The Home secretary R K Singh said the relations between India and Bangladesh has improved immensely.

Speaking to reporters in Agartala on Monday, Mr Singh said tomorrow at the Home secretary level meeting at Dhaka many issues will be discussed.

Mr Singh also visited Agartala-Akhaura Land Custom stations on the Indo-Bangladesh borde

he third Developing Eight ( D-8 )Ministerial Meeting on Industries and the seventh meeting of the working group on Industrial Cooperation is scheduled to begin in Dhaka . Bangladesh's Minister for Industries Mr.Dilip Barua will inaugurate the D-8 Working Group meeting tomorrow while Bangladesh Prime minister Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to inaugurate the ministerial level meeting on Wednesday.

Announcement

resident Pranab Mukherjee today underlined the need for early implementation of the decisions taken at the highest political level to improve India-Bangladesh relations. He was addressing a group of Bangladeshi intellectuals who called on him in the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. Mr. Mukherjee said the dialogue process between scholars of the two countries was extremely important and such dialogue should identify critical areas where intervention by senior policy makers was required to bring the attention of the respective governments. He also called for expediting the implementation of projects and said people should be able to see things happening on the ground. Pointing out that New Delhi had the privilege of being of some assistance in the historical struggle of Bangladesh for freedom, the President said India would like to see Bangladesh developed and prosperous. In this context, the President also called for greater sub-regional co-operation between Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and India especially in improving connectivity and on issue of transit. The delegation members lauded the personal role played by Mr. Mukerjee in the development of India-Bangladesh relations since the independence of Bangladesh. They said people of Bangladesh see him as a sincere friend and hope India-Bangladesh relations will reach new heights under his guidance. The decision of India to grant zero duty access to the Indian market for Bangladeshi goods also came in for praise.

Announcement

Sharing concern over the growing menace of Narcotic Drugs, India and Bangladesh today held the 3rd Director General level talks in New Delhi. Speaking to the reporters, Director General, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) of India, Mr. Ajay Chadha said both the sides decided to have real time exchange of information about gangs who are operating illegaly on the either sides of the border and enhance cooperation by organizing training programmes as well as sending resource persons in combating drug trafficking.

Director General, Department of Narcotics Control (DNC), Bangladesh Mr. Mohammad Iqbal, echoed the same concern and said that they would continue to cooperate through effective and sustained steps to control drug trafficking menace in both the countries.

The next meeting will be held in Dhaka preferably during June, 2013.

 Twenty-two illegal Bangladeshi migrants, who had entered Manipur to work as labourers, have been sentenced to two years imprisonment by a local court in Imphal.The Chief Judicial Magistrate of Imphal East district passed the order yesterday after hearing the case filed by Porompat Police station. Official sources said, the Bangladeshis were charge sheeted under provisions of Foreigners Act 1946.Two children, who accompanied the 22 illegal migrants, have been sent to juvenile home. The State Home Department has been instructed to take up proceedings for deportation of the foreigners after completion of their prison term.

Meanwhile, the Gauhati High Court has directed Assam government to file a report on the steps taken by it to protect the state from illegal migrants. Hearing a PIL, the division bench of Chief Justice A K Goel and Justice U Bhuyan directed the state Chief Secretary to file the report by November 19. It may be recalled that Assam government will publish a white paper on the implementation of Assam Accord on 7th of next month.

 ndia's Two Naval Ships INS Sujata and ICGS Varuna, which form part of the Training Squadron are scheduled to arrive in Bangladesh next week on a goodwill visit. The ships which will be on a four-day goodwill visit to the country are scheduled to reach Chittagong port on 29th September. Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Naval Command, Vice Admiral Satish Soni whose visit coincides with the arrival of the ships, will host a reception onboard the ship during the goodwill tour. During his stay in Bangladesh, Vice Admiral Satish Soni will

also call on the Chief of Naval Staff of Bangladesh Navy and meet other officials to discuss strengthening of bilateral cooperation between the two navies. During their stay at Chittagong, the Indian Navy cadets will visit the Bangladesh Naval Academy and other Naval Installations in addition to cultural programmes and sports events which have been planned with the Bangladesh Navy.

