Manmohan Singh leaves on two-day visit to Bangladesh
New Delhi, Sep 5: Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh embarked on his first ever visit as the head of government to Bangladesh today.
Accompanying Dr. Singh on the two-day visit are External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna, Water Resources Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal, Chief Minister of Assam -Tarun Gogoi, Chief Minister of Tripura - Manik Sarkar, Chief Minister of Meghalaya - Mukul Sangma and Chief Minister of Mizoram - Lal Thanhawla.
The agreements expected to be signed during the Prime Minister's visit are: Water-sharing agreements on the Teesta and Feni Rivers, import of electricity from India, a historic land boundary agreement. Several MoUs on fisheries, renewable energy, and power generation and trade liberalization and access to goods.
The most important and path breaking deal is the one involving land transfer. India is to hand over 111 enclaves to Bangladesh and in return get 51 enclaves. This is a historic confidence building measure that could improve the lives of thousands of people of Indian and Bangladeshi origin trapped in villages on the border since its creation in 1971. India's long-standing request of transit through Bangladesh is also likely to be met during this visit. (ANI)