India, Bangladesh agree to deepen cooperation

India and Bangladesh on Saturday agreed to enhance cooperation to new areas in addition to deepening their existing ties in several areas of mutual interest as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with visiting Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina in New Delhi. In a press statement after the meeting, Modi said both the sides have prepared a futuristic vision for cooperation in new areas. Green partnership, digital partnership, blue economy and space are some of the areas that both the neighbors agreed to deepn cooperation. Modi said that digital and energy connectivity would be the focus ahead as connectivity that existed before 1965 has been restored in the last 10 years. Pointing out to the importance of cooperation in the maritime field and water Modi siad 54 rivers connect India and Bangladesh. "We have been cooperating on flood management, early warning, drinking water projects.We have decided to start technical level discussions for renewal of the 1996 Ganga Water Treaty. A technical team wi ll soon visit Bangladesh to discuss conservation and management of the Teesta river in Bangladesh," he said. "We had comprehensive discussions on further strengthening our defence cooperation, from defence production to modernisation of armed forces. We have decided to strengthen our cooperation on counter-terrorism, countering radicalism and peaceful management of the border," the Indian PM said. Modi also welcomed Bangladesh's decision to join the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative underlining both the countries share common views on it. On the sidelines of the meeting 10 MoUs were signed in the areas of digital partnership, green partnership, maritime cooperation and blue economy, ICT and telecom, railway connectivity, oceanography, military education, disaster management, resilience and mitigation, fisheries and health and medicine. The visiting PM of Bangladesh also met Indian President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. Source: Kuwait News Agency