Referring to transit facilities with neighboring India, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that after the Indo-Pak war in 1965, we have now opened up the railways and the routes that were closed.
In an era of globalization, we cannot keep ourselves shut. She was speaking on Wednesday night in her closing speech at the 2024–25 budget session of the Bangladesh Parliament.
Sheikh Hasina said, "We live in a global village these days. A nation is reliant on another. One cannot shut off the channels of communication, trade, and business. We must become a part of the Trans-Asian Railway.
She also said, why did we give a transit to India today? There have been many reactions to it. We also have buses from Tripura to Dhaka. Buses pass through Dhaka to Kolkata. What is the harm here? Rather, we have got the road fare.”
“The people of our country have gotten the benefit. They have also earned a lot of money," she added. She said, “There is communication with the whole world. We have transited between Nepal and Bhutan through India. This has been done to facilitate regional transit and facilitate communication.”
It should be recalled that two weeks prior to this, at Hyderabad House in Delhi, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina held a crucial bilateral meeting. Since the formation of the new government in India, this was the first bilateral state visit by a foreign dignitary.
As a key partner and trusted neighbor, Bangladesh celebrated a bilateral partnership with India, which was guaranteed to receive a boost through Prime Minister Hasina’s visit. The two nations' strategic alliance has been strengthening in a number of areas, including energy, connectivity, science, technology, trade, security, and business.
