Annual Report 2011 - 2012

Annual Report 2011 - 2012
Bangladesh
Throughout the year, there were regular and close contacts
between the two countries at various levels. The institutional
mechanisms of cooperation were active in promoting the
bilateral relationship between the two countries. The Prime
Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, paid a State Visit to
Bangladesh from 6-7 September, 2011. He was accompanied
by the External Affairs Minister, Shri S M Krishna, and the
Chief Ministers of the States of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram
and Tripura. During the visit, the Prime Minister met his
Bangladesh counterpart, Mrs Sheikh Hasina, and held
delegation-level talks. The two sides signed the following
Agreements/MoUs:
• Framework Agreement on Cooperation for
Development;
• Protocol to the Agreement Concerning the
Demarcation of the Land Boundary between India
and Bangladesh, and Related Matters;
• Addendum to the Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) between India and Bangladesh to Facilitate
Overland Transit Traffic between Bangladesh and
Nepal;
• MoU on Renewable Energy Cooperation;
• MoU on Conservation of the Sunderban;
• Protocol on Conservation of the Royal Bengal Tiger
of the Sunderban;
• MoU on Cooperation in the field of Fisheries;
• MoU on Mutual Broadcast of Television Programmes;
• MoU between Jawaharlal Nehru University and
Dhaka University; and
• MoU on Academic Cooperation between National
Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), India, and
BGMEA Institute of Fashion and Technology (BIFT),
Bangladesh.
The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, met his Bangladeshi
counterpart, Mrs Sheikh Hasina, on the sidelines of the 17th
SAARC Summit at Addu City, Maldives, on 10 November,
2011, where both leaders discussed matters of bilateral interest.
The Bangladesh Prime Minister visited the Tin Bigha Area on
19 October, 2011, following the operationalisation of 24hour
unfettered access to Dahagram and Angarpola through
Tin Bigha. Mrs Sheikh Hasina visited Agartala from 11-12
January, 2012, to receive an honorary D.Lit conferred on her
by the Central Tripura University.
The Vice-President of India, Shri M Hamid Ansari,
accompanied by the Minister of State for External Affairs,
Smt Preneet Kaur, visited Dhaka from 5-6 May, 2011 for
the inaugural ceremony of the joint celebrations of the 150th
4
Birth Anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore. During his visit,
he also called on the Bangladesh President, Mr Zillur
Rahman, and met the Prime Minister, Mrs Sheikh Hasina.
Smt Sonia Gandhi, President, Indian National Congress,
and Chairman, UPA, visited Dhaka from 24-25 July, 2011,
to receive the Bangladesh Freedom Honour conferred on
Smt Indira Gandhi for her unique role and contribution to
the Liberation War and birth of Bangladesh. She also
attended the inaugural session of an International
Conference on Autism Spectrum Disorders and
Developmental Disabilities as Chief Guest on 25 July, 2011.
The External Affairs Minister, Shri S M Krishna, paid an
official visit to Dhaka from 6-7 July, 2011, and held bilateral
talks with the Bangladesh Foreign Minister, Dr Dipu Moni.
Protocols of Exchange on the Instruments of Ratification
of the bilateral agreement on the protection and promotion
of investments between India and Bangladesh and document
relating to Standard Operating Procedure for monitoring
of entry/exit of Bhutanese vehicles between Indian Land
Customs Stations (LCS') and Bangladesh LCS' were signed
during the visit. The External Affairs Minister also held
bilateral discussions with his counterpart from Bangladesh
on the sidelines of the IOR-ARC meeting held in Bengaluru
on 15 November, 2011.
The Finance Minister, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, along with
the Finance Minister of Bangladesh, Mr A M A Muhith,
jointly inaugurated the Standard Operating Procedure to
facilitate movement of tucks 200 metres inside each other's
territory on 21 January, 2012, at Petrapole/Benapole
Integrated Check Post.
The Home Minister, Shri P Chidambaram, visited Dhaka
from 29-30 July, 2011, for delegation-level talks with his
counterpart, Advocate Shahara Khatun, and reviewed
bilateral security cooperation, border management and
other issues. He called on the Prime Minister, Mrs Sheikh
Hasina, during the visit. A Coordinated Border Management
Plan was signed between India and Bangladesh during the
visit of the Home Minister. The Home Minister also visited
Petrapole/Benapole to jointly inaugurate the Integrated
Check Post with his counterpart on 27 August, 2011.
The Commerce and Industry Minister, Shri Anand Sharma
visited Dhaka from 22-23 April, 2011, and held meetings
with his counterpart, Mr Faruk Khan. An increase in the
annual duty-free export quota of garments from Bangladesh
to India from 8 million to 10 million pieces was announced
during the visit. Further, a Border Haat was inaugurated at
Kalaichar/Baliamari on the India (Meghalaya)-Bangladesh
border on 23 July, 2011, by the Commerce Minister and his