 Bangladesh has been given a Ba3 rating with a stable outlook for the third consecutive year by the sovereign rating agency Moody. According to a Bangladesh Bank press release, the country's rating is higher than Sri Lanka (B1) and Pakistan (Caa1) and one notch below India.

According to the Bangladesh bank, some of the key factors contributing to Moody's ratings of the country are the track record of macroeconomic stability and growth prospects, record of full and timely debt repayment to its creditors.

Apart from this steps taken to alleviate external pressures on the economy by the authorities to tighten monetary policy, restrain import demand, greater exchange rate flexibility and a largely stable banking system that poses manageable contingent risks to the governments balance sheet have also contributed to the stable rating.

The credit rating agency has released its report following a recent assessment visit by its officials during which they had meetings with Bangladesh Bank, Ministry of Finance, private sector officials, civil society and academics.

 Bangladesh and Bhutan on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in Agriculture between the two countries. Bangladesh's Agriculture Minister Begum Matia Chowdhury and visiting Bhutanese Agriculture and Forests Minister Lyonpo Dr. Pema Gyamtsho signed the MoU at the Bangladesh Secretariat in Dhaka on behalf of their respective governments.

Bangladesh's Agriculture Minister Begum Matia Chowdhury said the MOU will facilitate technical cooperation in the field of agriculture and also enable promotion of technology transfer between Bangladesh and Bhutan. Bhutanese Agriculture and Forest's Minister Lyonpo Pema Gyamtsho is leading a five member delegation from
his country which is on a five day tour to Bangladesh. During their visit, the Bhutanese delegation is also scheduled to visit Bangladesh Agriculture Research Council, seed centre of Bangladesh Agriculture
Development Corporation at Gazipur, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute and Bangladesh Academy of Rural Development at Comilla.

 he Naga students Federation (NSF) has given a clarion call

clarion call

आह्वान

 to stop increasing influx of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in Nagaland. He said that the students community will rise up and fight to protect the identity of Nagas.

Addressing a press conference at its headquarter in Kohima last evening, the NSF General secretary N. Ejanthung Ngullie appealed to both the Central and State Government to effectively implement the Inner Line Permit (ILP) and all other provisions under the law to prevent illegal immigrants from entering the state.

The Federation also demanded the Centre and the State to establish higher educational institutes and provide essential services in the state.

A week long film festival to mark the India Bangladesh Joint Celebrations of 100 years of Indian Cinema and a Soumitra Chatterjee Film Retrospective is set to begin in Dhaka on Saturday. The festival is being jointly organized by the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre in Dhaka in association with the Bangladesh Film Development Corporation along with the support of the Bangladesh's Ministry for Cultural Affairs and India's Directorate of Film Festivals of the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Bangladesh's Minister for

Information and Cultural Affairs, Mr.Abul Kalam Azad will be the Chief Guest at the Inaugural session of the film festival while Eminent Film Director Mr. Muzaffar Ali and Versatile actor Mr. Farooq Sheikh and Mr. Rajeev Kumar Jain, Director, Directorate of Film Festivals of India will also participate in the programme at the National Museum auditorium in Dhaka.

The India-Bangladesh Joint Celebrations of the 100 Years of Indian Cinema with a week- long film festival is being organised as a tribute to the entire film community of India and Bangladesh of today and the yesteryears who have shaped the film industry over generations. A total of 15 films from India and 8 films from Bangladesh will be screened during the festival which includes Raja Harish Chandra the First feature Film made in India by Dada Saheb Phalke, Muzaffar Ali's Umrao Jaan, and Bangladesh's internationally acclaimed film Matir Moina. The festival also a involves a retrospective of films of Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee to celebrate the recognition of his lifetime contribution to Indian cinema by being honoured with the Dada Saheb Phalke Award this year.

