By IANS,
New Delhi : India and Bangladesh are set to turn a new chapter in their ties by signing three counter-terror agreements and a pact on power swapping during the four-day visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina that starts Sunday.
A $500 million line of credit to promote infrastructure development in Bangladesh and a decision to facilitate a rail transit link from Bangladesh to Nepal are among important initiatives India has lined up to signal a new spring in bilateral ties.
The relations had suffered under the previous Khaleda Zia regime in Dhaka over a host of issues, including the alleged sheltering of insurgent leaders by Dhaka.
Accompanied by her senior ministers and a 30-member strong business delegation, Sheikh Hasina will arrive in India Sunday night, her first trip to New Delhi after sweeping the December 2008 elections. She will also go to Ajmer, home to the shrine of a much-revered Sufi saint.
External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna Friday said Dhaka has assured New Delhi that its territory will not be used by anti-India elements.
“We have been assured that the Bangladesh territory will not be used by elements inimical to India while we pursue mutually beneficial relationship,” Krishna said at the annual conclave of the Indian diaspora.
Krishna also hailed the restoration of multi-party democracy in Bangladesh as “a positive development”.
Stepping up cooperation in counter-terrorism will be among important issues on the table when Sheikh Hasina holds talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday.
Sheikh Hasina will be conferred the prestigious Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development Tuesday and Manmohan Singh will host a banquet dinner in her honour.
Other important items on the summit agenda include the sharing of river waters, the resolution of the maritime border dispute and the promotion of bilateral trade and connectivity.
India and Bangladesh will ink three key agreements on mutual legal assistance on criminal offences, the transfer of sentenced persons and combating international terrorism, organised crime and illegal drug trafficking.
The two neighbours will also sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on expanding power cooperation that will include building inter-grid connectivity, reliable sources said.
The MoU will facilitate import and export of electricity amounting to over 900 million units per annum depending on availability, need and price.
The three security-related pacts will enable New Delhi to press for the extradition of suspected insurgents from its northeastern states that have taken shelter in Bangladeshi territory. The prisoner exchange deal is expected to formalise the extradition process between the two countries.
Both India and Bangladesh have given a list of their fugitives to each other. The two sides are expecting a forward movement in this area during the visit, the sources said.
Dhaka has set a positive tone by arresting top insurgent anti-India leaders. In a major confidence-building measure, Bangladeshi authorities “pushed back” in December one of India’s most wanted fugitives, Arabinda Rajkhowa, chairman of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), the outfit’s deputy commander-in-chief Raju Baruah and his senior aides through the India-Bangladesh border at Dawki in the northeastern state of Meghalaya.
Talks on sharing of river waters may also see some progress. Following the talks between their top water resource officials Jan 4-5, the two sides are hoping for an advance on their negotiations on sharing of waters of the common rivers, including Teesta, that had been mired in differences.
However, no deal on Teesta river will be signed, Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dipu Moni said in Dhaka Thursday. Moni added that Sheikh Hasina will raise her concerns about the proposed construction of the controversial Tipaimukh dam, which has run foul of environmentalists and an anti-India lobby in Bangladesh.