Bangladesh's premier to visit India to solve unresolved issues

By Md. Kamruzzaman

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) – Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will visit India on Monday for a four-day official tour to resolve the pending issues between neighboring countries, according to officials.

At a press briefing on Sunday in the capital Dhaka, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said both the countries will sign seven Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) on bilateral issues during the premier's visit.

“It is almost final that we are going to sign MoUs on seven issues including water management (on common rivers), science and technology, railway, information technology, border security and other mutual interests,” Momen said.

Without sharing details, the minister said there will be an exclusive and confidential meeting between the prime ministers of both countries.

About the Indian role in Bangladesh's politics and the upcoming national election next year (2023), he said the election is an internal issue of Bangladesh and India has nothing to do here.

During her visit, Hasina will also award Mujib Scholarships, an initiative of Bangladesh, to the descendants of 200 Indian armed forces personnel, who were martyred or injured during the Liberation War of 1971 between Bangladesh and Pakistan.

In 1971, Bangladesh got independence after a 9-month-long war against united Pakistan when Bangladesh was East Pakistan.

The two Asian neighbors share as many as 54 transboundary rivers, and the monopoly over the waters of those rivers by upstream India is one of the most critical issues between the two neighbors.

Momen said the trade deficit between the two states will also be discussed so that it could be brought down to a satisfactory level.

In 2021, India exported goods worth $14 billion to Bangladesh, while only $2 billion worth of products were imported, according to official sources.