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Dhaka
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INDIA-BANGLADESH RELATIONS
India’s links with Bangladesh, like with her other South Asian neighbours, are civilisational,
cultural, social and economic. There is much that unites the two countries – a shared history and
common heritage, linguistic and cultural ties, passion for music, literature and the arts; with
Bangladesh, India shares not only a common history of struggle for freedom and liberation but also
enduring feelings of both fraternal as well as familial ties. This commonality is reflected in multi-
dimensional relations with Bangladesh at several levels of interaction. High-level exchanges, visits
and meetings take place regularly alongside the wide ranging people-to-people interaction. India’s
Missions in Bangladesh issue about half a million visas every year and thousands of Bangladeshi
students study in India on self-financing basis and over 100 annual GOI scholarships. These
exchanges and interactions serve as an important adjunct to the official-level interaction. India’s
land border with Bangladesh – nearly 4,096 km – is the longest that India has with any of its
neighbours.
4. After the new Government took office following General Elections in Bangladesh on
December 29, 2008, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, EAM paid an official visit to Dhaka on February 9,
2009. Two agreements on trade and bilateral investment promotion and protection were signed.
Shri Somnath Chatterjee, Hon’ble Speaker, Lok Sabha visited Dhaka from February 21-23, 2009
to address the Members of Bangladesh Parliament at the opening ceremony of ‘Parliamentary
Orientation Program for 9th Jatiya Sangsad’. Minister of State for External Affairs Smt. Preneet
Kaur met Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr. Dipu Moni in New York in June 2009. Later Foreign
Minister Dr. Dipu Moni and Adviser to Bangladesh Prime Minister Mr. H. T. Imam met EAM and
Finance Minister on July 9, 2009 during a stopover in New Delhi and discussed a range of bilateral
issues.
5. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh had a bilateral meeting with Bangladesh Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina on July 15, 2009 at Sharm El Sheikh (Egypt) on the sidelines of NAM
Summit. The two leaders discussed various issues of concern. Minister of State for External Affairs
Dr. Shashi Tharoor also had a meeting with Foreign Minister Dr. Dipu Moni. Bangladesh Foreign
Minister Dr. Dipu Moni paid an official visit to India from September 7-10, 2009. Several key
decisions in areas of water, connectivity, infrastructure development, power, trade, security and
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land boundary were taken during the visit. Foreign Secretary Smt. Nirupama Rao visited Dhaka on
November 14-15, 2009 and held discussions with her Bangladesh counterpart.
Bilateral Trade
6. Bangladesh is an important trading partner for India. In FY 2008-2009, Bangladesh’s
imports from India were US$ 2.841 billion and exports to India were US $ 276.58 million. Total
bilateral trade in FY 2008-2009 stood at US $ 3.117 billion.
Technical Cooperation.
10. Bangladesh is an important ITEC partner country, and a number of participants from
Bangladesh have availed of training courses under the ITEC programme. India offers 100 slots
under ITEC and 35 slots under Technical Cooperation Scheme of Colombo Plan every year to
Bangladesh. In the last three years (2006-07 to 2008-09), 336 participants from Bangladesh have
undergone training in India under ITEC Programme and Technical Cooperation Scheme of
Colombo Plan.
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Cultural Exchanges
11. Given the shared history and commonality of language, cultural exchanges form an
important bond of friendship between the people of two countries. Government has laid special
emphasis on promotion of exchanges in the fields of music, theatre, art, painting, books, etc. In
this context, Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) has been playing a prominent role by
sponsoring visits of artists from and to India. A bilateral Cultural Exchange Programme (CEP)
2009-2012 provides the framework for such exchanges. To promote bilateral cultural exchanges,
the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre (IGCC) of Indian Council for Cultural Relations was inaugurated
at Dhaka on March 11, 2010 by President, ICCR Dr. Karan Singh.
12. In order to promote people to people exchanges, hundred (100) scholarships are being
granted by ICCR every year to students from Bangladesh for pursuing general courses in arts,
sciences, engineering and also specialised courses for culture, drama, music, fine arts and sports,
etc. During Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina’s visit in January 2010, India has offered to provide 300
more scholarships annually for five years to students from Bangladesh for studying and training in
Universities and training institutions in India.
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March 2010