The first meeting of the India -Bangladesh sub group on Tipaimukh Hydroelectric project is scheduled to take place in New Delhi next week. The sub group under the India-Bangladesh Joint Rivers Commission will meet for two days on August 27th and 28th. The meeting of the sub group which includes relevant technical experts of both sides is scheduled to take place in pursuance of the decisions taken during the last Foreign Office Consultations between India and Bangladesh held in New Delhi in the last week of July this year. 

With Bangladesh expressing concerns about the impact of the project, both sides decided to set up a sub group under the India Bangladesh Joint rivers commission to examine all issues related to the Tipaimukh project including the proposal for joint participation in the project. Earlier in his address to the Dhaka University during his visit to Bangladesh in September last year, Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh had stated with reference to the Tipaimukh dam project that India will not take any steps that will adversely affect Bangladesh.

 Indo-Myanmar and Indo-Bangladesh borders to effectively check influx of foreign nationals to India. Speaking to media persons at Imphal this morning, BJP President Nitin Gadkari said that the step will lead to solving the problem between the people of Indian origin and the people of foreign origin in the North-East region which has presently spread its ramifications to other parts of the country. He also said that this will help in the protection of national integrity as well as peace and tranquility in the social fabric of the nation.

India will construct a four-lane bridge on the river Feni in Tripura's South district to connect Chittagong division of Bangladesh to boost bilateral trade between the two countries, official sources said on Wednesday in Agartala.

The decision to construct the bridge with four-lane facilities was taken in a high level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Manik Sarkar and Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS), the sources said.

Earlier technocrats of the two neighbouring countries had completed the survey for constructing the 150-metre long bridge and placed their survey reports to the concerned ministries which okayed the proposal.

Approximately 73 crore rupees would be spent to construct the bridge which would be borne by the Tripura government, the sources said.

The central government has agreed to construct a Land Custom Station (LCS) at Sabroom adjacent to the neighbouring country.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday greeted the newly elected President of India Mr. Pranab Mukherjee describing his election as a recognition of the vast experience and knowledge that he has gained over the last 50 years in politics. 

In her message of felicitation to the newly elected President of India, Sheikh Hasina said that she would like to convey her warmest congratulations and heartiest felicitation on behalf of the people and the government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. She also added that she has much
pleasure in rejoicing that Mr. Pranab Mukherjee has become the first Bengali to hold the highest office in India. 

Sheikh Hasina said that she believed that his election as the President of India bears testimony to the trust and the confidence which the political leadership and the people of India repose in him for his outstanding abilities. 

Referring to the existing bilateral relations between the two neighbouring countries, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that Bangladesh attaches the highest importance to strengthening and consolidating the bond of friendship with India. She said that her government has been making efforts to explore new opportunities to realize mutual benefits for the two countries and people since it assumed office in January 2009 and she appreciated Mr.Pranab Mukherjee's personal effort for attaining the same which she said has been a great source of inspiration. 

Recalling the steadfast support that Mr.Pranab Mukherjee had provided to the people of Bangladesh during the days of struggle for independence in 1971, Sheikh Hasina said that since then his association with Bangladesh and her people has been of a time-tested good friend striving hard to elevate our two countries' relation to an enviable level. She hoped that Mr. Pranab Mukherjee will continue to do the same after being sworn in his new exalted position.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said that Bangladesh now is a land where terrorists and militants9युद्धकारी0 have no room to run their activities. The Bangladesh Prime Minister made this remarks during her meeting with the visiting Director General of Islamic Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) Dr. Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri in Dhaka today in her office. 

Bangladesh Prime Minister's Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad said that during the discussions the Prime Minister outlined her government's steps to ensure food security of the people, education, social safety and to confront the adverse impacts of climate change. She also added that her government is making efforts to promote democratic values and tolerance. She thanked

the Director General for declaring Dhaka as the Capital of Islamic Culture of the Asian Region for 2012. Dr Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri who heads ISESCO was the special guest at the inaugural programme of the two day celebrations organized in Dhaka on Saturday to mark the launch of the year long celebrations of Dhaka as the Capital of Islamic Culture of the Asian Region for 2012.

