Opening Statement by Prime Minister for the Press Briefing

June 20, 1999

I am extremely happy to be present in this historic city today and to renew my contacts with the Bangladesh leaders. What multiplies my happiness is that my visit marks the commencement of the bus service between Calcutta and Dhaka. This is only a small step symbolising the closeness of our people and the willingness to strengthen our friendship. Such linkages have been due for a long time and I hope that with the commencement of Calcutta-Dhaka bus service, a trend would be set for more such endeavours.

Our closeness with Bangladesh is multi-faceted and is rooted in shared history and cultural and geographical proximity. We share our longest land boundary with Bangladesh and have exensive people-to-people contacts with this friendly country.

My visit is part of a long list of official and high level contacts since last year when almost exactly a year ago Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, had visited us in New Delhi. You are aware of the India Trade Fair which was held in March this year. Commerce Ministers of each country have visited the other during the past few months of this year.

I have been received very warmly by President Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and more importantly by the people of Bangladesh. My discussions with Bangladesh leaders covered all aspects of the multi-faceted relations between our two countries. We agreed that we should jointly work for strengthening economic cooperation. I am aware of the concern in Bangladesh at the need to increase its exports to India. We have already taken several steps in the last one year to address the problem of increasing market access for Bangla exports to India. Those include the elimination of Quantitative Restrictions, and the deepening of concesions under SAPTA. But we need to recognize that the Bangladesh export basket is limited at present, and needs to be augmented by the inclusion of goods and services that are of interest to India.

These issues were central to the discussions during my meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday. India has accepted, in principle, the request for duty free access on a non-reciprocal basis to selected items of export interest to Bangladesh. We have both also agreed on the restoration of multi-modal communication links between the two countries. This will greatly facilitate the free movement of traffic between India and Bangladesh. In our talks, we also focussed on the need to provide a framework for our border trade. These three issues will be examined by a Technical Expert Group which is to meet in the very near future.

We have just witnessed the signing of the agreement to extend a credit line of Rs. 200 crore to Bangladesh spread over the next three years. This credit line will enable supply of transport equipment and capital goods which will upgrade the infrastructure, in keeping with Bangladeshi priorities. We also welcome the growing links between the apex Chambers of the two countries. Relevant documents have been worked out by FICCI and CII and we hope that the business Chambers will work to give greater substance to our economic interaction, by means of enhanced trade, as well as joint ventures and investment.

The goodwill that exists at the people's level in each country is the foundation for our closeness as well as the promise of a better tomorrow. We have resolved to build on this goodwill and strengthen our relations further.

Thank you.