By IANS,
Dhaka: Appreciating Bangladesh’s efforts in security cooperation, Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said insurgency had the potential to affect bilateral relations between the two countries.
“Insurgents and insurgent groups have the potential to affect our relations,” Mukherjee said at a press briefing Saturday to mark the signing of $1 billion dollar soft loan from India to Bangladesh.
“We deeply appreciate the efforts of the government of Bangladesh to tackle this menace and we will continue to be closely engaged,” he said.
Earlier, Mukherjee noted the security cooperation was an important area of collaboration for both countries “given our common desire to root out the forces of extremism and terrorism from our midst”.
Mukherjee was in Bangladesh for about six hours, during which he witnessed the signing of India’s biggest line of credit to a foreign country.
“India will do whatever possible to assist Bangladesh to implement the various projects envisaged under this line of credit, including in the areas of railway infrastructure, supply of coaches, locomotives, buses and dredging,” he said, adding that the terms were extremely favourable.
Besides, Mukherjee also announced export of three lakh tonnes of rice and two lakh tonnes of wheat, in spite of a ban on exports of these essential commodities in India.