India, Bangladesh to jointly counter terrorism, fundamentalism | Daily News

India, Bangladesh to jointly counter terrorism, fundamentalism

Ink Pact on Sharing Waters of a Common River
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina wave to the media before their delegation level talks in New Delhi, India on Tuesday.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina wave to the media before their delegation level talks in New Delhi, India on Tuesday.

INDIA: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said India and Bangladesh should jointly face terrorist and fundamentalist forces that threaten to attack mutual trust between the two countries.

Modi made these remarks after bilateral talks with Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who made a strong pitch for early conclusion of the Teesta water sharing agreement. Sheikh Hasina is on a four-day visit to India.

“Today we also stressed on cooperation against terrorism and fundamentalism. To keep the spirit of 1971 alive, it is also very necessary that we face such forces together, who want to attack our mutual trust,” Prime Minister Modi said.

India and Bangladesh also reached an agreement on sharing the waters of a common river and pledged to boost trade links.

India and Bangladesh signed an interim water sharing agreement on the Kushiyara river, which would benefit people of southern Assam and the Sylhet division of Bangladesh. This was the first water sharing agreement signed by the two countries since the Ganga Water Treaty in 1996.

The two sides also signed seven agreements covering diverse areas such as railways, space technology, water sharing, connectivity.

Briefing on the visit, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra termed counter-terrorism and radicalisation as an “obstacle and security threat” to India-Bangladesh relationship.

He said the two leaders held comprehensive talks on how to improve cooperation on the issue.

Hasina also flagged concerns over the delay in clinching the Teesta water sharing agreement which has been hanging fire since 2011, when West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee objected to it.

Modi also said India and Bangladesh will soon start discussion on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

Kwatra said the CEPA agreement is expected to be reached before Bangladesh graduates from the category of Least Developed Countries by 2026 and moves to the ranks of developing countries. Hasina also called on President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar.

- PTI

 


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