Hasina, Modi inaugurate four projects, hope Bangladesh-India ties will continue to grow

Bangladesh-India relations will continue to grow in the next five years, the prime ministers of the two nations have hoped.

Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka and her counterpart Narendra Modi in New Delhi expressed their confidence while inaugurating four major projects via videoconference on Monday.

The four projects are imports of buses and trucks under the Indian Line of Credit of LoC, construction of 36 community clinics in Jamalpur, Sherpur, Habiganj, Sunamganj and Brahmanbaria, 11 water treatment plants in Pirojpur and broadening India’s National Knowledge Network to Bangladesh.

Modi faces general elections in April after becoming prime minister in the 2014 election. On the other hand, Hasina formed government for the third consecutive time after winning the parliamentary elections on Dec 30 last year.

At the beginning of the event, Hasina expressed her “deep condolences” to the bereaved families of the victims of the dreaded Pulwama terror attack which claimed the lives of 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel.

“I reiterate my strong condemnation of the terrible terror attack. We are determined to eliminate terrorism in this region and beyond through the bilateral, regional and multilateral cooperation," Hasina said.

Mentioning that Bangladesh always maintains a “zero tolerance” policy against any kind of terrorism, she said no terrorist organisation will ever be allowed to use the country’s soil.

Everyone applauded as Modi started his speech by saying in Bangla: “I hope everyone is well in Bangladesh.”

He thanked Hasina for expressing condolence and congratulated her on her victory with huge majority in the latest parliamentary elections.

Modi said the bilateral ties will continue to grow in the next five years.

In response, Hasina said, “The world considers India-Bangladesh relations an instance of good neighbourly relations through multi-pronged and multi-dimensional cooperation.”

Hasina said she "firmly believes" that the cooperation will continue in days to come.