India, Bangladesh stakeholders meet starts in Guwahati

A 70-member delegation team from Bangladesh and a similar top level team of the host nation have participated in the meet.

Several technical sessions on trade, connectivity, agriculture, mine and minerals, tea, infrastructure will be held during the meet.

Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways General VK Singh, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, Bangladesh Commerce Minister Tipu Munchi and several ministers, top officials of both countries took part in the inaugural ceremony.

During his inaugural speech, Assam CM Sonowal said,  “Our relationship with Bangladesh is based on shared culture, heritage, literature and language. This relationship is of great importance and priority for our government.”

“The bond that the people of Assam share with Bangladesh is full of warmth and affection. The legendary singer Dr Bhupen Hazarika’s song ‘Ganga Amar Ma, Padma Amar Ma…’ perfectly symbolizes the inseparable bondage of identity and cultural bonhomie of people across the border. Equally remarkable is Dr. Hazarika’s song “Joy Joy Nabajato Bangladesh”, which he wrote on the emergence of Bagladesh as a sovereign republic. This song speaks volumes about the profoundness of feelings of the people of Assam towards Bangladesh. Similarly, in the field of art and culture, amongst many legendary personalities of Bangladesh, the names that instantly come to our mind are Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam and legendary singer Runa Laila. Their songs and poems reinforce our bonding and generate greater goodwill. Many great Assamese also studied in Dhaka University and Murari Chand College of Sylhet. I would like to recall here the name of Dr. Moidul Islam Bora, who served as the President of Asom Sahitya Sabha. An academician of repute, Dr. Moidul Islam Bora taught at Dhaka University. Moreover, one of the greatest Assamese of all times, Kalaguru Bishnu Prasad Rabha was also born in Dhaka,” Sonowal said.

He further said, “Today India and Bangladesh are blessed to have the political leadership who are very keen to forge a more meaningful and mutually beneficial relationship and are taking many pragmatic steps in this regard. The peace and prosperity that the region today experiences is undoubtedly the natural corollary of the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterpart Sheikh Hasina.”

“This Meet is also very promising for our countries in advancing the mutually beneficial partnership with focus on both conventional and non-conventional areas and ensuring enhanced people to people relations. Besides, this Meet is also a great opportunity for both the countries to leverage on the proximities to actualize on the tremendous potentialities of multi-modal connectivity to reach greater heights in trade and commerce. Moreover, close on the heels of signing, exchanging and adopting several bilateral agreements between the two countries during the recent visit of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh to India, the potential for growth of trade between North Eastern States and Bangladesh has increased manifold. The BBIN Motor Vehicle Agreement, the Port Use Agreement and Use of Cross Border Inland Waterways and access of the Chattogram and Mongla Ports to the North East of India foretell great prospect for growth of the entire region,” Sonowal said.

(By Hemanta Kumar Nath, Guwahati)