Freedom waltz with Tricolour & abir

TT: ON THE TABLE

Deals signed between India and Bangladesh on Saturday

• Exchange of instruments of ratification of the 1974 Land Boundary Agreement and its 2011 protocol 

• Exchange of letters on modalities to implement the Land Boundary Agreement and its protocol 

• Renewal of bilateral trade agreement

• Agreement on coastal shipping

• Renewal of the protocol on inland water transit and trade

• Agreement between the Bangladesh Standards & Testing Institution (BSTI) and the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) on cooperation in standardisation

• Agreement on Dhaka-Shillong-Guwahati bus service and its protocol

• Agreement on Calcutta-Dhaka-Agartala bus service and its protocol

• Memorandum of understanding (MoU) between coast guards

• MoU on prevention of human trafficking 

• MoU on prevention of smuggling and circulation of fake currency notes 

• MoU for extending a new line of credit of $2 billion to Bangladesh from India

• MoU on the blue economy and maritime co-operation in the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean

• MoU on use of Chittagong and Mongla ports 

• MoU for a project under IECC (India Endowment for Climate Change) of Saarc

• MoU on Indian economic zone

• Cultural exchange programme from 2015-17 

• Statement of intent on education cooperation

• Agreement between Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited (BSCCL) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) for leasing of international bandwidth for Internet at Akhaura 

• MoU between the University of Dhaka and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research for joint research on Oceanography of the Bay of Bengal

• MoU between University of Rajshahi (Bangladesh) and University of Jamia Millia Islamia (India)

• Handover of consent letter by the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA), Bangladesh, to Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) to start operations in Bangladesh

ON THE SIDELINES

Sweet discovery

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was overheard telling Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina that he didn’t know that Bengalis enjoyed so many varieties of sweets till the constitutional amendment to seal the Land Boundary Agreement was cleared in Parliament. 

“I am receiving so many varieties of sweets after that,” a diplomat quoted Modi as telling Hasina.

Hasina rose to the occasion and replied: “Tell me the sweets you liked, I would send them across to you.”

Bite basics 

Modi stuck to his preferred cuisine even in Bangladesh. Khichdi, dhokla and vegetable biryani was on his menu for lunch. For dinner, he was served Hyderabadi vegetable biryani, a preparation of wax gourd and steamed brinjal.

Colour code

Cream was the colour of the day when Modi, Mamata and Hasina came together to flag off the bus service and seal the Land Boundary Agreement.Mamata was in a cream Dhaniakhali sari with black border, Hasina was in a cream Dhakai while Modi turned up in a cream kurta and a beige jacket.

Lotus rising

After paying homage to the martyrs of the 1971 Liberation War at Savar in Dhaka, Modi planted a tree and named it Udaypadma (rising lotus). The choice is unlikely to be lost on the BJP, the lotus symbol party, back home.