Indian defence minister Rajnath Singh on November 22 expressed hope that India’s $500 million line of credit to Bangladesh for defence equipment will spur joint activities not only in acquisition of assets but also in co-development and co-production of defence material.

He said India is keen to continue working closely with Bangladesh, helping and supporting each other’s defence and security concerns.

The credit line was first announced by India during Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to New Delhi in 2017.

Rajnath made the remarks when he visited the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi on the occasion of the country’s Armed Forces Day, which falls on November 21.

“India is deeply sensitive to the security and development concerns of its neighbours and hopes for reciprocal level of sensitivity on the part of the neighbours towards the concerns of India.

“In this context, it is critical for our armed forces to remain engaged with each other for mutual capability enhancement, to respond to contingencies and to realise the shared goals of providing security and prosperity to our people,” he said.

The minister expressed satisfaction that the close defence cooperation between India and Bangladesh, which started during the Liberation War, is continuing apace.

“Defence cooperation between the two countries has grown steadily in the last few years by way of several activities – defence dialogue, staff talks, joint training, exercise and high-level exchanges.

“It is remarkable that all three service chiefs of Bangladesh have visited India this year and from India, the chiefs of army and air force visited Bangladesh this year,” Rajnath pointed out.

The event was organised by the Bangladesh High Commission. High Commissioner of Bangladesh Muhammad Imran, ambassadors and heads of missions, officers from Armed Forces of Bangladesh and other friendly countries and war veterans were among those present.

The defence minister appreciated the gesture of the Bangladeshi government of erecting a memorial for the Indian soldiers at Ashuganj town in the eastern part of the country, a Daily Star correspondent in New Delhi reported.

Rajnath said India and Bangladesh are strong partners in bringing progress and prosperity for the people of South Asia.

“Both are facing challenges which are similar. Today, we are fighting shoulder to shoulder against common challenges such poverty and hunger, surge of terrorism and extremist ideologies and climate change,” he said.

Rajnath lauded the progress achieved by Bangladesh over the years and said that it is currently one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

He said India is “privileged” to be one of Bangladesh’s major development partners with a total portfolio of close to $10 billion.

THE DAILY STAR (BANGLADESH)/ASIA NEWS NETWORK