Flags of India and Bangladesh.
Credit: iStock Photo
New Delhi: India and Bangladesh on Saturday announced a new train service between Rajshahi and Kolkata and a new bus service between Chittagong and Kolkata.
The announcement came following a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina in New Delhi.
Hasina arrived here on Friday, becoming the first foreign leader to make a bilateral incoming visit to India after Modi became the prime minister for the third straight term.
Following the talks, the two sides also announced a slew of new measures to boost connectivity and trade.
It was announced that a passenger train between Kolkata and Rajshahi will commence service soon. A goods train on Bangladesh Railways from Gede-Darshana to Haldibari-Chilahati cross-border interchange point will also begin a trial run next month.
A new bus service between Kolkata and Chittagong will also be rolled out.
India will provide a grant for building an inland container depot at Sirajganj in Bangladesh.
In his remarks, Modi described people-to-people contacts as the foundation of ties between the two nations and said India will launch an e-medical visa facility for people from Bangladesh coming to India for medical treatment.
India has also decided to open a new assistant high commission in Rangpur.
The two sides have signed 10 agreements providing for bolstering ties in a range of critical areas such as digital domain, maritime sphere, blue economy, railways, space, green technology, health and medicine.