New Delhi: The Government of Dhaka on Friday has decided to buy the defense items from India under a US$ 500 million line of credit. According to Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla Bangladesh will soon import defense-related items from India under Line of Credit provided by New Delhi.
Addressing a press briefing, Shringla said, “As far as we are concerned, India and Bangladesh are bound by ties of history, language, spirituality, and culture.”
“I think the issue of imports of defense-related items by Bangladesh, you are aware that we have signed, we have extended the line of credit for defense items for USD 500 million.
The decision of the Dhaka government came after President of India Ram Nath Kovind held delegation-level talks with the country’s top leadership on Wednesday.
President Kovind is on his maiden state visit at the invitation of his counterpart M Abdul Hamid to attend the golden jubilee celebrations of Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan in 1971.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called on President Kovind and the two leaders discussed several issues of mutual interest and bilateral cooperation. They reviewed the progress in the multifaceted and comprehensive bilateral ties.
In 2019, India provided a USD 500 million Line of Credit to Bangladesh for defense-related procurement in the neighboring country.
Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) entered into an agreement on April 11 with Bangladesh’s Armed Forces Division for making available to the latter a Government of India-supported LoC of USD 500 million.
(_Vinayak Barot)