India President calls for better connectivity with Bangladesh

India’s President Pranab Mukherjee has stressed on “speedy implementation” of decisions taken jointly by Dhaka and New Delhi.

He made the observation on Friday when Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali called on him at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Ali is in Delhi on his first official visit to attend the third foreign ministers’ level Joint Consultative Commission (JCC) meeting.

This is the first such meeting after the regime change in Delhi.

According to the President's Secretariat, President Mukherjee said the JCC was a “good mechanism” between the countries.

The foreign minister has taken eight secretaries, including the foreign secretary, with him to show “Bangladesh’s commitment to improve relations”.

President Mukherjee said bilateral relations had grown and expanded in recent years. “The two countries have made concrete progress in almost all areas.”

"...there is need for speedy implementation of decisions. There is now need to work on increasing connectivity,” he said.

The foreign minister said Bangladesh was moving forward on all fronts, and the Sheikh Hasina government “stands poised to lead the country into the modern age”.

“The sky is the limit for cooperation with India and both sides need to jointly give it a big push,” he said.

He said the large delegation accompanying him shows “the commitment of the Bangladesh government to further improve relations”.

The JCC will be held on Saturday.