India and Bangladesh have decided to expand their strategic partnership to develop cooperation in the fields of artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, startups and Fintech, in addition to expanding ties in the railway sector, as well as cross-border river management and conservation.
This was decided at the 7th meeting of the Joint Consultative Commission between the two Foreign Ministers S. Jaishankar and AK Abdul Momen. In his introductory address, Jaishankar said: “We are now looking forward to working with you to expand our connections to new domains – artificial intelligence, cyber security, startups, Fintech.
We were pleased to receive your Minister for ICT. We have had a very good visit from your Minister of Railways recently and I am glad that we can expand our cooperation to improve our railway system. We share 54 river areas where we need to work together as part of our commitment to climate action.”
According to reports, border management was also a key item on the cooperation agenda. “Better management of our long border is also a key priority. Our border guard forces are committed to fighting cross-border crime. We must continue to work together to ensure that the border remains crime-free,” Jaishankar said in his remarks.
Sub-regional cooperation in the field of energy, especially hydropower, was also on the ICC agenda. “We are also the largest producer and consumer of energy in the region. And we would be very happy to work with Bangladesh to structure a progressive partnership in the areas of production, transmission and trade,” Jaishankar said.
