Less than two weeks after she came to New Delhi for the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union Council of Ministers, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina returned to the Capital Friday on a two-day State visit and met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

A bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi is scheduled Saturday with a range of topics on the table – defence, connectivity and infrastructure, power and energy cooperation, trade and economic partnership, development cooperation, river water-sharing and cultural ties, reports Indian Express.

Sources said a defence pact is expected and discussions on a financial package is likely. The two sides are also discussing a rail transit pact. This is the first incoming bilateral State visit by a foreign leader after the formation of the new government following the Lok Sabha elections. From Bangladesh’s perspective, the long-pending Teesta water-sharing pact will be on the agenda.

Hasina was among seven leaders from India’s neighbourhood and the Indian Ocean region who attended the swearing-in ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on June 9. Apart from holding bilateral consultations with Modi, she is scheduled to call-on President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar.

Officials said that India and Bangladesh ‘share deep-rooted bonds of history, language, culture, and multitude of other commonalities. The outstanding nature of bilateral ties is reflected in an all-encompassing partnership based on sovereignty, equality, trust, and understanding. This partnership has evolved as a model for bilateral relations for the entire region and beyond’.

On economic and trade partnership, Bangladesh is India’s biggest trade partner in South Asia and India is the second biggest trade partner of Bangladesh in Asia. India is Bangladesh’s largest export destination in Asia, with approximately USD 2 billion of Bangladeshi exports to India in FY 2022-23. Sources said the two sides are expected to discuss a more balanced trade and new opportunities for investment. On defence cooperation, sources said that the two countries share 4096.7 km of border; the longest land boundary that India shares with any of its neighbours.

“There is active cooperation between various agencies of both countries working together to cooperate on police matters, anti-corruption activities and combat the issues of illicit drug trafficking, fake currency, human trafficking, among others. The two countries engage in regular bilateral defense interactions and engagements,” sources said, adding that Delhi and Dhaka will discuss more opportunities in the defence sector as well.

Cooperation in the power and energy sectors has become one of the crucial pillars of India-Bangladesh relations in recent years, and Bangladesh is currently importing 1160 MW of power from India, sources said.

The India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline for carriage of High Speed Diesel from India into Bangladesh was inaugurated by the two Prime Ministers in March 2023. Further, ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL), in a consortium with Oil India Limited, is present in off-shore oil exploration. This is likely to be discussed during the meeting as well.

Sources said that efforts for greater connectivity to forge enduring people-centric partnership have resulted in rehabilitation of six pre-1965 rail links between India and Bangladesh. Modi and Hasina inaugurated the 6th cross-border rail link between Agartala station and Akhaura on the Dhaka-Chittagong railway line on November 1, 2023.

Sources said that India and Bangladesh have a Protocol on Inland Waterways Trade and Transit (PIWTT) that has been operational since 1972, for facilitating trade and transit between the two countries through the inland waterways, with 10 routes and multiple ports of call operational currently. The two sides will discuss tapping the potential that has increased over the years.

Both countries have operationalised the agreement for the usage of Chittagong and Mongla ports in 2023. This will allow India to avail the services of these ports in Bangladesh for cargo transit between the North-East and mainland India. The two sides will also discuss further scaling-up of the transit through Bangladesh, sources said.

Bangladesh is the largest development partner of India today, and India has extended three Lines of Credits (LOC) to Bangladesh in the last 8 years, amounting to around US$ 8 billion, for development of infrastructure in various sectors including roads, railways, shipping and ports.

India has funded a total of 93 High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDPs) including construction of student hostels, academic buildings, skill development and training institutions, cultural centres, and orphanages, etc. This is also expected to be part of the conversation, on more effective implementation of such projects.

Sources said Bangladesh is an important ITEC partner country and annually around 800 participants avail benefits of the ITEC training courses. Around 1,000 student visas have been issued till date this year to Bangladeshi students, who have the aspirations to study in India as Self-financing Scheme Students. The two sides will also discuss the facilitation of visas for these categories as well, and Bangladesh wants more visas for Bangladeshis to come to India.