DIPLOMACY// Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 7 said the ratification of the over 40-year-old Land Boundary Agreement was a bridge to join hearts and cited a media report that compared it to the fall of the Berlin Wall. Bangladesh and India sealed a historic land pact to swap territories, which will finally allow thousands of people living in border areas to choose their nationality after decades of stateless limbo.

Modi’s first trip to Dhaka since his election win last May has been dominated by the deal to fix permanently the contours of a border which stretches some 4,000 kilometres (2,500 miles) along India’s eastern flank. Addressing a gathering of intellectuals at Dhaka University, Modi said the Land Boundary Agreement is not just about land being exchanged but “an agreement to join hearts”. He quoted a newspaper report that compared the inking of the LBA to being “no less significant than the fall of the Berlin Wall”. His comments came as India and Bangladesh in a joint declaration — titled “Notun Projonmo - Nayi Disha” — said the two prime ministers, Modi and Sheikh Hasina, “gave directives to the concerned officials on both sides for expeditious implementation of the 1974 Land Boundary Agreement and its 2011 Protocol on the ground”. Both reaffirmed their commitment to extend all facilities to the residents of the enclaves and ensure that the rights of all citizens are protected, it said.

The two leaders also inaugurated bus services connecting the Bangladeshi capital with four eastern India cities, and Dhaka declared a special economic zone near a southern port exclusively for Indian investors. Modi has been keen to play a greater leadership role in South Asia since coming to power, inspite of China’s growing interest in India’s backyard. After Modi’s arrival in Bangladesh, both countries inked 22 agreements, including renewing a bilateral trade agreement; an agreement on coastal shipping; on using of Chittagong and Mongla Ports; and prevention of smuggling and circulation of fake currency notes. Bangladesh also inked two MoUs with Adani Power Limited and Reliance Group to set up 4,600 MW power plants in the country.

The deals worth $5.5 billion were inked by Power Development Board of Bangladesh and the Indian companies. Adani Power is to invest some $5 billion in the country’s rickety power sector. The deal is to generate 4,600 megawatts of electricity for Bangladesh. The sites for setting up the plants are yet to be decided. But there was no breakthrough in a dispute about the sharing of water from the Teesta river which flows through both nations.