Indian businesses sign deals to invest $10 billion in Bangladesh

Indian businesses have signed agreements and memoranda of understanding with their Bangladesh peers to invest $10 billion in power, energy, logistics, education and medical sectors.

The deals were exchanged on Monday, the last day of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s four-day visit to India.

 

Five of those are related to power projects including Rampal plan and supplying power from Nepal and four are related to oil, gas and petroleum sector cooperation, the High Commission of India in Dhaka said in a statement.
A 250-member business delegation led by FBCCI President Abdul Matlub Ahmad interacted with about 150 business leaders from India in New Delhi, where those agreements were exchanged.
Hasina spoke about the achievements of Bangladesh in the last few years in the socio-economic sphere and invited Indian businessmen to invest taking “full advantage” of Bangladesh’s economic growth, high demographic dividends, competitive business cost and large consumer base.

She also invited Indian companies to invest in the special economic zones in Mongla, Bheramara and Mirsarai, which have been exclusively dedicated to Indian investors, according to the statement.
India’s Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan was also present during the meeting.

Pradhan highlighted the growing engagement between India and Bangladesh in power and energy and underlined the economic potential of the sub-region, including India’s eastern and northeastern states, and Bangladesh.
During the visit, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a $5 billion line of credit for different development projects including $500 million for defence purchase.
The business deals are:
>> Agreement between Bangladesh India Friendship Power Company and EXIM Bank of India for financing construction of 1,320MW Maitree power project in Rampal
>> Implementation and power purchase agreement between Reliance Power and Bangladesh’s Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources for the first phase (718MW) of the 3,000MW power project at Meghnaghat
>> Supplementary agreement between NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam and Bangladesh Power Development Board for supply of additional 60MW of power from Tripura to Bangladesh

>> MoU between NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam and Bangladesh Power Development Board for supply of power from Nepal
>> Implementation agreement between Adani Power and Bangladesh Power Development Board and power purchase agreement between Adani Power and Power Grid Company of Bangladesh for supply of power from 1,600MW power plant in Jharkhand
>> Understanding on LNG terminal use between India’s Petronet and Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation or Petrobangla
>> MoU between Reliance Power and Petrobangla for setting up 500mmscfd LNG terminal at Kutubdia Island
>> MoU between India Oil Corporation and Petrobangla for LNG cooperation

>> Agreement between Numaligarh Refinery and Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation for sale and purchase of gasoil
>> MoU between Container Company of Bangladesh and Container Corporation of India to promote and expand cooperation between India and Bangladesh in container transportation
>> MoU between Tamil Nadu Veterinary Sciences University and Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Sciences University
>> MoU between Viswabharati, Santiniketan, India and Northern University of Business and Technology, Khulna, Bangladesh
>> MoU between Tata Medical Centre, India and Directorate General of Medical Services, Bangladesh Armed Forces

Bangladesh, India sign 22 agreements and memoranda of understanding

• 
  

Bangladesh and India have signed 22 deals, with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi heralding a “golden era” in bilateral relations.

Defence, civil nuclear cooperation and cyber security are among the agreements.

Hasina and Modi led the delegations of their two countries to the official talks held on Saturday in New Delhi.
Here are the salient deals:
·         Under a line of concessional credit for the third time, India will lend Bangladesh $4.5 billion, bringing its funding for Bangladesh to more than $8 billion over the past six years.
·         Both countries inked a pact on the defence cooperation framework apart from signing an agreement for extending a $500 million line of credit for military supplies.
·         An agreement between Defence Services Staff College in Tamil Nadu and Defence Services Command and Staff College in Dhaka was signed on cooperation in strategic and operational studies.
·         A deal between National Defence College in Dhaka and National Defence College in New Delhi was signed for enhancing cooperation in national security, development and strategic studies.
·         Both countries agreed on a financing agreement for the construction of 36 community clinics in Bangladesh.
·         An agreement between both countries on establishing border markets across the border was signed.

 ·         The countries agreed to cooperate in the judicial sector. The National Judicial Academy in India and the Supreme Court of Bangladesh inked a pact on training and capacity building programme for Bangladeshi judicial officers in India.
·         The countries agreed to cooperate for the peaceful use of nuclear energy apart from reaching an arrangement between the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board India and Bangladesh.
·         The countries also agreed on an inter-agency agreement between Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership, India and Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission on cooperation in nuclear power plant projects in Bangladesh.
·         During the meeting, the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team and Bangladesh Government Computer Incident Response Team agreed to cooperate in cyber security.

The agreements and MoUs were signed in presence of the two prime ministers after the bilateral talks. Photo: Ministry of External Affairs, India.

 ·         India will supply an additional 60 megawatts of power to Bangladesh.
·         An MoU on development of fairway from Sirajganj to Daikhowa and Ashuganj to Zakiganj on Indo-Bangladesh protocol route between the Indian Shipping Ministry and Bangladesh Shipping Ministry was signed.
·         Both the countries also signed a deal on passenger and cruise services on the coastal and protocol route.
·         The Geological Survey of India and the Geological Survey of Bangladesh also agreed on mutual scientific cooperation in the field of earth sciences for research and development among others.
·         Other deals include an agreement on cooperation in the mass media and audio-visual co-production.
·         Bangladesh and India launched bus services on Kolkata-Khulna-Dhaka route and rail services on Khulna-Kolkata and Radhikapur-Birol route.
·         Modi promised an early solution to the contentious Teesta issue.
·         Bangladesh wins India’s support for the proposed International Genocide Day to be observed on Mar 25.
·         Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Road was inaugurated in New Delhi.
·         The prime ministers of the two countries jointly launched the Hindi version of ‘The Unfinished Memoirs of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’.