Hasina making political remarks from India is an unfriendly gesture", asserting that she must remain silent to prevent the discomfort to both countries until Dhaka requests her extradition. "If India wants to keep her until the time Bangladesh (government) wants her back, the condition would be that she has to keep quiet," he said. In an interview with PTI at his official residence in Dhaka, Yunus, who was appointed the country's Chief Advisor after Hasina's ouster, stressed that while Bangladesh values strong ties with India, New Delhi must move beyond the narrative that portrays every other political party except Awami League as Islamist and that the country will turn into Afghanistan without Sheikh Hasina. "No one is comfortable with her stance there in India because we want her back to try her. She is there in India and at times she is talking, which is problematic. Had she be

B'desh to push for resuming talks with India on Teesta water sharing treaty

Bangladesh's interim government wants to restart with India the dialogue on the Teesta water sharing treaty, adviser on water resources Syeda Rizwana Hasan has said, asserting that upper-riparian and lower-riparian countries should adhere to international principles on the distribution of water. Speaking to PTI in Dhaka, Hasan expressed confidence that the Teesta treaty and other water-sharing agreements with India would be resolved amicably through dialogue but suggested that Bangladesh might consider international legal documents and principles if an agreement cannot be reached. I have discussed the issue of Teesta water sharing with all relevant stakeholders (in Bangladesh). We have discussed that we need to restart the process and dialogue regarding the Teesta treaty. We also have to work on the Ganges treaty, which is coming to an end in two years, she told PTI in an interview on Sunday. Both sides agreed, and a draft of the Teesta water-sharing agreement was prepared, but the

Could seek Sheikh Hasina's extradition: Bangladesh foreign affairs adviser

Sheikh Hasina had arrived in India on August 5, following an uprising led by students against her that turned violent

We have to look at mutuality of interests: EAM on India-Bangladesh ties

Since its independence in 1971, India's relationship with Bangladesh has "gone up and down" and it is natural that New Delhi deals with the government of the day, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday. In his address at a book launch here, he also emphasised that India will have to look at "mutuality of interests" and said for any country in the world, neighbours are "always a conundrum", and so are "major powers". His comments come in the backdrop of the unprecedented anti-government protests in Bangladesh which eventually led to the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government and her fleeing to India on August 5. Hasina's presence in India for over three weeks has given rise to speculation in that country. Since August 8, an interim government, led by Chief Adviser Mohammad Yunus along with a team of advisers, is in place in Bangladesh. The book 'Stategic Conundrum: Reshaping India's Foreign Policy', written by Rajiv Sikri, former ambassador of India, talks about th

B'desh wants cordial ties with India, but doesn't want interference: JeI

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami supremo Shafiqur Rahman has said his party seeks harmonious and stable ties with India but asserted that New Delhi needs to reconsider its foreign policy in the neighbourhood, as bilateral relations do not entail interfering in each other's internal issues. Rahman, who is the Ameer of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, stated in an interview with PTI that his party supports close relations between India and Bangladesh but also believes that Bangladesh should maintain strong and balanced relations with countries like the US, China, and Pakistan, by leaving behind the baggage of the past. Rahman, 65, contended that New Delhi's perception of Jamaat-e-Islami as anti-India is mistaken, asserting that Jamaat-e-Islami is not against any country; it is a wrong perception. We are pro-Bangladesh and are solely interested in safeguarding the interests of Bangladesh, and emphasised that this perception needs to change. The Jamaat-e-Islami suggested that it would have been ..

Decoded: How Farakka Barrage Pact determines India-Bangladesh water sharing

The purpose of the Farakka barrage is to divert water into the canal. It is carefully done using a system of gates on the main Ganga river

'We are equal citizens': Muhammad Yunus assures Bangladesh's Hindus

Addressing Bangladesh's Hindu leaders on the occasion of Janmashtami, Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus said that it was his interim government's responsibility to safeguard the rights of all citizens

India rejects reports linking Farakka barrage opening to Bangladesh floods

India on Monday trashed reports in Bangladesh that the opening of the Farakka barrage in West Bengal is causing floods in some areas in the neighbouring country. "We have seen fake videos, rumours and fear-mongering to create misunderstanding. This should be firmly countered with facts," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. He said relevant data is shared with joint river commission officials concerned in Bangladesh on a regular and timely basis, and it was done this time as well. "We have seen media reports of the opening of Farakka barrage gates that will allow the flow of over 11 lakh cusecs of water downstream of the river in its natural course into the Ganga/Padma river," Jaiswal said. "This is a normal seasonal development that takes place due to increased inflow from heavy rainfall in the Ganga river basin catchment areas upstream," he said. The MEA spokesperson was responding to media queries on the matter. "It is to be understood that Farakka is o