State-level initiatives needed to reduce trade imbalance

Dr. Manmohan Singh came up wit the remark when Speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury met him in New Delhi. During the meeting at Manmohan’s residence, the Indian premier congratulated her on her election as the Speaker of Bangladesh Parliament for the second time. Manmohan said the bilateral relation between India and Bangladesh is very excellent and it will continue to bolster in the coming days, said a PID handout. He suggested Bangladesh for optimum exploitation of the trade facilities given by India with a view to bringing down the imbalance. Manmohan lauded the government of Bangladesh for its steps to ensure the security of people, including the minority communities, before and after the country’s 10th parliamentary elections. “With this, the trust between the governments and people of the two countries is enhancing gradually,” he told Dr Shirin Sharmin. The Bangladesh Speaker sought cooperation from the Indian Prime Minister in removing the complexities to have the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) passed in Indian Parliament and signing the Teesta water-sharing agreement between Bangladesh and India. In response, Dr Manmohan said his government is very sincere in this regard and carrying out all-out efforts, including a political compromise for that. Later, BJP leader and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley met Shirin Sharmin. Arun Jaitley praised the socio-economic advancement of Bangladesh saying that Bangladesh surpassed India in many sectors, including the primary education and the sanitation. Shirin Sharmin is scheduled to meet Indian President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday, according to a news agency.