Hasina thanks Modi after Indian parliament ratifies land deal to exchange enclaves

Sheikh Hasina has thanked Narendra Modi after India’s lower house passed the long-awaited Land Boundary Agreement bill and hoped it will be a milestone in bilateral relations.

In a congratulatory message on Thursday, the prime minister welcomed the ratification and expressed gratitude to Modi on behalf of Bangladesh, her Press Secretary Shameem Chowdhury said.

India’s Lok Sabha unanimously passed the LBA bill on Thursday, 41 years after the accord was signed and a day after Rajya Sabha passed it also without dissent.

Modi called up Hasina immediately to give her the good news.

Chowdhury said the Indian prime minister told Hasina that the bill was passed in May, the same month when Bangladesh’s founding father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman inked an agreement with then the Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi on May 18, 1974.

Hasina said she hoped the move would usher a new milestone in bilateral relations.

“Passage of this Land Boundary Agreement implements the promises of two of the world’s great leaders,” Chowdhury quoted the prime minister as saying in the message.

She greeted the Indian president, opposition leader, members of both houses and the Indian people.

The prime minister dubbed India as “Bangladesh’s tested friend” which always stood by it in its difficult hours.

Thursday’s passage will allow implementation of the LBA that includes exchange of 162 enclaves in Assam, West Bengal, Tripura and Meghalaya.

Bangladeshi enclaves have around 14,000 residents while Indian enclaves are home to 37,000 people.

Modi in a tweet hailed it as “a historic milestone” in India-Bangladesh relations, saying it ensured “a permanent settlement” of land boundary issue with Bangladesh.

Chowdhury said the prime minister had greeted residents of the enclaves and ordered local administrations to ensure their safety.

She hoped the Bangladesh-India relations would strengthen.