By Anisur Rahman
A painter prepares a welcome banner as portraits of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and that of his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina, are displayed behind ahead of Dr. Singh's visit in Dhaka.
Dhaka, Sep 6 : With five Indian states sharing borders with Bangladesh, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sees in that country a potential to become a “springboard” for development of India’s landlocked Northeast, as he embarks on his maiden visit to Dhaka with agreements on border issues and transit on his mind.
Singh, who had recently ruffled feathers in the neighboring country by alluding to widespread anti-India sentiments there, also intends to carry a message that there was “great affection” and “respect” in India for the people of Bangladesh.
In an interview to Bangladesh’s national news agency BSS on the eve of his visit, the Prime Minister also said counter-terror cooperation was also crucial between the two countries to confront the challenge of terrorism “head on”.
“Bangladesh can become the springboard for the development of India’s Northeast region as economic integration has become the trend in all parts of the world,” he said.
India has been keen on better transit links — both land and sea — across Bangladesh to its land-locked north-eastern states, and Singh’s visit will see him discuss the issue in detail with his counterpart Sheikh Hasina.
He said India has already opened up rail and road routes for transit to link Nepal and Bhutan with Bangladesh, but his country would “move only at a pace with which Bangladesh is comfortable” in regard to the transit through its territories to the north-eastern region.
Singh also said he was “extremely pleased” that the Chief Ministers of the states neighboring Bangladesh — Tripura, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Assam — will be accompanying him.
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