Move to review progress on execution of decisions

The government has moved to review the progress on implementation of decisions taken during the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June last, officials said.
The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) asked recently the ministries and departments concerned to provide information about the steps taken so far to execute the decisions. It also forwarded a prescribed form to furnish info about the progress.
Some 22 bilateral documents were signed, exchanged, adopted and handed over during the Indian Prime Minister's visit to Dhaka. These are of memos, agreements and protocols in nature.
A senior official working at the Ministry of Shipping (MoS) told the FE that his ministry has already made significant progress in implementing the decisions taken during Modi's visit.
Citing an example, he said a fresh PIWTT (Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade) was signed during the Indian prime minister's visit. Various steps have already been taken under the protocol for bilateral interest.
During the visit, a finance ministry official said, the chairman of the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA) handed over a consent letter to the chairman of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India.
The LIC is now set to launch its operations in Dhaka this month through partnering with two local businesses.
In mid-August, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs held an inter-ministerial meeting in presence of representatives from all ministries and departments concerned where the issues that arose during Modi's visit came up for discussion.
The meeting had discussed some of the conditions, set by the Indian side over several projects, which were found tough. It felt the need for renegotiations on various conditions of the projects and programmes before starting their implementation. It also discussed various mismatches in case of the projects and programmes and how their implementation can be expedited by bringing necessary amendments.
During his Dhaka visit, Mr Modi had pledged loan for Bangladesh's infrastructural and socioeconomic development.
The two prime ministers at the time exchanged instruments of Ratification of the 1974 Land Boundary Agreement and its 2011 Protocol, modalities for implementation of the agreement and the protocol, among a number of other major matters related to the ties between the two neighbouring countries.      
Dhaka and Delhi also renewed bilateral trade agreement, signed an agreement on coastal shipping, renewed protocol on inland water transit and trade, bilateral cooperation agreement between Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) and the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) on cooperation in the field of standardisation, agreement on Dhaka-Shillong-Guwahati bus service and its protocol and agreement on Kolkata-Dhaka-Agartala bus service and its protocol.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the coastguards of the two countries, MoU on prevention of human trafficking, MoU on prevention of smuggling and circulation of fake currency notes, MoU for extending a new LoC of $2.0 billion, MoU on blue economy and maritime cooperation in the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean, MoU on use of Chittagong and Mongla ports, MoU for a project under IECC (India Endowment for Climate Change) and MoU on Indian Economic Zone were also signed.
Also in the package were agreement between Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Ltd (BSCCL) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) for leasing of international bandwidth for internet at Akhaura, consent letter handed over by Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA) to LIC of India for starting operations in Bangladesh, unveiling foundation stone for construction of Khulna-Mongla railway line and inauguration of Tarapur-Kamlasagar border haat.
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