India and Bangladesh agreed on Tuesday to jointly fight terrorism and to enhance trade and transportation links, according to the Indo-Asian News Service.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hosted his Bangladeshi counterpart Khaleda Zia on Tuesday. He said India is interested in seeing a “strong, stable and economically strong Bangladesh making its full contribution to regional development.”
As well as signing a revised trade agreement and a pact to join forces to fight illicit trafficking in narcotics, they also discussed terrorism, illegal migration, border security, water sharing and the need for more confidence-building measures between the two countries.
Zia wanted to assure India that Bangladesh is committed to clamping down on Islamic terrorism.
A spokesperson for the Indian external affairs ministry said shortly after the meeting that both countries are victims of terrorism and it needs to be tackled through joint cooperation.
India is concerned about the rise of Islamic extremism in Bangladesh and has accused Dhaka of providing a haven for rebel groups, according to the Voice of America. Dhaka denies these charges.
Dhaka is concerned about a large trade deficit with India.
The Bangladeshi police began a large scale anti-terror operation late last year, after two judges were murdered in a bombing in November. The police aimed to arrest 2,000 potential suicide bombers belonging to various Islamist groups who want to undermine the country’s leadership.
Bangladesh is situated northeast of India. Some 83 percent of the country’s 144,000,000 citizens are Muslims, making it one of the largest Islamic countries in the world.