Dr Abdulaziz appreciated the leadership of the Prime Minister to bring progress and prosperity for the people of Bangladesh and said the ISESCO would always remain beside the friendly country to fulfill its cherished goal. He also hoped that the ISESCO's cooperation with Bangladesh particularly the ministries of education and culture would be strengthened in future.

ISESCO was set up in 1979 with its headquarters in Rabat, Morocco by the 58 member Organisation of Islamic Conference to coordinate and implement programmes in the fields of education, science and culture.

Former President of India Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam today called upon the Asia and Pacific countries to harness their national competitive advantages to accelerate the transformation of the region and to address the challenges faced by the global community. Delivering the 33rd foundation day lecture to the Dhaka based Centre on integrated rural development for Asia and the Pacific, Dr. Kalam said that for achieving a better world, systems of sustainable development are required for the rural community which today account for above half of humanity. He emphasised on the need to empower the three billion people living in rural areas world wide through providing urban amenity in rural areas. He said to achieve this goal we need to strengthen physical, electronic and knowledge connectivity of the villages.

In a major setback for the Bangladesh government, the World Bank has decided to cancel its loan of 1.2 billion US Dollars for construction of the 2.9 billion dollar Padma Multipurpose Bridge project with immediate effect. According to a statement issued by the World Bank in Washinghton, the bank decided to cancel the loan in the light of inadequate response by the Government of Bangladesh to its proposed actions that it had recommended for dealing with the credible evidence that had emerged with regard to corruption in the project.  The bank has claimed that it had provided the evidence that emerged from two investigations to the Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Finance Minister A.M.A Muhith and the Chairman of the country's Anti Corruption Commission in September 2011 and April 2012.

In Bangladesh, a special court today sentenced 611 jawans for their involvement in the mutiny at Pilkhana headquarters in February 2009. The soldiers belonged to the 13th Battalion of Bangladesh Rifles, now been renamed as Border Guard Bangladesh. The sentences varied from four months jail term to the maximum punishment of seven years and also a fine of 100 taka each. The three-member Special Court-8, led by Brigadier General Abu Sayeed Khan sentenced the jawnas found guilty. A total of 73 people, including 57 army officers, were killed during the mutiny.

Bangladesh and Russia on Monday signed two MOU’s as part of their co-operation to build Bangladesh’s first nuclear power plant.

As per one of the MOU’s signed Russia will support Bangladesh in developing the entire range of human resources in nuclear power sector covering different tiers of managerial, technical and operational personnel, and eventually developing broad-based academic and training capabilities in Bangladesh.
The second Memorandum would pave way for establishing Information Centres in Bangladesh aimed at generating awareness among people, especially the younger generation, on various aspects of nuclear energy and nuclear power plants, including functioning, maintenance and safety measures in the nuclear plants.

Earlier last week, the Bangladesh parliament passed the country’sfirst Atomic Energy Control Bill-2012 which has provisions to set up the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority as part of its efforts to build the country’s first Nuclear power plant.

Bangladesh signed an agreement with Russia in November last year for the construction of the nation’s first Nuclear Power plant at Roopur with two Nuclear reactors of 1000 megawatt capacity each.

The Third Indo-Bangladesh Trade Fair 2012 being organized by the India Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry is set to begin in Dhaka on Thursday.

The fair will be inaugurated by Bangladesh Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith. Bangladesh Minister for Industries Mr. Dilip Barua, Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh Mr. Nabam Tuki and Chief Minister of Meghalaya Mr. Mukul Sangma and High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh Mr. Pankaj Saran are also scheduled to address the inaugural ceremony.

A business delegation from India and a delegation of ministers and government officials from the North Eastern states are also scheduled to participate in the fair in Dhaka.