Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed given a call to fight the common enemy of the region — poverty — and stressed the need for increasing regional and bilateral cooperation in the field of trade and commerce. She also urged the India to play its role as a big nation and to be more liberal to easy the heavy trade imbalance now prevailing between the two countries.
Addressing an Indo-Bangla business meet attended by leaders of trade and commerce of both the countries, Ms Wajed, amid big applause from the audience, announced the opening of Ashugunj port for transportation of goods to Tripura and other northeastern states through Bangladesh, which is virtually sanctioning the long-awaited transit facility.
She also expressed interest to set up thermal power projects in joint ventures using the natural gas available in Tripura and hoped that her country will get share of the power produced in these projects.
She invited the Indian industrialists to invest in Bangladesh and assured all sorts of cooperation. “Investors from different parts of the world are showing interest but we will be happy if the investors from our neighbouring country come forward,” she said.
Ms Wajed arrived here Wednesday afternoon for a two-day visit and will attend the ninth convocation of Tripura Central University on Thursday where she will be given an honorary D.Litt. Chief minister Manik Sarkar and Union HRD minister Kapil Sibal was present in the Agartala airport to receive the dignitary, who came along with a 106-member delegation that includes her foreign minister Dipu Moni.
Meanwhile, the vice president of India, Dr Hamid Ansari, also arrived here on Wednesday and handed over the President’s colour, a special honour, to the Tripura police. He appreciated the brilliant role the Tripura police played in tackling the insurgeny in the state. He will handover the honorary D. Litt to the Bangladesh PM.