PM Modi and Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina agree to expand cross-border connectivity, trade

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina held a wide-ranging dialogue on Friday to strengthen cross-border connectivity across sectors, including commerce.

"Had productive deliberations with PM Sheikh Hasina. The progress in India-Bangladesh relations in the last 9 years has been very gladdening," Modi tweeted after the nearly hour-long meeting with Hasina, as part of the bilateral a day ahead of the G20 summit in Delhi. "Our talks covered areas like connectivity, commercial linkage and more."

Following talks, the two sides signed three MoUs in agriculture, culture and national payment systems


The meeting was the last formal meeting between the two PMs before the next parliamentary elections. Hasina will be addressing two separate sessions of G20, on Saturday and Sunday. Bangladesh wants to be the voice of the global south at the G20 summit, raising issues of climate change, the Rohingya crisis and food and energy challenges. Bangladesh, a member of the BRICS bank, is among invitees at the G20 summit.

On the sidelines of the summit, Hasina is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman and the presidents of the UAE, Argentina and South Korea.