We won’t allow our soil to be used against India: Hasina

NEW DELHI: India and Bangladesh on Monday signed five pacts in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his counterpart, Sheikh Hasina, to add impetus to the bilateral ties that had been on the upswing since the last one year.

In a series of high-level meetings, Ms. Hasina assured New Delhi that Dhaka would not allow its soil to be used as a base for operations by groups inimical to India, her Advisor Abul Kalam Azad said.

The five agreements relate to mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, transfer of sentenced persons, fight against terror, organised crime and illegal drug trafficking, power cooperation and cultural exchange programmes.

“We are confident that this visit would serve to underline that strong India-Bangladesh relations are vital; not just for both our countries, but for the entire region and the international community,” noted Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao.

“The intention is to put in place mechanisms that would be irreversible regardless of the nature of the regimes in both countries,” said official sources.

For instance, the pact on power sector envisaged a transmission grid between the two countries that would enable Dhaka to import electricity and pave the way for the entry of Indian public sector power companies to Bangladesh.

“We are looking at a long-term, stable and durable relationship as well as to address issues that we have not been able to take up in the past,” the sources said.

The two sides also discussed an Indian credit line to build rail tracks in Bangladesh, an easier trading and investment environment and help in dredging of rivers.

Ms. Hasina, who arrived here on a four-day state visit on Sunday, began her official engagements by laying a wreath at Rajghat, samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi. Later, she called on President Pratibha Patil.

Before the delegation-level talks with Dr. Singh, during which the five agreements were signed, she met United Progressive Alliance chairperson and Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

On Tuesday, Ms. Hasina will be conferred the prestigious Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The same day, she will call on the ailing former Prime Minister, I. K. Gujral, who is an old acquaintance from the days of her father Sheikh Mujibur Rehman. The ties were further consolidated when Mr. Gujral became Foreign Minister and then Prime Minister when Ms. Hasina became the Prime Minister for the first time in 1996.