Bangladesh commits to continue India-funded projects, seeks enhanced cooperation
A top adviser to the interim government said on Tuesday that projects funded by India are “very important” and will continue even under the new administration in Bangladesh. Finance adviser Salehuddin Ahmed also said Dhaka expects “increased cooperation” with New Delhi during his meeting with Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma, state-run BSS news agency reported.
The report quoted him as saying, “Already, the projects they (India) have are big projects and we will continue with them, because they are not small projects and we will take another big project for our benefit…” He added. “We will not stop at what we have achieved and we will talk about those projects… about the financing of the projects and their implementation part as well,” he said.
The financial adviser's remarks come amid concerns about the timely implementation of projects funded under India's three credit lines following the massive revolt that toppled the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government last month.
Indian envoy Verma said New Delhi has not halted any of its credit line projects to Bangladesh as they are big projects. “Those projects are ongoing, and they are basically very big projects and located at different sites. So, the contractors will come back to start the projects,” he was quoted as saying in the report.
Ahmed thanked the Indian government for its continued support and said, “We look forward to future and enhanced cooperation.”
Addressing the significance of the projects funded by India, he said they were initiated based on Bangladesh's own needs. “Though there have been some disbursement issues, we are in the process of resolving them.”
In the meeting, both sides also discussed ways to enhance the existing bilateral economic cooperation.
Stating that India is “a neighbour and bigger neighbour of Bangladesh”, Ahmed said there are many areas of economic cooperation and trade between the two countries.
“We have assured him (Verma) that Bangladesh is a very good place for investment and economic cooperation. They (the Indian side) have taken note of it and they will continue to cooperate,” he said.
Talking about the bilateral trade volume, which is tilted in India's favour, the financial adviser expressed hope that this could be addressed.
Ahmed said the Indian High Commissioner assured that they would encourage more quality exports of Bangladeshi products to India, which should be a win-win situation for both countries, the report said.
He said the Indian side also offered support in the areas of science and technology, scientific research and laboratories.
Responding to a question on the Indian government's engagement with the interim government of Bangladesh, Verma said, “Of course, we are very closely engaged with the government, and my meeting with the Advisor is proof of that”.
“There were some issues related to disbursement, and we are sorting them out,” he said, adding that there would be some projects with Indian financing in the future. Verma said he briefed the adviser on the progress made on some Indian-financed projects, and emphasised the commitment to move forward. He also expressed the hope of the Indian side to take forward its loan projects under development cooperation. Bangladesh and India signed the first loan agreement of US$ 862 million in August 2010. The second loan agreement of US$ 2 billion was signed in March 2016. The third agreement of US$ 4.5 billion under this mechanism was signed in March 2017.
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