NEW DELHI:  After conversations with Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is currently visiting India, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi announced on Tuesday that negotiations on a bilateral economic cooperation deal will shortly start.

After the bilateral talks, in the presence of Hasina, Modi said that the economies of the two countries will be boosted by the expansion of connection infrastructure. India is Bangladesh's largest trading and economic partner in the area, the prime minister continued.

India is a big market for Bangladeshi exports as well, he added.

The Prime Minister went on to say that both India and Bangladesh needed to further strengthen their economy in light of the Covid-19 pandemic and the current geopolitical climate.

The two leaders also agreed to intensify their existing cooperation in the fields of information technology, nuclear energy, and space exploration. They also vowed to continue their current efforts to protect their shared ecological heritage in the Sundarbans.

The inauguration of the first unit of the Maitree thermal plant will go a long way in meeting the need for affordable power of Bangladesh,  PM Modi said.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina thanked the Indian government on the achievement of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav and sent her best wishes for Amrit Kaal.

The Teesta water-sharing deal was one of many unresolved concerns between the two nations, which would be handled quickly, Sheikh Hasina said.

The CEPA is a topic of discussion between the two neighbours and has been the subject of a collaborative study including both nations.

Hasina made her last visit to India in 2019. India and Bangladesh settled the settlement text on in-between interim sharing of the water of the Kushiyara stream.

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