CII Communique - December, 2010

development initiatives
North East – Tripura
North East India and Bangladesh: Strengthening Ties
L. K. Gupta, Principal Secretary, Department of Industries and Commerce, IT, Tripura; Abdul Matlub Ahmed, President, IBCCI; Rajeet Mitter, Indian
High Commissioner, Bangladesh; Jitendra Chaudhury, Industry Minister, Tripura; Dr. Dipu Moni, Foreign Minister, Bangladesh; Manik Sarkar,
Chief Minister, Tripura, Tariq A Karim, Bangladesh High Commissioner to India, Dr. S. K. Panda, Chief Secretary, Tripura; and
Sudhindra Kumar Dube, MD, ONGC Tripura Power Company
CII in association with the
G o v e r n m e n t o f Tr i p u r a
a n d t h e I n d o - B a n g l a
Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (IBCCI) organized
a ‘Conference on North East
India Strengthening Ties’ on
10 November at Agartala
coinciding with the visit of Dr.
Dipu Moni, Foreign Minister
of Bangladesh to Tripura. The
conference attracted a host of
delegates from Bangladesh
and North East India.
With the signing of the
agreement between India and
Bangladesh in January this year,
there has been increased interaction
between Bangladesh and North East
India particularly, as India hopes that
allowing use of the ports and transit
facilities by Bangladesh will open new
avenues of opportunities for the otherwise
land-locked North East.
Dr. Dipu Moni said that her Government is
committed to maintain cordial relations with
India. She also sought India’s cooperation
in the power sector and water sharing.
India and Bangladesh share 54 common
rivers and there is a need for a policy on
water sharing and basin management that
can help both the countries, she pointed out. She
said that the Governments of Bangladesh and India
were working on grid connectivity to facilitate power
transmission from India and Bangladesh. Bangladesh
was trying to improve the infrastructure in the country
so as to facilitate border trade, she said, adding that
the Bangladesh Government would want the Chittagong
and Mongla ports to be accessible not only by India but
Dr. Dipu Moni, Foreign Minister, Bangladesh; Manik Sarkar,
Chief Minister, Tripura. Release of the “Directory of the
Exporters Importers of Tripura”
also by Nepal and Bhutan.
Mr Manik Sarkar, Chief Minister
of Tripura, who was the Chief
Guest, said that with the
commissioning of the 750 MW
Palatana project, Tripura would
be willing to sell the excess
power to Bangladesh from its
own share of 200 MW if the
Union Government permits. On
the proposal of setting up of a
Bangla bazaar in Agartala as
was put forward by IBCCI, the
Chief Minister said that the rates
of the stalls at the proposed
shopping complex were
decided by the society formed
by National Building Construction Company
(NBCC) and the Agartala Municipal Council
and the State Government do not have much
role in deciding about the rates. However,
he assured the Bangladesh delegation that
he would look into the matter.
The inaugural session was also attended by
Mr Jitendra Chaudhury, Industry Minister
of Tripura, Mr Rajeet Mitter, Indian
High Commissioner to Bangladesh,
Mr Tariq A. Karim, Bangladesh
High Commissioner to India,
Dr. S. K. Panda, Chief Secretary of Tripura, Mr.
S.K. Dube, Managing Director, ONGC Tripura Power
Company and Mr. Abdul Matlub Ahmed, President,
IBCCI. Mr. S. Sen, Principal Adviser, CII, proposed the
vote of thanks.
The inaugural session was followed by a short business
session which was chaired by businessmen from
Bangladesh and North East India, who discussed
areas of co-operation for improving mutual trade and
commerce.
56 | December 2010 Communiqué